Garamantians

No, I hadn't heard of them, either.  But Pliny the Elder wrote about them, as did Herodotus, for the Garamantians made Germa the capital of their empire in the 1st century AD and being a somewhat civilised bunch, they left their mark. 

We fetched up here at the cemetery first, to view the curious square topped pyramid tombs.

I'm still not quite sure if they were originally this shape or whether the original grave is underneath a modern pyramid shaped construction and being the historical heathen that I am, I find it difficult to tell reconstruction from original anyway.  Perhaps I'll read more about the Garamantian civilisation in the next few weeks?

There were plenty of these tombs, anyway.

Having always thought that a visit to a museum after seeing the "real thing" was a bit of a waste of time, in this particular instance, it would have helped greatly if the museum had been open.  But, it's Monday, and as we know, the world's museums close on Mondays, including that of Germa.

Next stop, in a stony part of the desert, was a mysterious stone structure, with unquestionable Garamantian heritage but unknown purpose.

Finally, to the ancient site of Garama, a collection of remains of former adobe-style buildings, including a castle/fortress.  I left the historical details to the experts in the family, much preferring to observe the construction techniques

the dates

and the beautifully woven palm fences which we've seen everywhere in the area.

Some more photographs of Germa and the Garamantian remains below.

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Sand

As far as the eye can see

Last night, we flew to Sebha, from where we drove into the desert

We left the road at Camp Tekerbiba and ventured towards the Ubari Lakes

 

We drove through wadis, along ridges, over dunes in two 4WDs, expertly driven by two young drivers from Sebha.

 

Most of the time, there was nothing but sand, although in the wadis (valleys) were a few scrubby bushes and the occasional palm tree.  We stopped at four of the Ubari lakes, where there were groups of Tuareg merchants with tables full of silver jewellery, bright pieces of fabric for wrapping on the head and other bits and pieces.

The landscape is truly magnificent, the temperature comfortably warm and the driving terrific fun!

We arrived at Camp Alawi in the late afternoon, in time to shower and wait for the sun to go down.  Alcazar, a friendly Tuareg chap made us a cup of Libyan tea (strong, sweet, delicious) and we enjoyed the peace and quiet of a night in a tented desert camp.

Of course, I took hundreds more photos, so as before, here's a slideshow.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Septimus Severus fecit

My goodness, what a legacy.

Today we're in Leptis Magna.

We had the place (almost) to ourselves, too.

It meant that we could linger, take a closer look and stand, speechless, admiring the craftsmanship, engineering and sheer bravado which inspired the architects of this place.

Of course, I  took hundreds of photographs.  Here's a sampling.

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Green

Today's post is brought to you by the colour green.

 

We are in Libya.