Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | Libya | S01 E06 | All Documentary

Anthony Bourdain explores post-revolution Libya in 2012, finding Tripoli celebrating freedom after Gaddafi's fall while grappling with an uncertain future.

Key Takeaways

Libya's 2011 revolution ended Gaddafi's 42-year rule and produced widespread optimism among its people.
Daily life in Tripoli had largely returned to normal, challenging international perceptions of total collapse.
Young Libyans are eager for freedom, new cultural experiences, and building a new society.
Significant security and political challenges remain, including regional instability and extremist violence.

What the video covers

Bourdain opens by describing Libya's negative reputation under Gaddafi, linked to terrorism and the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
The 2011 uprising is presented as a people's fight for freedom, with heavy battles around the capital.
Tripoli is shown functioning again, with working fountains, traffic, and restaurants, contrary to expectations of chaos.
Residents, including young people, celebrate the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Martyrs Square with fireworks and festivities.
Revolutionaries such as Omar describe joining the uprising despite earlier believing change was impossible.
A former travel agent and medical student recount their roles in the revolution and the first days of hope.
Bourdain notes the youth's hunger for new experiences, including Western-style fast food and open social life.
Security concerns persist, including kidnappings in the region, unrest in Mali and Egypt, and an extremist attack that killed the US ambassador in Benghazi.
A medical student turned volunteer describes treating horrific war injuries with limited training.
The episode closes with reflections on the country's potential and the optimism of its people looking toward the future.

Chapters

What is the main focus of this episode?

The episode documents Anthony Bourdain's visit to Libya in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution that ended Gaddafi's rule. It focuses on daily life in Tripoli, the perspectives of revolutionaries, and the country's uncertain future.

How does the episode portray Tripoli's daily life?

Tripoli is shown as largely functional, with working infrastructure, restaurants, and public celebrations. Bourdain highlights the surprising normality contrasted with the country's reputation for chaos.

What challenges does the episode highlight for Libya's future?

The episode points to security threats including kidnappings, regional unrest, extremist attacks such as the Benghazi incident, and the difficulty of building a stable society after decades of dictatorship.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

for most of my life, Libya was a word with bad associations. Libya meant Gaddafi. Libya meant terrorism. Pan Am Flight 103 went down in a blazing fireball. Libya meant a bad place where a comical, megalomaniacal dictator was the absolute power.

Speaker A

power nobody in libya however was laughing reports of explosions clashes between rioters and security forces in 2011 what was previously unthinkable happened the libyan people rose up and fought for their freedom heavy battles raging around the libyan capital they fought like hell

Speaker A

Nobody in Libya, however, was laughing. Reports of explosions, clashes between rioters and security forces. In 2011, what was previously unthinkable happened. The Libyan people rose up and fought for their freedom. Heavy battles raging around the Libyan capital. They fought like hell.

Speaker A

that libya is in fact functioning at all but it is the fountains across from the corniche are operating traffic works kaido at the radisson club sandwiches arrive on time in the lobby the occasional flash of camo and a

Speaker A

The rebels are about to force Qaddafi's complete departure, and they recorded the whole thing on their cell phones. Felt the phones rain on my shoulders.

Speaker A

kids are setting off fireworks in the medina incoming [Music] tomorrow is the prophet muhammad's birthday and people who have not known freedom for nearly 50 years are ready to celebrate [Music] martyrs square is filled with families kids teenage skater boys and hot shots on

Speaker A

It's amazing arriving here after all you see on TV these days, that Libya is in fact functioning at all. But it is. The fountains across from the Corniche are operating. Traffic works. Kaido at the Radisson Club. Sandwiches arrive on time. In the lobby, the occasional flash of camo and a security scanner are really the only discordant notes. You don't want to take the video, they don't. Inside the old part of the city, men slaughter a camel while a girl records it with her iPad. Enough, okay? You say no.

Speaker A

have been issued a lighter and a fist full of fireworks ambulances idle on the margins of the square to treat fireworks related injuries of which there will be many that's good this is tripoli after 42 years of nightmare

Speaker A

Kids are setting off fireworks in the medina. Incoming!

Speaker A

ever be possible did you dream someday this will change no and every time you cannot say a word you get killed that's it it wasn't possible but then i joined the group you know right the revolutionary omar is young and was even younger when

Speaker A

Tomorrow is the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, and people who have not known freedom for nearly 50 years are ready to celebrate.

