Libya Looks To Its Past To Build A New Future As National Museum Reopens

It is hoped the institution can help foster new bonds in a fractured nation, but such optimism will be a stretch for some It was a night at the museum like no other. As the staccato sound of firecrackers and explosions rang out across Martyrs Square in the heart of Tripoli, for once it was not Libyas militias battling it out for a larger stake in the countrys oil economy, but a huge firework display celebrating the reopening of one of the finest museums in the Mediterranean. The National Museum of Libya housing Africas greatest collection of classical antiquities in Tripolis historic Red Castle complex had been closed for nearly 14 years due to the civil war that followed the former dictator Muammar Gaddafis downfall. Its ceremonial reopening came at the climax of a lavish show compressing Libyas rich history and attended by diplomats and Arab celebrities, with a full-size Italian orchestra, acrobats, dancers, arches of fire and lights projected on to the fort. It did not lack for circus drama or cost, peaking with a billowing Ottoman sailing ship arriving high above the port on wires to be greeted by an angelic-appearing Libyan woman.