Jamon, jamon......

Hi there Folks

Well, it has been a while since I have added anything and I am happy to say that it is because we have been so busy!!

The Desert Rat has been back in the Land of Oz and I know he enjoyed catching up with many people whilst there. In the meantime, I spent a couple of weeks travelling around Spain with a friend who had never been there before. It was a great opportunity for me to explore a few new places but also revisit some old faves.

We started in Barcelona – a city that I don’t know that well as when the Desert Rat and I were there a few years ago, I spent most of my time in the hotel with a nasty case of salmonella (picked up in Germany). Anyway, Barcelona is a very cool city. Lots of great architecture, fantastic museums and galleries and of course some great places to enjoy fine Spanish cuisine and wines:

Jamon stall at the market

Roy Lichtenstein Sculture near the seafront:

Winding Street in the Gothic Area

Looking over Barcelona

La Familia Segrada Cathedral (Gaudi's Last Work)

More work by Gaudi

A message on the footpath

After a few days we caught the train down to Valencia to check out the oranges, the Med, the market (Desert Rat’s favourite Spanish market) and most importantly the paella.

The Valencia Market

Paella Lunch:

Before...

After...

Funky Modern Valencian Architecture

Our next stop was Granada – home of the Alhambra, an UNESCO World Heritage site that began life as a Moorish fortress / palace / settlement in the 9th Century and which was later conquered by the Catholics. The result is a mixture of the most stunning Islamic architecture (Palacio Nazaries and Generalife), beautiful gardens, panoramic views of Granada and a huge Renaissance palace (which would be amazing anywhere else but one can’t but wish the king had kept to the Islamic theme). Words can not describe how stunning the Palacio Nazaries (the Moorish palace) is and is absolutely worth making a trip to Granada for. A hot tip for travellers though – they only let a certain number of tourists into the Palacio Nazaries per day and each person is allocated is a half hour slot during which they are allowed to enter. Make sure you read the time of that slot or you will end up running frantically to get in and nearly missing your time slot (Shame, Sahara Girl, Shame!)!!! Other hot tip, is not to drop your camera on the floor in the Palacio as it is quite hard and can bust your camera!!

Looking over to the Alhambra

Inside the Palacio Nazaries

Generalife

View from the Alhambra

After Granada, we headed up to Madrid, a place I hold very dear to my heart. We spent a few days looking around, eating well and soaking in the ambience of such a great city. Highlights included the Jamon Iberico (ham made from pigs that live in the mountains and eat acorns), the Pimientos Padron (small green chillies deep fried and covered in salt), wines from the Rioja, chorizo (Spicy Spanish sausage) fantastic coffee and some amazing pastries. Of course it wasn’t all about food, and we did manage to take in the two main art galleries, the Royal Palace and other sites.

We also went on a day trip to Segovia, one of my favourite places in the world. The Desert Rat and I have been there so many times and have taken many visitors so I have the ‘Perfect Day’ all sorted. This entails:

- 90 minute bus ride from Madrid

- Viewing the Roman Aquaduct

- Walking through the old walled city

- Checking out the magnificent Gothic cathedral

- Doing a tour of the Alcazar – a fairy tale castle built on a high ridge and with a rich history
- Lunch (more on this below)

- Walking around the base of the ridge to get the ‘money shot’ of the Alcazar (as above) and visiting my favourite church – the Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, built by the Knights Templar in the 13th Century. - Back to Madrid on the bus

Lunch is absolutely something to behold. Each town in Spain has its own gastronomic specialty and in Segovia it is Cochinillo Asado (Roast Suckling Pig). Sorry the picture is a bit blurry - flash didn't work due to above mentioned dropping of camera at the Alhambra!!

I can not tell you how good it is (except to say I am drooling while just thinking about it) and is an absolute must for anyone who likes roast animals!!! My perfect day had a small glitch as when we turned up at the restaurant that we ALWAYS go to for the Cochinillo Asado, they had taken it off the menu!!! What were they thinking? Luckily, I had been recommended another restaurant by a Spanish woman I know here so we headed back down to the base of the Aquaduct and had a fine pork meal at the Meson de Candido (restaurant can be seen in photo of Aquaduct above).

So there ends my Spanish adventure. The Desert Rat and I are now both back in Tripoli, though are hoping to head over to Rome next week for a few days. After that, I am heading off to Houston for a conference and New Orleans to catch up with our good friends Gator Girl and Swamp Boy. So stay posted….

Love to Youse All

Sahara Gal

Merry Christmas

The Desert Rat and I wish you all a very merry Christams and prosperous new Year. We are heading over to Scotland next week to spend it with the Rat's family, including our new little nephew who was born last week. We have lots of travel planned next year so stay posted for more musings in the Camel Diaries. Needless to say, my new years resolution is to be a little more regualar with posting our photos and stories, especially as there are a few people who (not so) gently remind me if they haven't seen anything new in the Diaries for a while!! I think my greatest challenge in keeping this resolution will be technology - our home internet connection had been steadily getting slower over the last few weeks and last night a storm has completely knocked out our phone line.

Anyway, we wish you much cheer for the festive season

Love from Sahara Gal and Desert Rat
xxxx

Lest We Forget

Two ceremonies were held in Libya to commemorate Rememberance Day. On the Friday before the 11th, the Desert Rat had the opportunity to fly to Tobruk for the ceremony there. The special guest at that ceremony was Prince Andrew.

