Tripoli, Libya - Day 61 - Boots on the Loose

I’d say Tripoli is the most modern city we’ve seen since leaving Vancouver. Lots of fancy new hi-rises and the like (presumably one of the places the oil money is going). The bank we were going to get money from closed at 1pm upon arrival to Tripoli (??), so apparently there was a bank machine we could use at another hotel (although traveller’s cheques turned out to NOT be an option). It’s amazing how difficult it is to get money out; ended up at the one bank machine on the other side of town numerous times to get out enough, for fear that it would be the only opportunity in Libya (luckily there’s a safe on the truck).

That night we were invited to Mr. Mohammed’s “VIP Estate” for dinner. A man named Mohammed works for MD Tours which is the local company we got our visas through; he’s apparently good friends with a MR. Mohammed who had us all over. Turns out he’s quite high up at Nestle (if I understood it right) and apparently makes a good living doing it. Anyway the dinner was AMAZING. The estate was incredible, the hospitality was unbelievable… it’s hard to put the experience into words. It felt like we were in a James Bond movie and at any moment all the doors and windows were going to slam shut and trap us in. Mr. Mohammed and his wife even served us personally. It was all very surreal. 7 acres all gated with real guard dogs, pool, sauna, performance stage and some delightfully tacky lights out on the lawn (think of what Vegas in Africa might look like). Normally it’s all VIP only, but since it was the first time with Dragoman tours, we were treated like kings.

Next day we started at the Castle Museum which was very well done (but a little on the large side for my attention span) followed by a small wander through the old city. And then well, it finally happened… The Hamam. $2.50 to get in, $5 for a massage. Right away had one of the coordinators inside start talking to us, so I knew we’d be in good hands. Started in the main room which is a dome with a massive, piping hot marble slab in the middle with a bunch of half-naked men lying around the edges. At first I couldn’t believe people were on it, it was so hot… but of course by the end I found myself doing the same. Anyway after about a 1/2 hour of sitting there taking it all in, the biggest, meanest looking black guy signalled for me to follow him (one of those guys with a shaved head but a full beard). Massage was great; very strong, but nothing too hard to handle. Ended up having a local name Loui chat with us back in the dome room; asked why I wore an earing and after I told him I didn’t really have a reason, he said gay people wear them in Libya, but people were respectful and it was fine. Ha! (Took it out regardless… not that there’s anything WRONG with being gay 🙂 Ended up for 2 full hours at the Hamam; had to leave when I almost past out from dehydration (must bring water next time!). Coordinator told us the Hamam was built 500 years ago, and has been in operation ever since. Crazy.

Clothing in Libya is incredibly cheap and abundant. It’s even better than what I’ve seen in Asia. Store after store after store of all the latest euro-fashions at a fraction of the price. If I didn’t have a backpack, I’d have a lot of new clothes.

For dinner we ducked down a popular looking alley and this crazy restaurant owner snatched us up before anyone else could. Ripping tables and chairs out from underneath the locals for us, barking orders at everyone (with about 2 teeth in his mouth) we had 8 plates of food EACH in front of us (all we wanted was a donair or something). Ended up costing more than what we had, but it was a lot more than we wanted and he took what we could give.

Tripoli was fantastic. The people there (and everywhere in Libya) are SO welcoming to us… funny to think about the rest of the world’s perception of Libya (perhaps though if the perception was different and more tourists were here, we’d be treated differently)