Literature

Libyan literature has its roots in antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

, but contemporary Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

n writing draws on a variety of influences.

Libyan poet Khaled Mattawa

Khaled Mattawa

Khaled Mattawa is a Libyan poet, and a renowned Arab-American writer, he is also a leading literary translator, focusing on translating Arabic poetry into English...

 remarks:

"Against claims that Libya has a limited body of literature, classicists may be quick to note that ancient Greek lyric poet Callimachus

Callimachus

Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...

 and the exquisite prose stylist Sinesius were Libyan. But students of Libyan history and literature will note that a vast time gap between those ancient luminaries and the writers of today. [...] Libya has historically made a limited contribution to Arabian literature".

The Arab Renaissance (Al-Nahda) of the late 19th and early 20th centuries did not reach Libya as early as other Arab lands, and Libyans contributed little to its initial development. However, Libya at this time developed its own literary tradition, centred on oral poetry

Oral poetry

Oral poetry can be defined in various ways. A strict definition would include only poetry that is composed and transmitted without any aid of writing. However, the complex relationships between written and spoken literature in some societies can make this definition hard to maintain, and oral...

, much of which expressed the suffering brought about by the Italian colonial period

History of Libya as Italian Colony

The History of Libya as an Italian colony began in the 1910s and lasted until February 1947, when Italy officially lost all the colonies of the former Italian Empire.-First years:...

.

Libyan literature began to bloom in the late 1960s, with the writings of Sadeq al-Neihum, Khalifa al-Fakhri, Khamel al-Maghur (prose

Prose

Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...

), Muhammad al-Shaltami and Ali al-Regeie (poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

). Many Libyan writers of the 1960s adhered to nationalist

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

, socialist

Socialism

Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

 and generally progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

 views.

In 1969, a military coup brought Muammar al-Gaddafi

Muammar al-Gaddafi

Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...

 to power. In the mid-1970s, the new government set up a single publishing house, and authors were required to write in support of the authorities. Those who refused were imprisoned, emigrated, or ceased writing. Censorship laws were loosened, but not abolished, in the early 1990s, resulting in a literary renewal. Some measure of dissent is expressed in contemporary literature published within Libya, but books remain censored and self-censored to a significant extent.

Contemporary Libyan literature is influenced by "local lore, North African and Eastern Meditterranean Arabian literatures, and world literature at large" (K. Mattawa). Émigré writers have also contributed significantly to Libyan literature, and include Ibrahim Al-Kouni, Ahmad Al-Faqih and Sadeq al-Neihum.

Cuisine

Libyan cuisine derives much from the traditions of the Mediterranean and North Africa, with an Italian

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

 influence, a legacy from the days when Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 was an Italian colony. One of the most popular Libyan dishes is a thick highly-spiced soup, known simply as Sharba Libiya or Libyan soup. Sharba Libiya contains many of the ingredients of many other Libyan dishes, including onions, tomatoes, lamb (or chicken), chilies, cayenne pepper, saffron, chickpeas, mint, cilantro and parsley.

Bazin

Bazeen

Bazeen is a starchy Libyan food. The main ingredient is barley flour; this is sometimes mixed with wheat flour. Bazeen is typically served with a tomato sauce, eggs, potatoes and mutton....

 is perhaps the most recognizable Libyan food there is, made of a mixture of mainly barley flour, with a little plain flour. The flour is boiled in salted water to make a hard dough, and then formed into a rounded, smooth dome placed in the middle of the dish. The sauce around the dough is made by frying chopped onions with lamb meat, adding turmeric, salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, fenugreek, sweet paprika, and tomato paste.Potatoes can also be added. Finally, eggs are boiled and arranged around the dome. The dish is then served with lemon and fresh or pickled chillies known as amsayar.

One of the most popular meals in the Libyan cuisine is Batatan mubatana (filled potato). It consists of fried potato pieces filled with spiced minced meat and covered with egg and breadcrumbs.

Libyans prefer to eat at home, except on Fridays, when they enjoy family beachside picnics. For the most part, restaurants and cafes are used by foreigners. Menus have become more sophisticated and one can find a greater variety of mainly Libyan and Middle Eastern cuisine. International cuisine is available in the larger hotels.

All alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

ic drinks are banned in Libya, in accordance with the laws of Islam. Bottled mineral water is widely consumed, as are various soft drinks.
Libyan tea is a thick beverage served in a small glass, often accompanied by peanuts. Regular American/British coffee is available and in Libya is known as "Nescafé" (a misnomer)

The media

Government control over the media has resulted in much of the population preferring to entertain itself by watching videos or foreign stations via satellite.
Libyan television programmes are mostly in Arabic with a 30-minute news broadcast each evening in English and French. It is also possible to watch the occasional sports programme. However, the majority of programming is cultural and thus showcases more traditional Libyan music and entertainment.
Libya's daily newspaper is Al-Fajr al-Jadid and is published in Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

. Foreign newspapers are available, but are often very out-of-date by the time they reach the shops.