Tobruk War Cemetry:

On the Friday after Rememberance Day, we both went to the ceremony at the Tripoli Commonwealth War Cemetry. I must say that both of us found it very moving - seeing the actual graves of the men and women who died really brought the futility of war home to us. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains each of the war cemetries and both are very well kept. The Commission will also put wreaths and messages on individual graves on behalf of the families that can not do so themselves. We read a few messages which talked about how much the person buried here in North Africa was still very much missed by people back home some 60 odd years later. I must admit, both of us were a little choked at times, especially when we thought about how young these men were when they died. Some of the graves are for unknown soldiers and you can not but feel so terribly sad for them and their families who may have never known for sure where their loved ones ended their days.

Tripoli War Cemetry:

Land of the Romans

About an hour east of Tripoli lies the ruins of a Roman town called Leptis Magna. It is one of 3 coastal towns that the Romans once inhabited. Thanks to it being covered by sand dunes over many hundreds of years, the town has been preserved and is now one of the major tourist destinations in Libya. The Desert Rat and I recently visited the site. It is quite amazing - firstly as it is so big - have a look on google maps - and secondly because of the detail. It was quite an important site in North Africa during Roman times.

Arch of Septimus Severus - he was a local boy done good. Septimus Severus was the first North African born Roman emperor.

Road at Leptis

Who reads Ancient Roman?

The most important part of town - the communal dunnies!!

The Theatre at Leptis

One of a series of faces found in the Forum

Wine Bar in the Forum (mmm.... wine!!)

Pillars in the bath area

Now I don't think the detail is too over the top - we are thinking of getting some carving done in the Camel House!!!

One of the most amazing things at the Leptis Magna site is a couple of kilometres out of the actual town (eastwards). The circus where they used to have the gladiator fights and which has been beautifully preserved and restored in part. We came in from the top and climbed down to the centre, where you can still see the trap doors in the floor and can walk through the tunnels from where they brought the wild animals. It was an amazing experience. You can see this on Google Maps too -

From

Sahara Gal!!

A Sahara Adventure

Hi Folks

Sorry it has been a while since we last posted stuff in The Camel Diaries but between exams, losing our phone line for a while and general business, it has been hard to find a moment to put some words down.

Anyway, enough excuses…

There are lots of things to write about since the last post from Malta. About a week after that trip, the Desert Rat and I headed down to the Fezzan region in southern Libya with some friends on a tour of the desert. If I had to describe the experience in one word, all I would need to say is AWESOME!

We flew from Tripoli to Sabha on the Thursday night after work. In the morning we got up and drove off in a line of 4 wheel drives. There were 4 cars all together – three carrying us and one kitchen car. There were eight of us, 4 drivers, a cook, a guide and a tourist policeman (you are not allowed to travel outside of the Tripoli area without an escort due to a few years ago some idiot tourists tried to leave the country carrying some rock art they had chiselled off the side of a cliff wall – cheers guys!).
The first stop was in Germa, to see an ancient town that has been there since at least the first century. All that is left are some mud brick walls that are eroding away but you can get a good feel for what it must have been like.

After Germa we continued our drive south-west and began our trip off-road into the desert. We camped each night – getting to the site before dark in time to pitch our tent. We were very spoilt in that each night the cook made us a hearty dinner and all we had to do was wait around to be served!! Our after dinner activities each night usually involved a scramble up a sand dune to watch the stars.

Each day after breakfast, we headed off – the drivers know the area like the back of their hand. How they knew which sand dune to turn at or which tyre tracks in the sand to follow, I will never know!!

One of the reasons that tourists are drawn to this are is the rock art. This can be paintings or carvings and archaeologists have determined that some are as old as 10,000 years. The pictures illustrate a time when the Fezzan area was a fertile savannah where wild animals roamed and people kept domesticated cattle. The Romans used to trade with the locals, buying the lions and tigers etc for the Gladiator fights. The art is found on the rock faces of the hills with the best ones sheltered from the elements. It is just amazing – most you can go right up to, though they seem to be now fencing some of the more important sites off to protect them from people touching them. Some examples of rock art:

A ledge on which we saw some rock art

Did I mention the scenery was spectacular?

Now, The Camel Diaries would be incomplete without some camels. We came across a few on this trip, both wild and tamed. For the adventurous folk out there, you can go on guided tours, leaving the cars behind and going on a camel instead.

We spent some time in the Murzuq Sand Sea. You know how in primary school you learn about what a desert is, and pictures of massive sand dunes in the Sahara are shown. Well, this was it! I had to pinch myself a few times to remind myself that I really was in the Sahara Desert!!

On the second to last day we went into Wadi Methkandoush where the main rock carvings are. They show how animals such as elephants and rhinos, giraffes, monkeys and even crocodiles lived here once.

We then drove up to Ubari Sand Sea which is special as there is a series of lakes. One is fresh but the rest are extremely salty. They are all beautiful and there is a little community living there.

I hope these photos have given you some idea about how beautiful southern Libya is. The Desert Rat and I feel extremely privileged to have the opportunity to see such amazing sights.

Until next time....

Sahara Gal