It borders the Mediterranean Sea in the north and shares borders with Egypt to the east, Chad and Niger to the south, Sudan to the southeast and both Algeria and Tunisia to the west.

Ninety percent of the country is desert and its size makes it the fourth largest country in Africa.

Its capital is Tripoli, with a population of 1.7 million people. Libya’s total population is 5.7 million people.

There are three traditional parts of the country: Fezzan, Cyrenaica and Tripolitania.

See also

• Historical tours of Libya
• Libyan culture

Just west of Tripoli are Roman ruins of a large theater sitting in the sand. This is when the Greeks and the Romans inhabited the area.

The Roman Emperor Septimus Severus built an arch around AD 200 in Leptis Magna that can be seen in the northern part of Libya. Greek archeological sites can be found that date back to around 600 BC.

Libya has few theaters or art galleries and public entertainment is not a part of their culture, even in big cities. There are a few private art galleries and traditional folk cultural experiences are possible.

There are a few cinemas showing foreign films and traditional Tuareg music and dance are popular with the Ghadames culture in the south. Television programs are almost entirely in Arabic with the exception of daily half hour news programs in English and French.

Even so, the government maintains strict control over all forms of media in Libya. For beachgoers, there are lovely beaches. Tripoli has several museums and archives for those interested in archeology.