During March and April of 2006 I traveled to Libya to see a total eclipse of the sun. The tour was in two parts. The first was the eclipse and tours of the ancient ruins around Tripoli (in particular the ancient Roman ruins of Sabratha and Leptus Magna). The second was a camping trip deep into the Sahara desert.
I was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming nature of the Libyan people who have been cut off from the western world for so long. Of course it was a somewhat strange place for a westerner. No alcohol – I would have killed for a beer. Outside of Tripoli the women were largely hidden (at least from us), though in Tripoli and environs women were much more visible and approachable (hence some of the photos in this gallery).
For photographs of the eclipse see my eclipse gallery.
Check out the following websites for more photos of our Saharan camping trip and the eclipse, including videos taken by world-renowned eclipse videographer David Makepeace.
http://www.eclipseguy.com/pages/newframeset.htm
http://www.jookjoint.ca/libya/libya_links.htm