John Hunwick

In the western World, Libya is best known for its eccentric dictator - Colonel Gaddafi and this is a shame as the country has so much more to offer the visitor. It has some great classical remains, vibrant city life and some of the most unusual prehistoric rock art in the Sahara region.

It does remain a difficult part of the World to visit, but with good preparation a visit should be problem free and well worth the effort. Whilst in the country, you must remember that it is an alcohol free area and the penalties if you are caught are extremely high. You must also remember not to speak too freely about the governing authorities, this is not the west and they do not take kindly to criticism.

The best time to visit is winter and spring when the temperatures are not so high and stay at a moderate level. The summer time brings 30C on the coast and as high as 50C in the desert interior, a little too hot we think!

Health-wise - Malaria is a risk in the extreme south west of the country in the spring/summer time and Schistosomiasis is evident in the rivers and streams, so take care not to swim in them. Again, precautions against sunburn and dehydration should be taken, as the sun can get very hot here, as you can imagine.

Visas and Documents - A visa is needed for travel to Libya for all western citizens and they are not the easiest to obtain as there are not many Libyan Embassies around. Visa applications need to be translated into Arabic and this can be done at the Embassy for a fee. Independent traveller visas are notoriously difficult to get, though things are getting easier.

Cost - Libya is not the cheapest destination in North Africa and the official exchange bureaus do not give a good conversion rate. Unofficial currency changers on the streets offer a much better rate, but you will attempt this at your own risk. The Libyan authorities look dimly on these kinds of “criminal activities”. Daily costs for the budget traveller will have to be at least $80 a day to be realistic; this will include local transport, food and a nights accommodation.

The Sights - Tripoli, the capital of Libya is a fascinating place with some lovely examples of the traditional architecture and culture of the region. Everyone who visits Libya will visit the city for at least a while and this is no bad thing as Tripoli is its heart and it really gives you an inside look into the odd totalitarian regime that runs the country.

There are two famous classical sights in Libya, Leptis Magna was a Roman ruin close to Tripoli and Cyrene is a ruined Greek settlement to the east of Benghazi. Both are captivating day trips and the well preserved sites are refreshing when compared to similar sights across the Mediterranean, which are usually packed with tourists. While the chances are you will share your experience with a tour group, it is still possible to find yourself alone in your exploration, surely a dream for Hellenistic and Roman history buffs.

The superb desert scenery around the country is enough to make you want to visit on its own, the best examples being around Ghadames, a charming Oasis town close to the Tunisian border. The mud brick housing around the town really takes you back to the days of old and is a great place to escape the crowds of the capital.

Further to the south by the Niger and Algeria borders, is the Acacus Mountains which has some of the best prehistoric art in the whole of Africa. Organised tours can be organised in Ghat, the gateway town. Please note permits will need to be organised in Tripoli to visit the extreme south.

Martin Kleis
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/libya-an-alternative-travel-destination-for-the-audacious-traveller-119617.html

