Culture of Libya
Once an isolated society, Libyans succeeded in preserving their traditional folk customs alive today, now recognized by many as the most "pure" extant form of Arab culture found outside the Arabian Peninsula.
[2] In February 2011, when the Libyan revolution took place, the national Transition Council reintroduced the old flag used by the kingdom prior to Gaddafi’s military coup in 1969.
Contemporary Libyan artists, including Suhaib Tantoush, Mohammed Basheer, Shefa Salem, and Abdullah Hadia.
Due to their nation's ongoing development, Suhaib Tantoush is an example of Libyan art that speaks to the struggles that its people endure.
This may be observed in his caricature, where he captures the day-to-day hardships of Libyans—such as long waiting lines, blackouts, and post-conflict crises—and so recalls the national struggle.
Prominent artists from the country included Mohamed Zwawi(1936 - 5 June 2011), a pioneer of Libyan cartoons whose lighthearted depictions of daily life have featured in publications like at-Tawra and Al Amal.
However, Libya at this time developed its own literary tradition, centred on oral poetry, much of which expressed the suffering brought about by the Italian colonial period.
Libyan literature began to bloom in the late 1960s, with the writings of Sadeq al-Neihum, Khalifa al-Fakhri, Khamel al-Maghur (prose), Muhammad al-Shaltami, and Ali al-Regeie (poetry).
Some measure of dissent began to be expressed in Libyan literature, but books remained censored and self-censored to a significant extent.
With the overthrow of Gaddafi's government in the Libyan Civil War, literary censorship was abolished, and Article 14 of the interim constitution guarantees "liberty of the press, publication and mass media".
Émigré writers have also contributed significantly to Libyan literature, and include Ibrahim Al-Kouni, Ahmad Al-Faqih, and Sadeq al-Neihum.
[3] Olives, palm oil, dates, unleavened bread, and stuffed sweet peppers appear frequently in meals.
Libyans do not consume any type of pork and all meats must be halal (killed humanely and prayed over according to Muslim customs).
Attention to detail in Libyan cooking is very important; in fact, many spices are used in all the dishes and they need to be put in by the right amounts to enrich the taste.
It is considered to be an important dish in Ramadan, where people usually break their fast with soup (after having a glass of milk and a couple of dates).
[10] The flour is boiled in salted water to make a hard dough, then is kneaded into a semi-spherical ball and placed in the middle of a large bowl (women sit on the floor and hold the pan between their legs while using a wooden ladle to mix and kneed the dough to its solid and thick consistency), around which the sauce is poured.
[7] Another type of Bazin is called ‘Aish’ or ‘Aseeda’ which basically follows the same concept of the Bazzin except it is made with pure white flour, has a smoother and softer texture and is eaten sweet by adding honey, syrup or on some occasions powdered sugar.
Aish is normally eaten as breakfast or on special occasions, like when a baby is born or ‘Maylood’, (Mohammed’s birth date).
On top of that, women wear brightly colored cloths are made into dresses like togas and held together by silver brooches.
The large silver brooches used to attach the cloth are now replaced with gold and are usually decorated with a “Khamaisah”, a hand shaped symbol, or other charms that are believed to keep the evil eye off.
Specific recordings of music in the Tamazight language became quite popular among western Libyans during and after the 2011 revolution, and seen through networks that extended into Tunisia and the larger Maghreb area.
[4] Throughout the 42-year dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, western music was outlawed in Libya, and non-Arabic instruments were burned in public places all around the country.
[13] Government control over the media has resulted in much of the population preferring to entertain itself by watching videos or foreign stations via satellite.
[14] two administrations have been fighting for political control in Libya: one is headquartered in Tripoli (west) and is led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, while the other is in the east and is backed by Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
