Posted
on February 17, 2014
It
is perhaps hard for Americans to want to celebrate anything about
Libya because of the senseless 2012 Benghazi attack that resulted in
the deaths of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and one other diplomat.
However, we know that the militants who attacked the American
consulate did not speak and act for all Libyans, just as the American
man who killed former Beatle John Lennon didn't act on behalf of all
Americans!
At
any rate, this particular national day is called February 17th
Revolution, and it commemorates (as you may have already gathered)
the start up of the revolution against dictator Muammar Gaddafi on
February 17, 2011. Libya celebrates its actual liberation from
Gaddafi and his forces on October 23 (2011) and honors those who
were killed in the revolution on Martyrs' Day, September 16.
Libya
now has an elected government, but there is still a lot of violence
between different regional and religious groups, there are still a
lot of security issues, there are still bouts of lawlessness.
Basically,
you really do not want to do the tourist thing in Libya!
But
if you could...
Libya
is about the size of Alaska, and the coastal parts along the
Mediterranean have a pleasant climate—what is known as a
Mediterranean climate (duh!). But the interior of the country does
hot and dry to an extreme. For example, in many desert locales in
Libya, there is no rain for DECADES! In one town, temperatures of
57.8 degrees C – or 136 degrees F – set the world's record for
almost a century (until it was overturned in 2012). And sometimes
there are dust storms and sandstorms and a hot, dry sirocco wind that
lasts for days.
Some
of the nicer things about Libya include beaches along the
Mediterranean and Leptis Magna, one the best-preserved Roman ruins.
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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