There is controversy about keeping the African Grey parrot in captivity with some people even building a chicken coop to keep them in. It is much better to appreciate this lovely bird in the wild. The African Grey Parrot is restricted to the equatorial forest belt from Guinea-Bissau to Kakamega forest in western Kenya. In Uganda, It is found in appropriate habitat across the south of the country, north to Kaniyo Pabidi in Murchison falls protected areas, across the Mabira Forest and Ssese Islands. Different tour companies can organize have guides that can spot this bird.
This beautiful Parrot has two described races or forms which are physically different in appearance, the paler nominate, which is scientifically known as Psittacus erithacus in central east Africa and the darker P.E. timneh in the west with a cline of escalating size from West to East. The sexes are similar, the male becoming darker with age and the young bird is told from an adult by a grey, not yellow iris.
It is a big Parrot, slightly covered in size by the grey headed parrot piocephalus suahelicus (seen only in Uganda at Mgahinga and Bwindi, ruhiza national parks) and usually seen flying overhead in flocks of 2-20, uttering a series of screams, screeches, pops, whistles and croaks. Its demand as a very popular household pet is proving to be the cause of its increasing rarity in the wild, through illegal collecting as well as habitat destruction.
There are only 21 species of parrot in Africa compared to 52 in Australia and 70 in south America.
Traditionally, this species would have been far more wide spread within the forest biome, but the fragmentation of forest cover over its range has reduced it to isolated population in pockets of forest.
In Kampala, we see them usually in the morning and evening coming to and from perch. They are particularly fond of oil palm fruits, of which there are many mature trees in Kampala, planted years ago as ornamental specimens.
Birds flock together at night at traditional communal roost sites(in Gabon traditional roosts of 5-10,000 birds have been recorded!) and depart in the morning to fruiting trees sometimes flying great distances to feed.
Being confined to the equator, it does not have seasonal migration pattern but flies far and wide in response to fruiting trees in different seasons. During the rains it will capitalize on fruiting forest trees not traveling very far, but during the dry season it will often move away from the forest into agricultural areas to feed on maize, causing considerable damage to subsistence crops. It can be seen flying over Lake Victoria between the Sesse Islands and Forest patches in and around Masaka, distances of up to 50km.
African greys nest in large trees, in old growth forests that have plenty of dead wood to support naturally occurring cavities. They will use woodpecker holes and lay 2-4 white eggs.
Parrots are the only birds that have a movable maxilla, the upper bill attached hinge like to the skull. They can exert tremendous power with the bill, which is used to open the more stubborn of nuts and fruit. They have the most remarkable feet, using them not just as other birds do, but as hands to hold food items like a stick of sugar cane in the same way that we way that man would. Instead of normal bird feet, three forward one back, they have two toes pointing forward and two back (Zygodactyls). These feet combined with the bill, which it uses to hold onto branches, enable the bird to climb very well along flimsy branches to reach fruit at the tips, giving it an advantage over other birds its size, which are physically unable to climb in the same way.
Given their impressive natural vocabulary and range of calls, they are very well disposed to pick up new sounds in and around their environment. This is a particular attraction for the bird as a pet, which will imitate everything from cell phone to the toilet being flushed!!
Parrots generally live to a great age the famous sulfur-crested Cockatoo at London zoo lived to 126 years old!!
Without the pressures of survival in the wild, African Greys will live up to 60 years in captivity, and around 40-50 in the wild.
If their breeding habitat is removed, they will be seen mistakenly thriving for years, but not breeding. Eventually the population becomes too old to breed and suddenly over a short period of time dies off.
The main predator, other than man , to prey upon African Grey Parrot is the Black sparrow hawk, the largest of the Accipiter family, sometimes seen around Kampala and Entebbe.. The predator is by nature secretive , ambushing its prey from thick cover. Others include Ayres’s Hawk Eagle and African Harrier Hawk ( or Gymnogene) the latter using its specialized long, double jointed legs to reach into the parrot’s nest-hole to reach the chicks.
With old growth forest severely depleted outside of major reserves, breeding habitat can be simulated in suburban areas. Firewood collection has put great pressure on hole nesting species and those which feed on invertebrates, through the collection of dead wood, which in a forest is as important as live wood.
An exciting activity to experiment with is to install parrot nesting boxes. Anyone in Kampala with a garden having medium to large trees, that attract feeding greys, can try putting up different designs to see if they become occupied.
A basic box shape 250 by 250 cm wide by 600cm long with an entrance hole 12 cm diameter may attract parrots to it. It can also attract bees, so caution is advised as to where it is actually placed. I had a pair of brown parrots nest in a box in Muyenga a Kampala suburb as well as a pair of Burchell’s starling at Kawempe. Black and white casqued Hornbills may also greatly appreciate a tea-chest or beer keg sized nest- box, which they readily take to.
There may be as many as 2000 pet African Greys in Kampala ‘, most having been caught in the wild. Bird breeders who rear African Greys are supposed to fit a closed ring to the leg of the Chick before it grows too big. Therefore an adult with closed ring will probably be a captive bred bird.

Tanah Hadijah
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/the-african-grey-parrot-63994.html

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Tour operators should begin now to gear up for the popularity of Ain Soukhna on the Egyptain Red Sea coast. This destination is no longer simply a destination for travelers in a vw camper van or just for Egyptian familes, it has so much to offer tourists seeking either a primary or secondary beach vacation.

This article is about Egypt a country in North Africa. Large areas of land form part of the Sahara Desert and are sparsely inhabited. Around half of Egypts residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centres.

The location of Ain Soukhna is found along the Egyptain Red Sea coast. It has often been referred to as a town, but is really not. It can be translated as hot spring and the name originates from sulfur springs in Gebal Ataqa, a nearby Eastern Desert mountain.

It is a region that stretches from just south of Suez down the coast for about sixty kilometres, and mostly consists of a port along with a series of resort complexes, with a few independent restaurants, gas stations and other facilities scattered along the coastal road.

It seems only natural for this region to be so developed, considering that it represents the closest beaches to Cairo, one of the largest cities in the world. It is a leisurely two hour drive from Cairo and when a new highway that is currently under construction is completed, the ride will probably take only an hour.

Traditionally, it is a purely Egyptian retreat, only recently becoming an international destination. In fact, most of the the resort complexes consist mainly of vacation villas owned by upper and upper middle class Egyptians. However, many though certainly not all of the complexes also provide hotel accommodation. As an international tourist destination, Ain Soukhna makes considerable sense particularly if a beach vacation is secondary to other tourism. A well arranged tour around Ain Soukhna could allow a visit to the Suez Canal and the Eastern Desert.

Accommodation involves four and five star hotels. Only a few years ago it would not have been capable of really accommodating large tour groups with good facilities, but today, that no longer applies. There are at least two very fine, large resorts with others under construction. Besides the hotels, there are also many fine private villas within the compound. Common facilities include just about every beach activity one might imagine.

Entertainment including a soon to be completed golf course. It actually has one of the largest and finest Spa and therapeutic centres in the Middle East. In addition, there are currently, spread between the two hotels, seven restaurants, and about four bars, though just outside the complex we also noted a KFC and Pizza Hut.

Douglas Scott
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/ain-soukhna-along-the-red-sea-113048.html

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