Seven (screwed up) wonders of the totalitarian world

by Neil Woodburn on

There is something terribly crazy about totalitarian governments and their sense of architecture: monumental, gaudy, pompous, and, more often than not, in extraordinarily poor taste.

That’s whey the fine folks over at Esquire Magazine have compiled a list of what they feel are the world’s most “colossal monument[s] to narcissism.”

The Seven Wonders of the Totalitarian World, as you might imagine, is a rather bizarre assortment of architectural toy things by those drunk with power and devoid of taste. I can’t say I agree with all of them–there are certainly others that should make the list such as Kim Il Sung’s massive bronze statue in Pyongyang (above). But the ones that are included are still worth checking out nonetheless. And remember, when dictators fall, as Esquire points out, their statues soon follow–so be sure to visit soon.

Fist Crushing U.S. Fighter Plane, Libya
Monument to President Laurent Kabila, Congo
Lenin’s Mausoleum, Russia
Monument to President Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan
Mao Leading the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, China
The Hands of Victory, Iraq
Monument to the Founding of the North Korean Worker’s Party, North Korea

Libya: A new place to head in your travels

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was in the Peace Corps one of my Gambian friends moved to Libya for some reason. This was back when the U.S. and Libya weren’t on the best of terms. I wasn’t ever sure why he went to Libya–all I know is that, once he went there, his wife and kids moved back to live with her mother and I didn’t see him again. I only saw his family one other time.

Brett mentioned in a September post that Libya is opening up to tourists. I second that. There was a travel article today in my Sunday paper that caught my attention. Anna Johnson’s AP article “Libya becoming a bit easier to visit” paints a wonderful picture of an off-the-beaten path destination. However, here’s one country where being an American won’t get you a visa easily. Canadians and Europeans have it a bit easier, but there’s still some red tape. If you’re American, you apply for a visa through a Libyan embassy outside of the U.S. For Canadians and Europeans apply for a visa through a Libyan approved government travel agency. I wouldn’t say it’s a huge hassle to get a visa, just time consuming. It could take months if you are an American. Here’s a tip: If you have a passport stamp from Israel, you won’t get the visa, so get another passport first.

Okay, so why bother with the hassle, you might be thinking? Like Brett mentioned there are some phenomenal ancient sites. He mentioned a few. Here’s another. The Leptis Magna was built by the Roman Empire, and is one of the five UNESCO World Heritage sites in Libya and is considered one of the most important cities of Roman times. There’s also the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean coast which has not been developed yet–but like Brett wrote, development is coming, the Jebel Acacus Mountains and a lot more. For more terrific shots by Libyan Soup who took this one of the Infudha Rock Arch, head here to Flickr.

Libya: From “Rogue State” to “Must Visit”

by Brett Atkinson on

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.

Friday Funny: Lifestyles of the Rich and Fascist

by Erik Olsen on

For today’s Friday Funny, we bring you an entertaining, tongue in cheek piece from Radar Magazine on how the rich and autocratic live.

From Libyan dictator Muammar al-Quaddafi, whose personal bodyguards are made up of an all-girl Amazonian unit alleged to be virgins to Myanmar’s repressive Senior General Than Shwe, who has been taking cooking classes with a leading French chef in Rangoon, to North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, whose escapades and eccentric tastes have been well documented, the list is a wonderful slice of egotistical life. There are ten dictators in all. Be sure to collect all ten! I have no idea how accurate this stuff is, but it IS funny in a sick kind of way.

Libya Barring Americans

by Erik Olsen on

This news is kind of a downer. Libya, who had promised recently to be our friend, has been restricting the tourist visas of American citizens trying to go there. The cruise ship industry had added Libya to their ports of call so that the rich could sip champagne and visit this “new frontier”. With the restrictions then, Seabourn Cruise Line decided to drop Libya from its port stops in 2007 after repeated petitions to the Libyan authorities requesting visas for its American passengers were denied. Passengers on the two voyages that were to stop in Libya will instead go to Turkey and Greece, or Italy and Malta.