All the way to the EAST...

Having had enough of the west and in need of some air, last weekend I decided to head off to the East..... Initially the plan was to explore Benghazi... however, a Libyan/Greek friend of mine...Nour who was working in Sirt at that time decided to whisk me off to Jebel Akhdar in English meaning Green Mountains (another Green thing added to the Green list in Libya).

On Thursday night I caught the dodgy Libyan plane 1000km east from Tripoli.... all the way to Benghazi where Nour took me to Bajda (200km) out of Benghazi.... a little village in the middle of the Green Mountains. We
crashed at his friends villa, where we 'enjoyed' a freezing night as well as amazingly good chicken and lamb kebabs.

Friday was amazing...... we went out to explore the east. We headed off to explore the old city and green ruins of Cyrene in Shahat...... the scenery was amazing.... a nice mix of Greek ruins, mountains and sea...... what more could you wish for.....

Amazing Greek Ruins.......

So we spent the day driving around; from Shahat to Sousa... where apparently Cleopatra used to enjoy her luxury swims..... to Ras Hillal where we climbed the mountains to discover an amazing waterfall and spring.... and finally Derna....

Breath taking views.... which also somehow reminded me of Malta..... ahh how I love the Mediterranean.... I don't think I could ever live far from it!!!

The day was relaxing, the scenery was breathtaking and Libya has definitely more to offer than one can imagine.....

While exploring the Green Mountains we found nice friendly Libyans having a picnic.... unlike our picnics where we usually take ready cooked food, they take the live Goat, kill it and BBQ it!!! They invited us for lunch but we had to rush off to see more!!!

My men!!!! I made friends with the guys around........ the guys in the baker turned out to be Egyptians from Alexandria so we had a nice conversation with memories of Alex.......

The evening was spent enjoying a coffee in a cafe built into a cave and a cosy evening laughter and movies.....

Cafe in a Cave!!! Awsome!!! I want one of these in Tripoli.....

Saturday, the plan was explore Benghazi then head off with a late flight home. However Nour, unexpectedly, had to be back into Tripoli, so we hit the road and drove 1290Km to the West past Sirt and into Tripoli....... Although a long drive, we still had a good laugh..... we stopped at cafe's, drove through the desert, avoided camels and cows who would all of a sudden decide they want to cross the street...... and dance and sing to Arabic and English pop music......

Zebra Crossing or not, traffic lights or not....Give way to the Cows.... or you've had it!!!.

Another awsome Cafe, Nour is sitting in the King's place.... apparently....

The trip was very much needed, as it gave me the opportunity to clear my mind, to discover the undiscovered and to learn more about Libyan history, culture and people......

Enjoying the view all the way from East to West

The next plan is a trip down south to the amazing to the jewel of the Sahara....