Speaker A

or everybody everybody but the young people decided what was your day like as a revolutionary you keep one thought in your mind you do this for the next generation for a better country for better life you have the future now before people

Speaker A

Martyrs Square is filled with families, kids, teenage skater boys, and hotshots on motorcycles. It's wild and almost giddily happy. Young men in the camouflage pants of the militias, most of whom were civilians until last year, do their best to sporadically keep order or just join in the fun. Every kid above the age of five seems to have been issued a lighter and a fistful of fireworks. Ambulances idle on the margins of the square to treat fireworks-related injuries, of which there will be many. That's good. This is Tripoli after 42 years of nightmare.

Speaker A

on ice we have uh dots here what do they do they just grill that yeah they open and grill it some garlic some sauce it's really awesome you pick out the stuff that interests you from the daily catch

Speaker A

How to build a whole society overnight and make it work in one of the most contentious and difficult areas of the world is what people are trying to figure out.

Speaker A

wow man we are living large today yes we are so what were you doing before the war i was a travel agent you were a travel agent yes and i was studying tour in medical school many of the people who started the

Speaker A

Allah.

Speaker A

really extraordinary yeah how quickly after the uprising started did you begin to think that wow this is possible that we we might actually win the first day when that prize first day yeah the day before you're thinking impossible we'll be stuck with this son

Speaker A

So before the war, did you think it would ever be possible? Did you dream someday this will change?

Speaker A

that this you can you can this can this is gonna happen if it didn't well i've died trying doing it at least we've died like men doing it [Music] so much has changed around town so much is changing

Speaker A

No. And every time you cannot say a word, you get killed. That's it. It wasn't possible. But then I joined the group, you know, right?

Speaker A

war over what is acceptable outside a mosque in the medina men fill the narrow street to celebrate muhammad's birthday snacks are passed around [Applause] [Music] women watch and record from the rooftops [Music] [Applause] mmm there aren't a lot of conflicts in the

Speaker A

The revolutionary Omar is young, and was even younger when the fighting started. He liked so many Libyans from around the country, and many who had left, heeded the calls for revolution on Facebook and Twitter. They fought in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata, and everywhere in between.

Speaker A

changed the names of the months he changed the date of the islamic calendar such megalomania and as you well know anyone outside you mentioned the word libya everyone would just say gaddafi gaddafi stole the identity of libya michel cousins is the co-founder of the

Speaker A

Who won this war? Young people?

Speaker A

was another libya wonderful people we would talk about it as you talk about a dead person do you remember this do you remember that and then in february 2011 suddenly there was resurrection the dead came back to life we meet

Speaker A

Everybody. Everybody, but the young people decided.

Speaker A

of a country other people i mean last night's fireworks but there was a general sense of exuberance bordering on anarchy i mean i felt very happy there last night uh if if someone in peril it's christmas it's it's whatever it's

Speaker A

What was your day like as a revolutionary?

Speaker A

they're showing we want to have fun and remember for a long time in libya you couldn't have fun the biggest misconception is that the place is turning into another afghanistan on iraq where you've got bombs go off attacks

Speaker A

You keep one thought in your mind: you do this for the next generation, for a better country, for a better life. You have the future now, before people.

Speaker A

one is constantly reminded that libya was once a vital part of the ancient roman empire that was nearly 2 000 years ago [Applause] tonight i was told was going to be an even bigger wilder celebration in martyrs square but

Speaker A

Oh, this looks good. Yeah, Barracuda is a seafood restaurant just outside of town on the Mediterranean coast, one of the best foods in Libya. I think the seafood, the menu is not printed on paper. It's laid out right there for you on ice. We have, uh, these here. What do they do?

Speaker A

alone cherry bomb now and again an awkward flurry of roman candles the buzz of last night's chaotic partying harshed big time whether or not this is a result of the larger geopolitical situation the vibe towards this western film crew

Speaker A

They just grill that. Yeah, they open and grill it, some garlic, some sauce. It's really awesome. You pick out the stuff that interests you from the daily catch.

Speaker A

but revolution has brought changed tastes libyans especially young libyans hunger for more than just freedom they hunger for places like this kentucky fried chick uncle kentucky fried chicken okay the colonel and his buddies the king and the clown have not quite made it here

Speaker A

Okay, let's get one of these, one of these, some shrimps, calamari too. And they cook it for you the way you want.

Speaker A

yeah he's new before the qadhafi yeah and now is normally oh that's nice how you found it spicy delicious johar like many libyans his age fought to overthrow gaddafi he was there gun in hand when they storm gaddafi's palace compound

Speaker A

Wow, that's delicious. This is the stuffed calamari, Libyan style, with so many seafood, stuffed salads, like a turkey. Good sauce.

