The Sound Of Silence

Another night of silence .This will make number six.It is becoming common place to have a peaceful nights sleep these days .We had gunfire just several days in our neighborhood but it was a short burst. I think the boy has either run out of bullets , or he has surrendered his gun as all citizens have been requested to do .They have options of course of joining the army or the police force if they still want to do armed duty .Right now there are groups of,  I think the army or the militia , not to sure which , but groups are going door to door gathering up arms.It won't be long before the gun/gun firing at random situation will be under control .Already about town you can see men and young guys getting their cars unconverted from a fighting war machine back to a civilian car .Nice. They did an amazing job fighting as they did with so little training and arms.But normal is nice too .

Went to the larger grocery store today and was dismayed over how empty the selves remain. It was almost impossible to find a simple thing like shaving cream .Had to go to several stores before finding any for Moe.But on the other hand , more and more of the food items we had taken for granted are beginning to appear. I found something I haven't seen in two yesterday . The wise businessman would load up in Tunis with all sorts of food items for here and make a killing. Food is still very expensive here with prices continuing to raise by the hour seemingly.

The Eid is coming this weekend . This is the celebration where Muslims sacrifice a sheep.I have heard different people say that the price of a sheep is anywhere from 900 dinars to as low as 450 dinars . This is for a Libyan sheep which most Libyans prefer. It is reported that the government has imported some sheep from Eastern Europe for people that want or can not afford the more expensive sheep at a much lower price than local sheep.We are leaving the whole thing up to our son this year.

Our weather has been very mild this past week, cool at night and comfortable in the day with sunny skies . But right now I can hear loud thunder booming occasionally in the distance.I have become spoiled by all this rain we have so early this year.Today driving past a field I could smell fresh cut grass.A unheard of thing for this time of year in Tripoli area.That is a late winter, early spring thing.Imagine grass tall enough to need cutting in the first week of November in Libya !Farmers are preparing their fields for winter crops.Not too many fields were planted for the autumn crops this year because of the war. Now , they will need a work force to harvest the fields when the crops ripen.Most of the guest workers went back to their countries when the war broke out . They have been slow to return.

Since NATO has ended it its mandate here the no fly zone has been lifted. As of now, only Haj pilgrims are flying out of Libya/ Tripoli, but reportedly some commercial fights will be allowed to begin flying in to Tripoli  starting next week .At least that is my understanding.I might be incorrect on this matter. It seems to be a " blurred" subject. I do know of different friends returning this week end though from abroad.

So, all in all it seems progress is being made on all fronts.There is a new prime minister that has hopes running high.New political parties are being formed here and there. New activists groups are coming together to test the new governments polices toward various civil rights issues that they feel  are long over due to be addressed. It is an interesting time in Libya.A very unique time .Some times it feels like not just Alice feel down the rabbits hole , but all of Libya too.