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The deserted souvenir shops and cafes on the
mountainous road leading to the 2,600-year-old site are the only
reminder that this used to be a major tourist destination.
Looting has hit Libya's archaeological sites since the overthrow
of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, when the country descended into
turmoil with rival administrations competing for control.
Cyrene is one of five of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites in the
North African country listed for their outstanding value. Others
include the ruins of the Roman city of Leptis Magna, and
Sabratha, both in western Libya.
Apart from Cyrene, some 200 km (124 miles) east of Benghazi, the
east of the country has the Apollonia site just 20 km away.
With tourists gone and the antiquities department complaining
about budget shortages, vandals have smeared graffiti on columns
and looted artefacts.
Some treasures such as heads or entire torsos of statues listed
in guidebooks issued in 2011 are no longer there.
"Many artifacts have been smuggled abroad," said Ahmad Hussein,
the head of the antiquities department of a parallel
administration in charge of eastern Libya.
Unable to prevent theft, his department has been registering
artefacts, a process which has helped to recover some in Europe,
he said.
There was better site protection before 2011, but excavation at
the site in fact dates back to Italian rule -- the colonialists'
equipment can still be seen. The last Italians left the east in
1943 following their military defeat when the region came under
British administration.
"There has been a lot of destruction in recent years," said
Ismail Miftah, a farmer living next to Cyrene. "Ordinary people
don't appreciate the ancient heritage."
(Editing by William Maclean)
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