Speaker A

anyone die more he's called for nothing the first time i think the people is bad but he's he's leave me do that because if i don't kill him he's called me it's nice to see freedom it's nice to see the bad guy blind it's

Speaker A

Wow, man, we are living large today. Yes, we are. So what were you doing before the war?

Speaker A

that's why fighting that's why i give it a lot of blood from my country because i want to feeling that the test of freedom the taste of freedom is nice [Music] good good [Music] outside tripoli center there's this

Speaker A

I was a travel agent.

Speaker A

was destroyed [Music] nato continually bombed strategic locations within the compound and on august 23 2011 it fell to the rebels gaddafi and his family having fled this is what's left of gaddafi's palace [Music] [Music] so when's the last time you were here

Speaker A

You were a travel agent?

Speaker A

stop stop now stop now what they want us to stop filming right now okay while talking we didn't notice several pickup trucks of local militia had closed in on us i've stopped okay just relax relax [Music] this is their turf or their area of

Speaker A

Yes, and I was studying tour in medical school.

Speaker A

okay okay let's go let's go [Music] hold it down hold it down [Music] libya is denying that there is an imminent threat to the safety of westerners in benghazi this follows britain's advice on thursday that westerners should get out of the

Speaker A

Many of the people who started the revolution, who fought in the streets with makeshift weapons, were like Omar: medical students, garage mechanics, or simply teenagers. They transformed themselves in a matter of months from kids playing PlayStation to hardened fighters and field medics. Nobody believed that he could be removed.

Speaker A

libyans are still very concerned what you see is not encouraging kidnappings in algeria unrest in mali terrorist cells to the south deadly riots in egypt and of course extremist attacks in benghazi that killed the us ambassador all those things are very real concerns

Speaker A

Really extraordinary. Yeah. How quickly after the uprising started did you begin to think, wow, this is possible, that we might actually win?

Speaker A

what is this dish called which is an overstretched donut i suppose right with an egg with an egg on top what's a little pancake they put on top they're just to hold the egg yeah just to hold the egg in it's uh it's like a

Speaker A

The first day. When the prize, first day? Yeah. The day before, you're thinking, impossible, we'll be stuck with this son of a [expletive] forever. And then a few hours later, it's like, wow, this might work. Seeing groups with you going towards the Martyrs Square, demanding their rights. At that moment, you feel that you can't do anything, that this, you can, you can, this is going to happen. And if it didn't, well, I've died trying. At least we've died like men doing it.

Speaker A

yeah this is facility this is a cradle of the revolution right now this was the first neighborhood to rise up yes this is the first place why do you think this neighborhood it's an unpublished neighborhood it's been always lied to by this

Speaker A

So much has changed around town. So much is changing: new music, graffiti. These things mean something, but centuries of strict social and religious values keep some things solidly the same. Alcohol, for instance, is strictly forbidden. Men and women follow hierarchical roles as before. Since the revolution, there's a tug of war over what is acceptable.

Speaker A

manchester at the time right and by the 27th i was in libya we went out to see his house yesterday the compound well i was one of the guys who entered from the southern gates under loading gates akram is in the security business a

Speaker A

Outside a mosque in the medina, men fill the narrow street to celebrate Muhammad's birthday. Snacks are passed around. Women watch and record from the rooftops.

Speaker A

twitter yeah it was really like that yes we sent so much information to nato via twitter we get a phone call from tripoli or benghazi or whatever we get the coordinates via google earth right we verify that there is a location

Speaker A

Mmm. There aren't a lot of conflicts in the world where there's a clear bad guy. Clearly, that was a bad guy here. Exactly. I mean, the one thing about Gaddafi is he believed he was the most important human being almost that had ever existed. I mean, he changed the names of the months. He changed the date of the Islamic calendar. Such megalomania. And as you well know, anyone outside, you mentioned the word Libya, everyone would just say Gaddafi. Gaddafi stole the identity of Libya.

Speaker A

their lifetime they were gonna see the end of this son of a [ __ ] most people are telling me they never dreamed i i don't know if you can call them dreams hopes wishes it was just something in the sky

Speaker A

Michel Cousins is the co-founder of the English-language paper The Libya Herald, and has known several different Libyas in his lifetime. For so long, the news has been the personality. Gaddafi turned up to open a shopping center. Qadhafi turned up to open an envelope. Those of us who knew Libya, who knew that, was another Libya. Wonderful people. We would talk about it as you talk about a dead person. Do you remember this? Do you remember that? And then in February 2011, suddenly there was resurrection. The dead came back to life.

