Tripoli,
the capital of Libya, was in a position to help protect American
ships from attack by Barbary pirates in the 19th century (since,
after all, some of them were based there!) By paying protection
to the Sultan, the U.S. ships sailed the Mediterranean unmolested.
When the price went up, the two countries went to war, twice, in
what came to be known as the Barbary Wars.
In Libya’s entire history, it only had one King. King Idris
reigned from 1951 until he was overthrown by Colonel Gaddafi (also
spelled Qadhafi) in 1969.
During the latter years of Gaddafi’s regime, the country’s
full official name was the “Great Socialist People’s
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya”.
Although an Islamic nation today, Libya was an early Christian center
historically.
Currently at least two political groups have set up governments
for Libya, but only one of them is recognized as legitimate by the
rest of the world. The fighting and instability in the country/region
was responsible for the deaths of almost 1,800 migrants fleeing
several countries in North Africa. They died trying to cross the
Mediterranean Sea to Europe in the summer of 2015.
Libya’s 1,770 kilometers (1099 miles) of Mediterranean Sea
coast is the longest of any North African country.
The area of the Mediterranean Sea north of Libya is frequently called
the Libyan Sea.
Much of the central and eastern area of the country is covered by
the Libyan Desert. The Libyan Desert is one of the most sun-baked
and arid places on earth. There is no average rainfall — the
land may go for decades with no rain and the highlands for five
to ten years without it.
North of the mountains of Jebel Uweinat the Libyan plain is dotted
with eroded volcanic features. This area also contains the Arkenu
structures, thought at one time to be two meteorite impact craters.
When oil was discovered in the 1950s, an enormous aquifer underneath
much of Libya was also found. This aquifer’s water pre-dates
the last ice ages.
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