Living and working in Benghazi
Trip Start
Unknown
1
Trip End
Ongoing
Benghazi, Banghāzī, Libya
Friday, July 31, 2009
The Tourist Village in Benghazi is possibly one of the better places to stay and very safe. They have 1 and 2 bedroom fully furnished villas and it is on the beach front. There is a small supermarket up the top of the road at the entrance to the village and also a good cheap restaurant. Bottled water is advisable.
There is not a lot to seen in Benghazi itself. There are a few specialized shops but no malls and the supermarkets are like our corner store back home. The dinar is almost equivalent to the Australian dollar and I found meat (especially lamb, camel, chicken) to be about the same price as home. Bread is their staple and you can see a bakery on every corner. You can buy a bag of bread rolls for 2 dinar.
If you travel 2 or 3 hours out of Benghazi through Jebel Akdar, Green Mountains, you will find Shahat which has some magnificent roman ruins. Make sure on the way you take the side road which takes you down through the mountains where you can see the caves where the Australians were hiding during the war. It is beautiful scenery.
Women are allowed to drive in Libya but it is a long process to get a licence. They drive on the right side of the road and all the cars on the road look like they have been in the smash-up derby. I have even seen someone driving on the wrong side of the road against the traffic, on the footpath and talking on a mobile phone. Occasionally you will still see a horse and cart.
Please feel free to email me if you have anything specific to ask but remember I did only spend 3 months there and was working most of the time.
Comments
Although you did not convince me to visit Benghazi, I loved your blog, the pictures
are beautifull, and I liked your way of writing, specially your favorite exepression
JUST DO IT, keep writing, and sure I'll keep reading. Looking forward to your
next entery. Peace.
I'm so proud of you for doing this!!! It all looks amazing and I'm not sure I ever saw all of these pictures. So great to read you blog and see the information and maps and everything you added here. VERY PROUD OF YOU!!! xxx
so there are no malls? how about bars or movie houses? how did you spend your leisure time here? is internet very accessible here?
No malls, no bars, no cinemas, no large supermarkets (two checkouts only). Internet is touch and go, and mobile phone charges are expensive. Leisure time is spent socialising with people. Usually on weekends there is a private party to go to. If u have a car, you can drive to the seaside and a few other nice places, but generally there is nothing to do there. Maybe Tripoli is better rather than Benghazi
hello>>
i live in benghazi which is great city for me at least
i am libyan
i can help you if you want to visit my country
this is my e_mail : privcy@yahoo.com
thanks for your blog , it help me littel , but if you can give me some information about the cost of rent and transportaion ( in us $ ) and if there is any other issue relate to the leaving of forienger
thanks