After a series of delays, caused first by rocky seas in the Mediterranean, and then by the Libyan authorities (of which more another time), my excursion from Benghazi to the ancient city of Cyrene finally set off.
Originally we were supposed to leave at 8.30am but our arrival in Benghazi had to be rescheduled when we lost time rocking across from Alexandria. As the morning ticked on, it was delayed again and again, until morning became afternoon and the authorities just ran out of reasons why we shouldn't set foot ashore.
So five hours after the original time we were supposed to leave and more than three and a half hours after the rescheduled one (if you're still with me), we were finally on our way.
A quick aside. As we passed the morning reminiscing about the bumpy crossing the day before, one woman revealed she made the mistake of saying she didn't think they got such bad weather in the Med. Apparently that was the cue for the "I remember when..." brigade to pop up - something they do with alarming regularity on Minerva.
But more of life on board this Swan Hellenic ship another day.
Mohammed, our guide, was very apologetic for the delay, said a few words about Libya's coastline and then did the unthinkable. Sat back and said almost nothing until we arrived at the site. In fact, he was at a total loss when one person asked if he could tell us about life in Libya. I was not alone in thinking the trip was going to be a disaster.
We were all wrong. As soon as we got to Cyrene, Mohammed (pictured below) came alive. He told me he was involved in the excavation work there for 40 years, in between working at the university, and was passionate and knowledgeable about everything to do with Greek and Roman archaeology.
He taught himself English - and Italian and a bit of French - because they don't teach any languages in school and now, having had to retire (62 and you're out in Libya), he takes the few tourists who get to Libya around the site.
Leptis Magna is the best-known Roman site in Libya, and we will be visiting there in a couple of days, but Cyrene has to be a very close second.
I won't go into the historical detail as you can look that up, but in a nutshell it was built by Greeks from Santorini, taken over by the Romans, destroyed during a Jewish uprising, rebuilt and destroyed again in an earthquake in 365AD which destroyed all the cities along the North African coast, which sank four metres.
The site is huge - and they have only excavated 20% of it - and there are some fascinating remains to see. Temples, columns, a huge gymnasium, which was built as a forum by the Romans, theatres, amphitheatres. Below is the Gymnasium, which became the Forum under the Romans, the running track, overlooked by the gods, and me with one of the remaining statues. Mohammed said they reckon up to 25,000 people once lived here.
What was as fascinating for me, though, was the three-hour drive there from the port, which gave just a small glimpse of life in Libya. Good roads, hardly any cars, no road signs (I am intrigued as to how anyone finds their way around), no arrows to indicate a bend or roundabout (so how do they know what to do), and just two pairs of traffic lights - and they weren't working.
As I am walking around the site, a voice in my ear says, "I remember when..." As I said, they pop up everywhere.
Jane Archer
