( CNN ) Following Libya 's revolution , oil production has been restored and the country has slipped from the front pages . Once more , Libya has become North African rather than southern Mediterranean , and news dispatches surface only when Western government 's worst fears appear close to being realized . As most Libyans admit that after four-plus decades of Moammar Gadhafi , it will take time to build a mature democracy . Yet Libyans remain hopeful that progress is being made . For travelers , this means a renewed opportunity to explore one of Africa 's most interesting states . 1 . It 's vast and empty . At 679,362 square miles , Libya is second in size only to neighboring Algeria among North African countries . It 's two and a half times bigger than Texas , almost 85 times the size of Wales and 90 % desert . Libya 's population is small , just more than 6 million , more than 80 % inhabiting the coastal region . More than half of that is concentrated in the just three cities -- Tripoli , Benghazi and Misrata . For first-time visitors , an itinerary based on Tripoli and Benghazi , with day excursions from each city and a connecting domestic flight , makes most sense . Simoon Travel ( +44 020 978 0508 ; www.simoontravel.com ) or Temehu ( www.temehu.com ) are two tour agencies worth knowing . 2 . Road travel is exciting but hazardous . By car , the 600-mile journey along the coast between Tripoli and Libya 's second city , Benghazi , takes around 12 hours . Heading south from Tripoli to the ancient Berber trading town of Ghadames is an eight or nine hour slog , while the Ubari Lakes in the southern desert region of Fezzan lie some 13 hours from Tripoli . As well as recalcitrant camels , encroaching dunes , sand storms and wildly unpredictable driving conditions and drivers , the insecurity of postrevolutionary Libya demands travelers ' full attention before any overland journey . The revolution saw the collapse of many commercial bus services , though these were off-limits to foreigners anyway . Car rental companies such as Sixt ( www.sixt.com ) and Hertz ( www.hertz.co.uk ) are building a Libyan presence , though locations are limited and unless you 're used to what might be called `` ebullient '' traffic , you may want to take a back seat . Stifling Gadhafi-era group travel restrictions no longer exist , but for tourists with limited time , complicated land explorations are best made through tour operators utilizing their vehicles and drivers . 3 . There 's no drinking ( except there is ) The `` Free Officers '' of Gadhafi 's 1969 coup d'etat banned alcohol , and there 's no chance of change . Despite public conservatism , however , Libyans close to a suitable land border are no strangers to losing themselves in a foreign bar , and regular cross-border traffic means lots of illicit alcohol enters the country from Egypt and Tunisia . It 's an open secret that cars of young men parked in out-of-the-way places are often de facto drinking dens . As well as smuggled booze , a drink known as bokha , distilled from dates , figs or grapes , is widely consumed . Unfortunately , some misguided producers add methanol to increase potency . In March 2013 , a batch of bad bokha claimed 52 lives in Tripoli -- one reason to stay on the straight and narrow and stick to sweet tea and strong coffee . 4 . The ATMs do n't work . Plastic cards can not be relied upon , either to pay bills or get money from ATMs or banks . Functioning ATMs can be counted on one hand , and credit card payments for goods and services are almost unknown outside Tripoli . As a result it 's not uncommon to see large , tightly bound bricks of dinars exchanged as a matter of course . Those accustomed to cashless card-driven lifestyles may feel uncomfortable when carrying large quantities of banknotes . Despite recent high-profile outrages perpetrated by militias , religious ideologues or both , crimes against individuals such as muggings and thefts are rare . And in commerce , Libyans are straightforward and honest to a fault . 5 . Gas is cheaper than water . Filling the tank of an average car costs around six dinars ( $ 4.76 ) , while a liter bottle of water from a cafe costs one dinar ( $ 0.80 ) . Libyan oil production has returned to prerevolution levels of 1.6 million barrels a day . The country 's known reserves are the largest in Africa and fourth-largest in the world -- sufficient for 85 years at the present output . It 's a constant refrain among the postrevolutionary populace , however , that `` Libya is a rich country but the people are poor . '' Walking around the neglected , crumbling streets of Benghazi , a city that has seen little investment since World War II , one can only wonder where the oil revenues were spent . Economic prospects for Libya may about to improve . The World Bank estimates 16 % to 18 % growth in GDP for 2013 , the International Monetary Fund suggests nearer 20 % . 6 . It 's not all sand . Jebel Akhdar ( Green Mountain ) is an achievable day-trip from Benghazi , a good reminder that Libya is n't all desert . Quite literally , the trip provides a breath of fresh air . Relatively high rainfall means these uplands live up to their name -- fields yield healthy cereal crops and orchards produce succulent fruit , while Libya 's luckiest sheep graze rolling green hillside pastures . Italian colonial farmhouses , under new management , are still visible , as are abandoned railway stations ( trains have long since ceased operations ) . 7 . Omar Mukhtar has replaced Gadhafi as a symbol . Before the revolution , Moammar Gadhafi portrait was everywhere in Libya . Without turning your head , it was easy to reach double figures when counting reproductions of his all-seeing image . Now they 're gone , often replaced by images of an elderly man in white robes -- Omar Mukhtar . Who is he ? Beginning in 1912 and lasting for almost 20 years , Italian imperial designs on Libya were resisted by a determined local insurgency led by Mukhtar . His bands of fighters utilized guerrilla tactics and superior knowledge of the terrain to ambush Italian columns . Opposition was quelled only when a 73-year-old Mukhtar was captured and executed by Italian armed forces in 1931 . Despite attempting to co-opt Mukhtar 's legacy as a nationalist hero , Gadhafi ultimately felt threatened by the sheikh and had his body removed from its tomb in the center of Benghazi to an out-of-the-way rural town about 37 miles away . Gadhafi was right to be worried . Omar Mukhtar remained an inspiration to modern revolutionaries , and in 2011 , his battle cry of `` We will win or we will die '' was heard once more . 8 . It 's filled with Greco-Roman heritage . Eighty miles east of Tripoli , Leptis Magna was the hometown of Roman Emperor Septimus Severus . Even those prone to chronic attacks of temple fatigue ca n't fail to be wowed by the grandeur of its ruins . The site is vast and well-preserved , though to date only one third has been excavated . The almost complete amphitheater and circus outside the main city are made all the more intriguing by virtue of their relative neglect . Some 40 miles east of Tripoli , Sabratha 's remains have been restored . While only a quarter of the site has been excavated , mosaics thus far uncovered rival those found in Rome . And 120 miles east of Benghazi , the ruins of Cyrene reflect enduring Greek influences of language and architecture ; the city 's Temple of Zeus is larger than the Parthenon in Athens . Anywhere else , all three sites would be honeypot tourist destinations , but these days it 's possible you 'll have them to yourself . Leptis Magna and Sabratha are easy day trips from Tripoli ; Cyrene is reached from Benghazi and with an early start can also be visited in a day . Because of poor security , travel eastward to Derna is n't recommended . Though it 's easy to visit sites independently , a knowledgeable guide can bring the ruins to life . Temehu ( www.temehu.com ) can organize excursions in advance . `` North Africa -- The Roman Coast '' ( www.bradtguides.com ) has a useful section on Libya .
It is two and a half times bigger than Texas and 90 % desert . Alcohol is illegal , but there 's still wine and bokha , distilled from dates , available . Wine is cheaper than water in this oil rich but extremely dry Sahara nation . Ancient ruins from the Greek and Roman eras are spectacular .