Speaker A

what happened in benghazi uh a few months ago i mean what does this mean to the country i think there is a dark mysterious hand who doesn't like this country to prosper they see system and organization as a big enemy to them these black hands

Speaker A

We meet at a Libyan coffeehouse, a traditional, male-only sort of joint. Cafe culture is big here, a holdover from the days of Italian colonization, when Mussolini tried to rebuild Rome's long-lost empire.

Speaker A

[Music] the fluid situation in libya has been intensifying since our arrival and we've had to change our behavior constantly moving should i be wearing you know one of those cool like journalist safari jackets at this point so it seemed a good time or maybe not

Speaker A

It's just been the most amazing experience, seeing the rebirth of a country. Other people, I mean, last night's fireworks, but there was a general sense of exuberance bordering on anarchy. I mean, I felt very happy there last night. If someone in peril, it's Christmas, it's whatever, it's the Fourth of July rolled into one. But it also, there are people who are trying to stop it, sort of puritans, extremists, you want to say militants. And what has happened is people have come out in defiance of that. They're showing, we want to have fun. And remember, for a long time in Libya, you couldn't have fun.

Speaker A

an imam security forces and a police officer have all been killed once we move forward while along the narrow congested highway there are checkpoints banned mostly by local militias and i want to stress most of them are friendly enough

Speaker A

The biggest misconception is that the place is turning into another Afghanistan or Iraq, where you've got bombs going off, attacks. But it's not, as you've seen. Libyans have gone through an awful time, having fought for freedom. People have died, people have struggled, and that's going to hold them together.

Speaker A

and most heroic struggles of the war occurred resistance was the most determined and the response by the gaddafi forces especially merciless we've just learned that earlier in the day a city councilman who was a hero of the revolution

Speaker A

Kids are selling fireworks across from the Marcus Aurelius Arch. One is constantly reminded that Libya was once a vital part of the ancient Roman Empire, that was nearly 2,000 years ago.

Speaker A

morning in misrata how's the vibe it's all quite quiet and cool at the moment daylight reveals the extent of the fighting that took place here not so long ago this used to be a vegetable market clothes one of gaddafi soldiers clothes

Speaker A

Tonight, I was told, was going to be an even bigger, wilder celebration in Martyrs Square. But something has happened since last night. The British Foreign Office has just told all UK citizens to leave Benghazi, Libya's second largest city, due to an unspecified threat. The Libyan government, such as it is, has denied any basis for such drastic action.

Speaker A

the misrata boys basically militia members from the area who looked out for us here and in tripoli when things started to get hinky in neighboring algeria and in benghazi seriously his job these days is hunting down former gaddafi supporters

Speaker A

Alone, cherry bomb now and again, an awkward flurry of Roman candles. The buzz of last night's chaotic partying, harshed big time, whether or not this is a res

Speaker A

terrible odds these young revolutionaries were facing during the early days of the fighting especially in the months before nato came in with air support check out misrata's war museum what did this fire let's find a rocket homemade and there's

Speaker A

a rocket here we put it here and fire with little rocks yeah you had to have some serious courage to to ride around with this thing why we trust our people there's a lot of homemade things here this is homemade too it fires a big

Speaker A

rocket this is grad homemade this one this was from uh helicopter yes we got it and we brought in the cars you took it off the helicopter yeah and you put it on a car and you know what this is for the normal

Speaker A

molotov and so it's basically a crossbow that fires molotov cars it goes off on tnt sometimes you're shooting this as people who have uh mortars and tanks thanks yeah you're shooting this at tanks yeah because that's what we got

Speaker A

at the time that's what you had man it's awesome then the next president of libya the one who's gonna be in charge right this is his chair he has to think twice before he sits on it so never screw your people yeah i never

Speaker A

screw you people i i remember and here these are the duffy stuff now this was all taken from the compound some of them from certs it's mixed that's his ak his chair preferred hair products his shaving kit see who is wearing the muscle i was

Speaker A

beauty mask yeah i could use something let's get done it's beautiful you know [Music] and this is the first smarter in strata that's the first yeah that's the first one like a business that's the normal guy they went out to protest the first rally

Speaker A

and somebody come in and shoot him so the next day the whole city came out that's when everything started these are photos of those killed during the uprising combatants and bystanders alike her name is she was six years when she died shelled in their

Speaker A

homes tortured to death in prisons shot by snipers [Music] look at this kid he died with the victory sign they killed him like with a grenade [Music] that's his lucky day yeah you know what he was saying he's saying

Speaker A

what's going on guys why why why my sons why are you doing that you still have the t-shirt yeah yeah with the blood in it [Music] do you know any of these people yeah i know a couple of them

