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Photograph by George Steinmetz
Libyans enjoy a visit to Sabratah’s ancient Roman theater, one of Africa’s largest.
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Photograph by George Steinmetz
VESTIGES OF GLORY
Among the world’s largest, best preserved ancient Roman cities, Leptis Magna flourished under Emperor Septimius Severus, who was born here. A vast theater, forum (at top right), and market became part of an urban center to rival Rome. Muammar Qaddafi saw sites like this as symbols of Western imperialism. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
PICTURES OF THE PAST
An 1,800-year-old chariot race comes alive under the gentle care of Italian and Libyan conservators working at Villa Silin, a Roman residence buried under dunes on the coast near Leptis Magna until 1974. Layers of sand protected mosaics like this from damage. -
Jason Treat, Fernando Baptista, and Amanda Hobbs, NGM Staff
Art: Kekai Kotaki. Source: Jon C. N. Coulston, University of St. Andrews, ScotlandROME IN AFRICAIn the second century A.D. animal fighters called venatores faced off with leopards and other African wildlife in the Leptis Magna amphitheater. Armed with only a spear and wearing no headgear or armor, the venator engaged in dangerous staged hunts in return for pay or glory.
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Photograph by George Steinmetz
HARBOR TO THE WORLD
Leptis Magna was built around a natural harbor, which welcomed Roman ships from across the Mediterranean empire. A more recent lifeline—a 323-mile gas pipeline to Sicily completed in 2004—is helping Libya reestablish links with its European neighbors. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
PILLARS OF POSSIBILITY
Horses wander freely around the 2,500-year-old Temple of Zeus at Cyrene, the only ancient Greek site among Libya’s five World Heritage sites. Archaeologists are now documenting and preserving these once neglected ruins. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
OUT OF THE WRECKAGE
Wires dangle from what remains of Az Zawiyah’s Bank of Commerce & Development, destroyed by rocket fire during battles between Qaddafi loyalists and militias in March 2011. The city, population about 200,000, was devastated, but its oil refinery, which supplies Tripoli and other parts of western Libya, was spared.Click here for a 360° view of a Misratah covered market destroyed during the revolution.
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Photograph by George Steinmetz
AGE-OLD ARCHITECTURE
Tight clusters of traditional mud-brick-and-palm houses have stood for centuries in Ghadames, a pre-Roman oasis town in the Sahara. Rooftop walkways allowed women to move freely, concealed from men’s view. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
A FRESH START
A bride adorned with lace and henna designs on her arms is ushered into a Benghazi hotel. Marriage ceremonies are segregated by gender. It’s unclear whether a post-Qaddafi Libya will allow women more freedom, but hopes run high. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
INVITING THE WORLD IN
Kasim Abdu Salaam Habib, 39, opens his lovingly decorated 600-year-old home to foreign tourists in Ghadames. The house needs repairs, and visitors are scarce these days. But Habib is optimistic. “I want to see Libya as a democracy,” he says. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
TAKING THE PLUNGE
On a lazy Friday boys cool off at a Tripoli beach. As normal life resumes, Libyans hope hotels like the Marriott (green, at left) will reopen as part of a fledgling tourist economy. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
YOUNG SURVIVORS
Five-year-old Fatima Shetwan, wrapped in the tricolor flag of independent Libya, takes part in a Misratah school assembly. Many children lost parents in the city’s three-month siege. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
UP FOR GRABS
At an abandoned military facility near Ajdabiya, heavy munitions—including tank rounds and boxes of mortar shells stacked to the ceiling—are ripe for looting. The taking of unsecured arms “poses a direct threat to civilians,” warns Human Rights Watch. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
IN LIMBO
Pro-Qaddafi prisoners smoke cigarettes as their laundry dries in the hallway of a Misratah jail run by the local military council. With 800 inmates, overcrowding is a problem. The wheels of justice have slowed as the country attempts to rebuild itself. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
BITTER MEMORIES
At the museum in Misratah documenting the Libyan revolution a young woman snaps photos of items believed to have been used by Muammar Qaddafi, including slippers, headgear, an umbrella, even a set of china plates. Photographs of locals who lost their lives during the city’s 2011 siege cover the walls. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
EXTREME MAKEOVER
The building housing Qaddafi’s internal security services was once one of Benghazi’s most feared—and avoided—landmarks. Its walls are now covered in graffiti and cartoons mocking the deposed Libyan leader. -
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