“As long as a human being lives he will learn” - Libyan Proverb
(Libyan flag (1951-Present))
Libya is located in northern Africa.
(Map of where Libya is located)
Its capitals are Tripoli, Benghazi and Bayda. Tripoli is the largest city. The official languages are Arabic, Berber and Italian. The country is 679,358 square miles. Libya is 99% Asian and 1% African. 97% of Libya practice Islam and 3% practice Christianity. The total population is 1,091,830. The climate is hot and dry. Libya is a constitutional monarchy.
(Tripoli, capital of Libya)
Libyan cuisine consists of Asida, breads, Bureek, Couscous and Ghreyba.
(Libyan cuisine)
The major style of music is Andalusi.
(Libyans performing Andalusi music)
Libya’s most popular sport is soccer.
(Libya’s soccer team)
Libya was first inhabited in 8000 BC by the Garamantes.
(Ancient Libyan structures)
In the 5th century Carthage had control over the region. In 630 BC the Greeks colonized east Libya. In 525 BC the Persians overran Greek controlled Libya.
(Greek structures in Libya)
In 331 BC the Greeks took back its part of Libya. In 74 BC the Romans took over parts of Libya. In the 6th century the Roman empire fell in Libya. In the 7th century the Byzantine empire took control of Libya. In 647 Abdullah ibn Saad took over the region. In 663 Uqba ibn Nafi took control.
(A statue of Uqba ibn Nafi)
In 750 Libya came under rule of Baghdad. In 972 Bologhine ibn Ziri was appointed governor. In 1001 Banu Khazrun took control of the region. In 1146 the region was overtaken by the Normans of Sicily.
(A painting of the Normans of Sicily)
In 1159 Morocco took over the region. In 1207 the Almohads took control of the region. In 1221 the Tunisian Hafsid dynasty took control. In 1517 the Ottomans took control. In 1551 there were 6,300 bond servants in Libya. In 1611 the Deys took control of Libya. In 1711 the Karamanlis took control. In 1793 Libya was back under Ottoman rule. In the early 19th century began the 1st and 2nd Barbary war.
(A painting of the 1st Barbery war)
In 1850 after the wars Ottoman rule came back in power. In 1912 Italy took control. The name was changed to “Italian North Africa”.
(Italinan North African flag (1911-1943))
In 1927 it was split into 2 territories. In 1932 50,000 people were killed in the war against the Italian occupation. In 1934 the country was named “Libya”. Omar Mukhtar was a resistance leader against Italian occupation.
(Omar Mukhtar)
In 1940 when Italy entered WWII Libya became a battleground. In 1943 Libya was under allied occupation. In 1947 Italy gave up all claims to Libya. On December 24th, 1951 Libya gained its independence.
(Libyan flag (1951-1977,2011-Present))
Its 1st king was King Idris. In 1959 oil reserves were found in the country. In 1969 a coup was made by Muammar Gaddafi.
(Muammar Gaddafi)
In 1977 Libya officially became the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya".
(Libyan flag (1977-2011))
Also in 1977 began the Libyan-Chad conflict. In 1986 the U.S. tried to kill Gaddafi.
(Results of the U.S. attack of Libya)
In 2008 over 200 African kings met in Benghazi, Libya. In 2011 there was a revolt against the government.
(Protests in Libya)
Other countries joined the sides of the rebels against Gaddafi's forces. NATO then began attacking Gaddafi’s forces. Gaddafi was then killed by rebel forces. 30,000 people died during this war. In 2012 Libya held its 1st parliamentary elections. During the same year terrorists killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
(Libya after attacks from NATO and the U.S. in 2012)
In 2014 an election was held for a new legislative body. In 2015 there were negotiations between rivaling parties in Libya.
(Libya in 2015)
Today marks the 65th anniversary of Libya’s independence and we would all like to say happy independence day Libya.
Videos of Libya Independence
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc6OGti7hiw “Libyan Independence in 1951. Archive film 97318”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQEdNL1cYw4 “Libya Independence Day”
(P.S. sorry for the late post)
No comments:
Post a Comment