Speaker A

i knew this please this guy is egyptian not even his fight but he came but he didn't want to leave four of them they died insert and just died in trolley these are brothers necessary one two three four

Speaker A

they died in the same day and the same house and the mother when we found her she was holding the kid they were both dead like and holding each other it was a very sad moment [Music] um [Applause]

Speaker A

on this shoot mediterranean sea defines libya's northern border in shacks built along the coast people get together on weekends to do what people do everywhere in the world in one form or another since the beginnings of society like barbecue who does not like barbecue

Speaker A

there he is they sure like him here chase down an animal kill it [Music] cycle of life cut it into pieces and throw it on a flame so all these people are freedom fighters they're experienced fighters right so

Speaker A

just now chilling having fun making barbecue to start they grill the lamb in small pieces with a few veggies not beer but something like it i've been about a week without alcohol of any kind and i'm enjoying them

Speaker A

in my new clean living lifestyle that's hospitality i've said it before i'll say it again barbecue may not be the road to world peace but it's a start relax laid back in england american laid back a stew made of kidneys liver and heart

Speaker A

served family style feel free to eat with hands uh right hand only please and a really traditional thing left over from the italians basically pasta with ragu it's ready it's good so the italians left you one good thing

Speaker A

yeah a few nice buildings and pasta i'm bustling [Music] so the story of misrata the story of libya seems to be ordinary people suddenly called upon to do extraordinary things where were you when war broke out i was

Speaker A

in canada and montreal studying medicine yes dr jihan put her medical studies on hold to help tend all manner of horrible war injuries what kind of procedures were you doing on a regular basis everything without prior practice and knowledge so

Speaker A

you're just like kind of in the situation trying to pick up things how many patients did you treat a day 70 60 77 like the whole food like the whole hospital was full when you heard he'd been killed what did

Speaker A

you feel relief i felt relieved i was like realizing that okay it's over i'm trying to heal my own wounds because in the middle of it you just go go go and you never realize how much injuries and trauma you got inside

Speaker A

yourself because before you never think of like we're gonna survive and we're gonna have a free libya or anything it's just like going with the state of mind that i'm gonna do my best and i'm already in peace with myself if i die and then

Speaker A

you find yourself here now it's like now it's the gray area jihan risked her life along with the men but traditional and hide-bound rules of conduct do not allow her to sit with them during dinner she's relegated to what might be

Speaker A

called the kids table what can one say we who like to think of ourselves as more enlightened in this area i don't know rightly or wrongly i said nothing [Laughter] what does freedom mean i don't know that either i guess

Speaker A

for sure it does mean the freedom to enjoy an afternoon no one thought possible only a little while ago the freedom at least to joke to laugh to be for a while relatively carefree [Music] [Music] [Music] the road to tripoli a healthy breakfast

Speaker A

liver sandwich when they talk about a high-risk environment i think they were talking about this that's good halfway back to tripoli the magnificent ruins of leptis magna arguably the most intact remains of a roman city in the world

Speaker A

[Music] [Applause] it's worth noting that at one time the emperor of all rome was himself libyan it's pretty amazing born right here [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] someone chipped off all the dicks not that i was looking [Music] anywhere else in the world this place

Speaker A

would be overrun with tourists but look no one you're free to wander as you wish quite a backdrop you know if you're seeing a little dinner theater production of our town a couple thousand years ago not bad the only other visitors today

Speaker A

are a troop of libyan boy scouts bizarrely enough gaddafi himself was once a scout and this was one of the only organizations allowed to remain independent of the government maybe i should go down there and introduce myself by former

Speaker A

comrades exchange some boy scout lore yes yes i was once a boy scout too [Music] drilled into their heads is something that was long ago drilled into mine [Applause] i promise to be trustworthy loyal helpful friendly courteous kind obedient

Speaker A

cheerful thrifty brave clean and reverent [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you know it's been a really difficult shoot for a whole lot of reasons it's not easy to shoot here but in spite of all that for me this was

Speaker A

a happy show it's libya they were supposed to be the bad guys a bad country filled with bad people right i don't think so i met a lot of really nice people here nobody's saying we're gonna be perfect

Speaker A

tomorrow everybody seems to be saying you know in five see us look at us in five years so there's a pretty reasonable attitude this is a place that's filled with a lot of extraordinary people who've done an extraordinary thing

Speaker A

on very short notice under very difficult circumstances and at a very difficult time who are continuing to do the best they can and i wish them well [Music] [Music] you

Topics:LibyaAnthony BourdainParts UnknownTripoliGaddafiLibyan revolutionArab Springtravel documentaryMartyrs Squarepost-conflict

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