Posted on 11/19/2008 4:59:47 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Libya plans to invite the world's top archaeologists to unearth its ancient past as it tries to lure more tourists after decades in isolation, the head of the government's archaeology department said.
With a central role in early human migration, the desert country on the Mediterranean is home to a multitude of ancient and prehistoric sites. Many are thought to remain undiscovered.
But years of western sanctions tarnished Libya's image and only a few hundred thousand people visit the north African country each year, compared to over 8 million for neighbouring Egypt.
"We will open our arms to the best scientists from Japan to the United States. We will not exclude one major institution, be it Oxford, Cambridge, the Sorbonne or Rome," said Giuma Anag, chairman of the government's archaeology department.
In a recent interview, he described discoveries to date as only the tip of the iceberg.
The archaeology campaign is backed by leader Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, who recently approved setting up of a society for safeguarding archaeology that would coordinate the work of foreign and local researchers.
(Excerpt) Read more at africa.reuters.com ...
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My family was stationed there in the late 1960s before Gaddhafi took power, and my mother used to go out to visit ruins with the Swiss Ambassador's wife, who told her to "bring a large purse."
Yup, Mom was an antiquities pilferer, and I've got a piece of Roman mosaic to prove it.
I did make it out to Sabratha and Leptis Magna; breathtaking to see the acres and acres of ruin and rubble.
I also was one of the few to climb down into an ancient Church that was being uncovered, and not widely publicized by the Muslims, as at that time, if it wasn't Arab, they weren't interested.
See my post# 5.
I was an AF brat, there from 1968-70.
My best buddy in high school helped his CIA Station Chief father burn all the CIA files in the waste basket. He never said a word until years later at our 25th HS reunion.
Thanks!
So sorry I missed your post. I was there ‘69 & ‘70.
So sorry I missed your post. I was there ‘69 & ‘70.
The coup was in September 1969. Prior to that, Tripoli was a wanna-be cosmopolitan watering-hole on the Mediterranean. The Italians were still there, as were expatriats from all over the world to service the oil industry and provide medical care to the local population. The Wheelus AFB hospital had an entire wing kept for King Idris's family in case they needed care. My Armed Forces High School on base was a veritable United Nations, with a wide variety of students, both military, oil-industry, and foreign teenagers from every continent. We had a contingent of Yugoslavians, at that time still Communist, attending our US Military school. The Wa'adaan Casino operated on the shores of the Med, and provided night-life for the local errant Muslim Libyans and all the expats.
All brought to an end when the Revolutionary Council overthrew the King while he was in Egypt. After an subsequent gunbattle among the council members, Gadhaffi emerged the leader, although he was wounded (according to the Taiwanese doctor, who I tutored in English, that was the anesthesialogist during the surgery).
You probably know all this, but it was fun to recollect.
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