Interesting week - I've been interviewed at the Institute for an article which will be syndicated throughout.....Libya! Yes, I know it's not quite the Guardian, but my fame is spreading - first national television, now the national press. I'll post a cutting once it appears - you wouldn't want to miss my gems (or germs?) of wisdom.
Now that the weekend's here, I've been able to get out and do some exploring. Where to start, I wondered. So I jumped into the car and just headed east, knowing that if I got to a border crossing I'd gone too far. I haven't bought a map yet, and think it might be a good idea - I don't know where I went, but it was beautiful anyway - the Green Mountains. On the way I bought water and fruit in my best Arabic - it's really coming along, although it is still just a series of nouns not joined together by verbs or anything as complicated as that. I shall now make a determined effort to get stuck into the Linguaphone programme.
As you will see from these pictures, the mountains really are green:
The picture above might be of Omar Mukhtar Bridge, but since I was guideless, I don't know. It spanned a massive gorge, about a thousand feet down - at least that's what it felt like when I walked across:
It looked as though there had been a river flowing through it at some point, but it is wooded all the way down to the floor now. Maybe I'll return in the winter and have another look.
It was about ten degrees cooler than on the coast, so was quite a welcome change. Temperatures are rising now towards the high 30s (well over 100 F) we can expect next month, but Benghazi gets a sea breeze, and winds from the mountains, so is always a bit cooler than Tripoli. It seems I've made a good move! Except for the Ghibli - the hairdrier. I'm looking forward to that experience.
Here are a couple of pics of my flat - inside and out. Most windows seem to have bars on them, not only mine. I'm told that the 'gardens' will be landscaped eventually. We'll see.
Off now to explore the alleys of Benghazi - sans guide again. It's the only way to do it.
