Official name:
The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Capital City:
Tripoli
Population: 5,290,000
Languages:
Arabi (official languages) English or Italian
Religion:
Sunni Muslim
Electricity:
220 volts AC, 40Hz. All services may be intermittently disrupted by power cuts.
Climate:
Summers are very hot and dry: winters are mild with cooler evenings.
The desert has hot days and cold nights.
Local Time:
GMT + 2
Telephone:
IDD service is available. Country code: 218. Outgoing international code: 00.
Currency:
Libyan Dinar (LD) = 1000 dirhams.
Notes are in denominations of LD10, 5 and 1, and 500 and 250 dirhams. Coins are in denominations of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 dirhams.
Banks:
Banking hours are:
Sat-Wed 08.00-12.00 h in winter,
Sat-Thurs 08.00-12.00 h and Sat-Wed 16.00-17.00 h in summer.
Tipping:
A tip of 10 to 20 per cent is usually included in hotel and restaurant bills.
Shopping:
Souks in the main towns are the workplaces of many weavers, copper-, gold- and silver-smiths and leatherworkers. There are numerous other stalls selling a variety of items including spices, metal engravings and various pieces of jewellery.
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