LIBYA: A CULTURAL HISTORY

When I first visited Libya in 1984, I did not expect my relationship with the country to continue for so long - or result in the making of this book. At the time of its research, from 1999 to 2002, few countries were as remote physically and psychologically. With restrictions on travel during the last decade of the 1986-2004 sanctions and the concentration of the media solely on the regime of Colonel Gaddafi, the country behind the headlines was a virtual blank. The creation of this book with the kind support of CONDRILL was an attempt to ‘fill in’ that blank. Through essays and interviews with a broad spectrum of Libyans from bedouin tribes to cultural and industry figures, the book sought not only to present Libya in the context of its long history, but to also engage genuinely with the Libyan people.