The Libyan Safari (2008-2009)
Oct 25, 2008: From Tripoli
It's been 12 days since i landed in Tripoli. The airport is quite symbolic of what one can expect in the city..."run-down"(the 1st airport I've seen, which allows extensive public smoking inside!). It was destination work right from the airport and has been quite the same for the past few days. There has been little time to relax or to explore the city for now; but i kind of like the place - a mix of Mediterranean, Arabic & European - once beautiful - with the effects of "25 year" old embargo clearly visible. As expected, you see only men outside on the streets in the evening. People are generally friendly - especially towards Indians 'coz of good old Bollywood. There is a dedicated Hindi movie channel in Tripoli. The taxi-drivers sometime take half the fare due to this fascination :)!
It will be Sahara calling in the next couple of weeks; until then we enjoy the Tripoli waters.
It will be Sahara calling in the next couple of weeks; until then we enjoy the Tripoli waters.
Dec 16, 2008: About Sabha…
Sabha is an even-paced, ambitious small town with a warm feel and familiarity about it. Small towns are generally unassuming in character; where everyone knows everyone else; but Sabha has a distinct sense of pride about it. The sense of pride can be attributed to its place in the region, the State-sponsored city building history post-revolution, a reasonably good infrastructure and mobility, a large chunk of the society being well to do – often well provided for by the State and most importantly progressive thinking and private initiatives shown in the last few years. The flipside of the city is the apparently visible social segregation between the “haves” and the “have -nots”, the Libyan and the sub-Saharien communities. Thus, despite its strong inherent heterogeneous character, social mobility and integration remain as one of the larger issues facing the City today.
Color can be found in the City in the form of diversity of the population, their clothes and in the local commercial spill-over at the interface of road and the built-form. Large expanses of dust–ridden unpaved roads and landscapes inside the city are a strong reminder of the harsh desert climatic setting of the City. The historic Medinas/ Old Cities are enclosed by other built-forms within the city and sometimes by heaps of garbage and shanties outside the City. The cityscape does not really provide for what one would term as an “exciting” experience. The diversity in the built-form is restricted to the robust Constructivist Public Buildings, the distinctly color-coded un-gated public housing precincts juxtaposed against a homogeneous landscape of low-rise, medium density “incremental” housing fabrics often in need of upgradation. The roof-scape has a distinct Arabic character about it with the antennas, minarets et al. The southern outskirts of the city have an altogether different story to tell – it’s basically a “city under construction” for the next 25 years.
Although, the city works for only 2 hours sometimes, it is always on the move (in keeping with its nomadic cultural origins) – cars and people are always visible on the street; especially the daily wages workers waiting to be employed at street corners. There is a lone cyclist visible sometimes only to be followed and photographed by urbanists like us. The city is generally safe and vibrant through the day; especially in the late evenings. The one to one encounters and the warm hospitality provided by the inhabitants of the city make the urban experience a memorable one.
Color can be found in the City in the form of diversity of the population, their clothes and in the local commercial spill-over at the interface of road and the built-form. Large expanses of dust–ridden unpaved roads and landscapes inside the city are a strong reminder of the harsh desert climatic setting of the City. The historic Medinas/ Old Cities are enclosed by other built-forms within the city and sometimes by heaps of garbage and shanties outside the City. The cityscape does not really provide for what one would term as an “exciting” experience. The diversity in the built-form is restricted to the robust Constructivist Public Buildings, the distinctly color-coded un-gated public housing precincts juxtaposed against a homogeneous landscape of low-rise, medium density “incremental” housing fabrics often in need of upgradation. The roof-scape has a distinct Arabic character about it with the antennas, minarets et al. The southern outskirts of the city have an altogether different story to tell – it’s basically a “city under construction” for the next 25 years.
Although, the city works for only 2 hours sometimes, it is always on the move (in keeping with its nomadic cultural origins) – cars and people are always visible on the street; especially the daily wages workers waiting to be employed at street corners. There is a lone cyclist visible sometimes only to be followed and photographed by urbanists like us. The city is generally safe and vibrant through the day; especially in the late evenings. The one to one encounters and the warm hospitality provided by the inhabitants of the city make the urban experience a memorable one.
