Despite being branded by George W as a “rogue state” in his 2002 addendum to the ridiculous “Axis Of Evil”, the North African country of Libya is on fast forward to become one of the Middle East’s prime destinations for curious and wordly travellers. And leading the way is a son of hardline Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The 33-year old Saif al-Islam Gaddafi recently outlined a massive proposal to put Libya firmly on the tourist trail and in direct competition with burgeoning super cities like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The focus of the development is the ancient city of Cyrene, reckoned by archeological whizzes to be one of the best preserved of ancient Greek and Roman sites. Attractions already include the Temple of Apollo and the partially excavated Temple of Zeus, and there are now plans for more than 20 luxury hotels and thousands of houses to surround the ruins on Libya’s northeast Mediterranean coast.
Apparently developers are striving for a clean, green image, but with so much development occuring it will be a fine balancing act.
Via Telegraph Group Ltd and thanks to h_savill on Flickr for the pic of the Temple of Zeus.