Large reserves of petroleum have brought wealth to Libya, an Islamic nation in the desert of North Africa. It is Africa's fourth largest country. The capital and largest city is Tripoli. GeographyLibya occupies an area of about 678,400 square miles (1,757,000 square kilometers). It is bordered by Tunisia and Algeria to the west, Niger and Chad to the south, The Sudan to the southeast, and Egypt to the east. The Mediterranean Sea is north of Libya. The country can be divided into three geographic regions. Libya lies within the Sahara, the world's largest desert. Almost all the country's land is an expanse of bare rock and wind-blown sand. Fezzan is an area in the southwest with large sand dunes. - Fertile fields cover an oasis in southeastern Libya. Because this area does not get much rain, the …
The other two regions are on the Mediterranean coast. Tripolitania is in the northwest, and Cyrenaica is in the northeast. Tripolitania is mainly a string of oases, or small settlements on pockets of fertile land within the desert. Tripolitania is the most important agricultural area in Libya. It is also home to most of the country's people. Cyrenaica contains some oases, the Al-Marj coastal plain, and the Al-Akhdar Mountains. To the south the mountains merge into semidesert grasslands. Bikku Bitti, or Bette Peak, in the Tibesti Mountains of the south, is the highest point in the country. It reaches 7,438 feet (2,267 meters). Libya has riverbeds rather than continually flowing rivers. The riverbeds are dry most of the year. However, some parts of the country have large amounts of ancient water underground in a layer of sandstone. The country mines the water and pipes it to the coastal cities. This large project is called the Great Man-Made River. It began supplying water in the 1990s. Plants and animalsThere is very little natural vegetation in Libya. The country's animals include desert rodents, hyenas, foxes, jackals, gazelles, and wildcats. Eagles, hawks, and vultures are some of the common birds. People and cultureMost of Libya's people are Arabs. Berbers were once the major ethnic group. However, they have largely been absorbed into the Arab culture. Italians, Greeks, Jews, and black Africans are among the other ethnic groups. The majority of the population speaks Arabic, the official language. Some groups use forms of the Berber language. Many of the people also speak Italian, English, or French as a second language. Most Libyans are Muslims who belong to the Sunnah branch of Islam. There are also small numbers of Christians. - Ruins of a theater at Sabratha, Libya, are evidence of the country's past as part of the Roman …
Libyan culture centers on folk arts and traditions from its history as part of the Roman Empire and then the Islamic world. Ruins from the Roman period include mosaics, or pictures made of small bits of glass or stone. Large, beautiful mosques reflect the importance of art as a decoration in Islam. Libyan craftspeople make carpets, baskets, leather goods, and jewelry. EconomyThe main source of Libya's wealth is oil. Its deposits of petroleum are among the world's largest. The country also has supplies of natural gas and iron ore. Agriculture accounts for less than 10 percent of Libya's total earnings. The country grows barley, wheat, tobacco, dates, figs, grapes, and olives. Sheep and goats are reared in the north. HistoryDuring Libya's early history, it was controlled by many different groups, including Africans, Greeks, and Phoenicians. In about the 1st century BC Libya became an important part of the Roman Empire. It was influential because of its location across the Mediterranean Sea from Italy. In AD 642 Arab armies moved into the area. Many of the local Berber peoples converted to Islam. The three regions of Libya—Fezzan, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica—were separate until the early 16th century. The powerful Turkish Ottoman Empire conquered the regions and united them. In 1911 Italy invaded Libya and defeated the Turks. The Libyan people never accepted Italian rule. During World War II (1939–45) Libya was the site of many battles between the combined forces of Germany and Italy against the Allied forces. The war destroyed most of the Italian investment and influence. In 1951 Libya became an independent monarchy, a state headed by a king. In 1953 it joined a union of Arab countries called the Arab League. The discovery of oil in Libya in the late 1950s greatly increased the country's income. In 1969 a group of army officers overthrew the king. Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi was their leader. Qaddafi became the head of state. In 1977 he changed the official name of the country to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. Jamahiriya means “brotherhood.” The new government used petroleum profits to build housing, roads, communications networks, and modern schools. It also spent large sums of money to make Libya a major military power in North Africa. Libya's military ventures and aid to terrorists brought protests from many countries. Libyan troops occupied the neighboring country of Chad in the 1970s and 1980s. Qaddafi also sponsored training camps for terrorists to fight Israel. Terrorists bombed a commercial airplane over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, and 270 people were killed. For years Qaddafi refused to surrender two Libyan men accused of the bombing. In 1992 the United Nations banned international air travel and the sale of equipment to Libya. In 1999 Libya delivered the suspects for trial, and the United Nations lifted its ban. A Scottish court found one of the men guilty and the other not guilty. Population (2001 estimate), 5,241,000. |