Special Events

Life in and around Tripoli was generally fairly uneventful, except for frequent minor emergencies: car breakdowns, brushes with the local police, hassles with bureaucracy, etc.

Much of our spare time was spent eating or drinking (tea) with Libyan friends.

Sue and Mustafa having dinner at Ali Gibril's house

Fatma, Ali's wife, making tea

Note:

When we lived there, Libya was still a totally male-female segregated society. Women did not mix with men who were not very close relatives. In public, all women wore the barrakan, a sheet that concealed the whole face and body except for one eye.

Being a foreign woman, Sue was able to mix with both the women (upstairs) and the men (downstairs) in Libyan houses. I was normally restricted to mixing with the men. However, we got to know the Gibril family so well that, after three years, I was allowed to meet Ali's wife and was even once allowed to drive their two teenage daughters to a relative's home.

Occasionally, a special event would provide some change and excitement. For example, the September 1st anniversary of the revolution would always be celebrated with parades and folk dancing in the main square of Tripoli.

Libya had a world famous folk dance team, seen here giving a performance in the Roman theatre at Sabratha.

The photos below show a horse parade and race held to honour the heroes of the long-lasting guerilla war waged against Italian occupation.



Note:
The Italian invasion and occupation were extremely brutal. The first air raid on a civilian target in history took place when an Italian plane dropped bombs on a Libyan oasis. Later, the Italians tried to force information from captured Libyan patriots by taking them up in planes and threatening to throw them out. In many cases, the Italians carried out their threats.