Libya

Check travel advice. Most governments advise against all travel

The advisory position first: the UK Foreign Office and most Western equivalents advise against all travel to Libya. The country has been unstable since 2011, with rival governments, armed militias and a real risk of kidnapping and arbitrary detention. Consular support is unavailable. This page is reference material.

Libya has some of the finest Roman remains anywhere. Leptis Magna, birthplace of the emperor Septimius Severus, is among the best preserved Roman cities in the world, with a basilica, theatre and forum standing in near isolation on the Mediterranean coast. Sabratha has a three-storey theatre facade facing the sea.

Cyrene, in the east, was a major Greek colony with a sanctuary of Apollo. Ghadames, near the Algerian border, is a UNESCO-listed oasis town of covered white passages designed to keep out the heat. And the Acacus Mountains in the southwest hold rock art spanning twelve thousand years, showing a Sahara that was once green and full of animals.

Annual events and festivals

• Eid al-Fitr (varies) — the main holiday in a Muslim-majority country.
• Eid al-Adha (varies) — the second Eid, widely observed.
• Ramadan (varies) — strictly observed nationwide.
• Mawlid (varies) — the Prophet birthday, historically marked with large celebrations.
• Revolution Day (17 Feb) — marks the 2011 uprising.
• Independence Day (24 Dec) — marks 1951 independence.
• Ghadames date harvest (Sep-Oct) — a traditional oasis festival.
• Amazigh new year, Yennayer (Jan) — celebrated by Berber communities in the west.
• Tuareg gatherings, Ghat (varies) — desert festivals in the southwest.
• Martyrs Day (16 Sep) — honouring resistance to Italian colonisation.