www.bernama.com. As a tradition, Libyans would welcome visitors at their ceremonial events with more than just words as guests would also be greeted with traditional music and dance called "reception".

Malaysians and expatriates who attended a dinner to kick-off the Libyan Cultural Week had the rare opportunity to experience such gesture.

The musicians, in traditional clothes topped with vibrant coloured overshawls or just plain white, some beating the traditional drums while others blowing clarinets or bagpipes, entertained the guests at the foyer of a leading hotel in which the dinner was held.

Organised by Libya's Tourism Investment and Development Board (TIDB) and its embassy here, guests were later treated with more music and dances as well as fashion show thus providing a glimpse of the North African country's culture.

"For tonight's "Libyan Night", we want to showcase the traditional Libyan food and dances," said Libya's TIDB chairman Dr Ali F. Aweda in a short speech before the dinner.

 The dinner, prepared by two chefs specially flown in from Tripoli, consisted the typical Libyan home-cooked food, such as marinated items and Libyan soup as starters, Couscous with lamb, kefta, and Mbten among the main dishes while dessert was a selection of very sweet Libyan cakes.

While dinner was being served, guests were introduced to the traditional costumes worn by women from Libya's various areas including Tripoli, Ghadames, Gharian and Ghat.

Other activities organised during the Week included music and dance performances at KL's Sungei Wang Plaza and a seminar on Libya's tourism potentials and investment opportunities.

With the lifting of United Nations (UN) sanctions in 1999, the oil-rich country with six million people and having a rich history dating back to some 5,000 years is now hoping to lure more tourists into the country.

Dr Ali, who was here to promote Libya's tourism industry, said: "Our government is now concentrating in developing the infrastructure to boost tourism activities in an effort to diversify the country's economy."
 
He called on Malaysians to invest in the country's construction-based activities.

"With the minimum infrastructure and construction-based activities at present, Libya needs more foreign investors, particularly from Malaysia to realise our mission," he said at a seminar held later at another hotel here recently.

Among the areas cited by Dr Ali in which Malaysian businessmen could venture into were hotel, golf courses, resort construction & management as well as other tourism-related infrastructure development.

He said Libya was planning to achieve double-digit growth on tourist arrivals, which currently stood at about 300,000 annually.

He also said with Libya's policy on tourism focused on creating a good image of the country and encouraging more foreign investment in tourism, the government will also offer more relaxing visa procedures, particularly for foreign investors.

Outsiders are unlikely to get an immediate response if they were to ask where to go and what is there to see in Libya even though there are many attractions in the offing.

One reason for this is the country's archeological wealth and places of interests are scattered all over the huge country, as an official at the Libyan embassy here once said. It would take at least a week for tourists to have a worthwhile visit.

Libya or the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (state of the masses), had been a land of encounter for various civilisations of Africa and the Mediterranean since prehistoric times, hence it has loads of historical and ancient ruins.

As to archeological vestiges of Greek-Roman origin, Leptis Magna and Sabratha are today the best preserved in the country. These ancient cities on the Western coast were founded by the Phoniciens.

Leptis Magna, initially a mere port of call, became one of the antiquities, and today it boasts a panorama of ruins which ranks among the most spectacular around the Mediterranean.

 For a country in which 90 percent of its land is covered by the Sahara, Libya offers an interesting experience of desert atmosphere to tourists.

Visitors to Ghadames, an oasis town about 650km south-west of Tripoli, Libya's capital city, for instance, would be able to observe the sun setting over the sand dunes, watch the night falls and see twinkling stars emerging in the sky, filling it within minutes. By then, one would feel like sitting under a huge dome of stars.

Having one of the longest coastline (2,000km) in North Africa, Libya also boasts pristine beaches.

For those wishing to experience the life of ordinary Libyans and sampling their delicious home-cooked food, homestay programmes had also been included in the country's tourism agendas, at least by private tourism entrepreneurs.

Although the homestay programme might be new to them, as it was normally offered during big festivals at smaller towns so as to provide alternative lodgings due to the lack of hotel rooms, Libyans who had participated in the programme have gone a great length to make their guests feel at home.

Most travellers who have visited the country spoke of having a great time. Its streets and souqs are free of the hassles of touts, thus providing a good start for visitors who had never set foot on Libyan soil.