Libya
Our day began early at the central fish market of Tripoli. We were in the thick of it: men were bringing in their catch, bargaining and haggling over prices, wheelbarrows of fish were flying by, enormous sharks were propped up on tables, and the sun was beginning to beat down. The Libyans accepted us without a blink of the eye. We took an informative walk through Tripoli and then had an exciting walking exploration of the main souk. This was like entering a labyrinth and one had no idea where the next turn would lead. Our wonderful Libyan guides led us to the nicest shops and we ended our morning with a refreshing cup of traditional mint tea in the Ottoman Palace.
In the afternoon we set out for the coastal town of Sabratha, arriving at 3:30. The sun was a bright orb in a fiercely blue sky. The ancient city of Sabratha is built immediately on the shore of the turquoise Mediterranean. The city, like most of the ancient cities on this coast, was founded by Phoenician traders. By the first century BC the city was predominantly Greek in character and its layout still reflects that culture. To be sure the Greek influence lingers in that most impressive of the surviving buildings at Sabratha, its theatre. It would be hard to imagine a more picturesque site and it was our first stop. This magnificent structure is the largest Roman theatre in North Africa and seats 6000. The sandstone is buttery golden and was shimmering in the hot Libyan sun. The theatre is framed by 96 imposing columns and the actual stage is almost 40 meters (120 feet) wide and fronted by a white marble frieze depicting historical and mythological characters. We sat for a few moments and imagined a performance of Oedipus being produced 2 millennia ago.
Sabratha was an important source for olive oil and exotic animals, the latter used by the Romans in their munera (the gladiatorial games). Millions of liters of olive oil were shipped from Sabratha and we visited the street of the olive oil merchants and saw an ancient olive oil press. By the middle of the third century some estimate that Sabratha was shipping more than 3 million liters of oil to Rome. We saw shrines to the Egyptian deity Serapis and the Carthaginian Tanit, both testifying to the incredibly cosmopolitan character of this ancient city. Although Sabratha is smaller than Leptis, a great number of the surviving buildings seem to have been the result of private patronage from native Sabrathians, a testimony to the pride they had in their city. We left Sabratha for the Endeavour exhilarated by this wonderful day.
Our day began early at the central fish market of Tripoli. We were in the thick of it: men were bringing in their catch, bargaining and haggling over prices, wheelbarrows of fish were flying by, enormous sharks were propped up on tables, and the sun was beginning to beat down. The Libyans accepted us without a blink of the eye. We took an informative walk through Tripoli and then had an exciting walking exploration of the main souk. This was like entering a labyrinth and one had no idea where the next turn would lead. Our wonderful Libyan guides led us to the nicest shops and we ended our morning with a refreshing cup of traditional mint tea in the Ottoman Palace.
In the afternoon we set out for the coastal town of Sabratha, arriving at 3:30. The sun was a bright orb in a fiercely blue sky. The ancient city of Sabratha is built immediately on the shore of the turquoise Mediterranean. The city, like most of the ancient cities on this coast, was founded by Phoenician traders. By the first century BC the city was predominantly Greek in character and its layout still reflects that culture. To be sure the Greek influence lingers in that most impressive of the surviving buildings at Sabratha, its theatre. It would be hard to imagine a more picturesque site and it was our first stop. This magnificent structure is the largest Roman theatre in North Africa and seats 6000. The sandstone is buttery golden and was shimmering in the hot Libyan sun. The theatre is framed by 96 imposing columns and the actual stage is almost 40 meters (120 feet) wide and fronted by a white marble frieze depicting historical and mythological characters. We sat for a few moments and imagined a performance of Oedipus being produced 2 millennia ago.
Sabratha was an important source for olive oil and exotic animals, the latter used by the Romans in their munera (the gladiatorial games). Millions of liters of olive oil were shipped from Sabratha and we visited the street of the olive oil merchants and saw an ancient olive oil press. By the middle of the third century some estimate that Sabratha was shipping more than 3 million liters of oil to Rome. We saw shrines to the Egyptian deity Serapis and the Carthaginian Tanit, both testifying to the incredibly cosmopolitan character of this ancient city. Although Sabratha is smaller than Leptis, a great number of the surviving buildings seem to have been the result of private patronage from native Sabrathians, a testimony to the pride they had in their city. We left Sabratha for the Endeavour exhilarated by this wonderful day.
