Libya Shopping Tips by TheWanderingCamel Top 5 Page for this destination

Roadside shops: Gharyan ceramics

Situated about 2 hour's drive south of Tripoli, Gharyan is known for two things - its troglodyte houses (closed for Eid when I was there) and its pottery, sold from the shops and stalls that line the Triploi/Gharyan road and most definitely open for business every day. Stall after stall along the road displays a huge stock and variety of household pottery of every description from huge bowls (not perhaps the easiest thing to fit in a suitcase), platters, tagines, jugs and ewers, lidded jars and casseroles, sets of bowls and plates ... you name it, you'll find it somewhere.

What to buy: Pottery's not my idea of the ideal thing to buy when travelling but it's hard to resist these - there is just so much to choose from. I didn't succumb, but MrL had been there before me and had - and he did choose wisely. I have some lovely wide, shallow bowls that I use a lot and two panels of tiles that I've had mounted on felt-backed wood - they make perfect hot plate stands for the table and they're in use every single day.

What to pay: Panels of 6 tiles will cost you no more than 5-10LD, and apart from really big pieces or sets of bowls, you'll find 10LD is enough to buy yourself something nice.

Theme: Local Craft

Roadside stalls: Local produce

All along the road from Tripoli to Leptis Magna you'll find small fresh fruit and vegetable stands - some selling a variety of produce, others with just whatever is in seasonal abundance - beautiful oranges when we were there in December, other fruit at different times of the year and, always melons in late summer. They're a great place to stop and pick up some fresh fruit to take along with you for a snack at Leptis - the food options there are restricted to the site restaurant and a couple of small teahouses.

There are also lots of honey stalls, the golden honey glowing in its jars in the sunlight. It's delicious, but it's not really cheap (about 10LD a kilo) and you need to be aware that you may not be allowed to take it into your home country - honey is a strictly banned import in many places around the world. You might like to try the date juice (tarbuni) instead - this could be a foodie-fad to rival the pomegranate juice that seems to have become one of the foodies' favourites of late - it's delicious.

Theme: Other