Present-day Libyans descend almost entirely from the Arabian incursion of the 11th century AD, with a few black Africans from the south and indigenous Berbers in the west. Although traditionally the rural people have been nomadic shepherds, since the discovery of oil there has been a drift into the towns. Once one of Italy's few colonies, Libya was occupied by the British and French during World War II. Under the United Nations' direction, the country was granted full independence in 1951. In 1969, a military coup, led by Colonel Muammar al-Gadhafi, occurred that not only radically altered Libyan politics, but brought the country to world attention. Domestically, Gadhafi embarked on the so-called Green Revolution (this was before the colour had become unequivocally associated with the worldwide environmental movement), whose ultimate aim is the creation of a Jamahiriya – literally a 'state of the masses'.

Following the Libyan government's political and practical support for a variety of revolutionary and terrorist groups, and its complicity in various acts of terrorism in the West, Libya became ostracised from the international community. The most serious of these were the destruction of two airliners: one French over the Sahara in 1987, the other American over the Scottish town of Lockerbie the following year. The West's response was to impose economic sanctions and to engage in a series of attempts to dispose of Gadhafi, all of which have failed. The Libyan government has now made some reparations for its alleged misdeeds. By 2003, almost all sanctions had been lifted. Libya had opened up a number of new channels to the West. The most important of these is with Italy, with which Libya has important historic and economic links.

Just emerging from years of international isolation, Libya's beauty and diversity are still relatively unknown and, as a result, the country remains largely unspoilt by tourism. Visitors will enjoy exploring the bustling souks and Italian streets and squares of Tripoli and will be amazed by the spectacular remains of the Roman cities of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, testaments to ancient civilisations. They will also have plenty of opportunity to travel through the vast Saharan desert and camp amongst great sand seas, while appreciating Berber hospitality in Western Libya.