Libya - 7 October 2010 (2)

To Susa

Most unusually for Libya, several other tour buses descended on the Ptolomeia site, so we got back on the bus as quickly as possible to avoid the other tourists.  We headed on to Q’sar Libya, where there were two Byzantine churches with extensive mosaics.   For me, the highlight of the visit came after I had emerged from a brief look at the western church.  I sat on a chair and watched a male chaffinch fly down to a nearby tap and have a drink from the drips.

We walked through the pine forest to the eastern church.  The mosaics had been removed and taken to the site museum where they were displayed in groups of five to match the rows in the church.  They were nice mosaics and were well preserved, but we had seen lots elsewhere of much better quality.

Wadi Al-Kuf

Our final stop of the day was stunning.  The road ran over a bridge which crossed the very deep gorge of the Wadi Al-Kuf.  We got out of the bus and overcame feelings of vertigo to look down at the gorge and take photos.  I loved it.

Wadi Al-Kuf

Then we headed on to Susa, with a quick stop at a supermarket to buy water.  Caroline and I bought two litres of water each plus some peach juice and I paid with a D20 note.  The cashier gave me D18 change, but then insisted that Caroline take D2 as well.  So that was extremely cheap.  We also had another visit to a chemist because Heuly and Sue had sore throats.

Dog in the Middle of the Road

We had two nights in the Al-Manara Hotel, which was right next to the sea and the site of Apollonia.  It was one of the better hotels of the trip.  Soon after reaching our room, Caroline and I went onto the balcony and looked out at the sea and the ruins.  Two dogs were sleeping in the road below and it was quite funny watching the vehicles try to avoid them.  The dogs scarcely even lifted their heads.  But then some teenage boys came back from a swim.  One of them went up to a dog, who wagged her tail and seemed pleased to see him.  But then he started to kick sand at her in a display of unwarranted bullying.

Dinner in the hotel that evening was a buffet.  I went down as I really needed to eat something.  There was nothing much that I could eat, but they did have some mashed potato.  I just took a plateful of that and it was really welcome.  From then on, I had a huge craving for more mashed potato and, for a long time after I got back to the UK, I virtually lived off potatoes.