A Brief History of Benghazi

We spent almost a week in Benghazi for Sherri's work, and while there we tried to learn and see as much as we could.  Benghazi is the largest city in Cyrenaica (the eastern part of Libya) with a population of over 600,000 people. The origins of the city are in doubt but it is believed that the first settlement was slightly east of modern Benghazi and may have been established by Greeks from Cyrene or by Aegean immigrants. The city is first mentioned in the 6th century BCE as Eusperides and was believed to have been the site of the legendary Garden of Hesperides. According to Geek mythology, the eleventh quest of Hercules was to steal the golden apples from the Garden of Hesperides.

The Italian lighthouse with the ruins of Berenice in the foreground.

Around 249/247 BCE, the settlement was renamed Berenice, after the Cyrenaican princess who married Ptolemy III of Egypt. This act effectively ceded the city to Egyptian authority. There are a few excavated remains of Berenice on the northern shore of Benghazi but there is little there to see. Most of ancient Berenice lies beneath the modern city. On the same grounds as the ruins of Berenice, there is an old Italian lighthouse built during their occupation of the city.

Al-Jame' al-Kabir Mosque in downtown Benghazi.

The Romans took control of the city in the 1st century BCE, but by the time the Byzantines arrived, the city was already declining. The Arab invasion of the 7th century did little to revitalize the city, as other ports and trade centers became more favorable. In the 15th century the name Bani Ghazi took hold, which means the sons or descendants of Ghasi, the name of a Bedouin tribe. When the Ottoman Turks took control of the city in 1578, they sought to make the city a center for the collection of taxes, which caused even greater decline among the merchant classes.

Omar Al-Mukhtar's cave in the Jebel al-Akhdar.

In 1911, Italy set up a naval siege of the city, and it was finally subdued in the 1920s. The Italian influence can be seen in the architecture of the city. It was during this period that several groups began an active resistance to the Italians. By 1922, the Sanusi, a regional Muslim group, was the only serious resistance remaining, but it dwindled after constant confrontation with the modern mechanized capability of the Italian military. The Sanusi resistance was particularly effective in the hinterlands of the Jebel al-Akhdar (Green Mountains), where they were led by a tribal shaykh, Sayyid Omar al-Mukhtar. The Italians were particularly brutal in dealing with the local population during this conflict, and many died or were interred in concentration camps. Al-Mukhtar was captured in 1931 and hanged a few days later while 20,000 of his followers were forced to watch. With al-Mukhtar’s death, the resistance collapsed. The movie “Lion of the Desert” has Anthony Quinn playing the role of Omar al-Mukhtar and contains old film footage of the times as well as very interesting period vehicles.

Monument to Gamal Abdel Nasser in downtown Benghazi.

Islamic Call Bldg, the tallest building in Benghazi.

Since that day, al-Mukhtar has become the national hero of Libya, and his portrait can be seen on the LYD 5 bill. During WWII, Benghazi was bombed repeatedly and changed hands several times, but the Italians were eventually driven out.

Traveling to Benghazi

Traveling to other cities inside Libya can be done in one of two ways, either by car or by plane. We decided to fly because of the distance (just under 1,000 km), but getting through the Tripoli Airport can be a challenge. To begin with, the parking area is a random mass of vehicles, and the lines on the pavement appear to serve no practical function. Fortunately, there is a lot of communication and cooperation as people shuffle vehicles in and out. It’s kind of like working on a Rubic’s cube where you slide individual pieces in and out of place to put them in order.

Once inside the building, we waited awhile for the sign for our flight to light up for boarding passes, and when that didn’t happen, Sherri went to the airline office. There were 3 men inside, smoking, and they assured her that the flight was on time. Half an hour later – it was now only an hour before the flight – there was still no information on the board about the flight. Sherri went back to the office where the man who appeared to be in charge said that the flight had been canceled. However, we could take the next one, about 3 hours later. Sherri called our company travel guy who speaks Arabic and got confirmation from him that indeed, the flight had been canceled without notice. The guy at the desk refused to provide anything in writing that showed we really would be allowed on the next flight, but gave several assurances that “It will be fine, Madame.” Given the circumstances, we elected to stay at the airport and wait. And wait. Finally, the board lit up with the right destination and flight number, but it was for Afriqiyyih, not Libyan Airlines. We went to the counter and asked to be seated on the flight. They said that we would have to be on standby because this was a different airline. Never mind that the same guys were working behind the counter, or that both airlines are owned by the Libyan government, or that we had been told we could get on that flight without any problem. Sherri protested exuberantly, called the Arabic travel agent again, and finally, we were given boarding passes.

While we were trying to figure out where to go next (never having flown OUT of this airport), we met some interesting young guys who spoke English, and we made our way to the gate and an uneventful flight. The folks in Benghazi met us as agreed, and all proceeded smoothly from that point on.

Note: At this airport, all the signs and announcements are in Arabic, and the electronic announcement boards containing flight information may not be operative. It is a common occurrence for air carrier personnel to give out differing information on a regular basis. If you are a foreign traveler, be prepared to take the initiative when visiting the Tripoli Airport.  And no, we can't take pictures of airports here.