Tripoli / Libya

Libya: a Mediterranean country

Yasuo Onishi / Tripoli branch of Marubeni

You may associate Libya with desert, oil, Colonel Qaddafi, or the remains of ancient Rome, the last of which have begun to draw attention following the recent boom in the popularity of world heritage sites.

One of the emperors of Imperial Rome was from Libya. He changed his hometown into a great city, which has now become part of the remains of ancient Rome and attracts many sightseers. Libya has five world heritage sites, including the remains of ancient Rome. Recent visitors have included middle-aged Japanese travelers who seem to have already been to just about every other part of the world.

Today I would like to show you the relationship between Japan and Libya from a unique standpoint. The keyword is "tuna."

A fish market is located at the corner of the Tripoli Port, and sells a variety of fish caught in the Mediterranean Sea. From May to June, they sell some of what we call high-quality fish, such as tuna, one of the all-time favorites of Japanese people, and also the ones we rarely see in Japanese seafood shops, such as a type of sea bass we call Ara, amberjacks and garganey. These fish are priced on a kilogram basis, just like others. One problem is that lobsters are more expensive than their Japanese counterparts because the Libyans do not farm lobsters.

Libya has the longest coastline of all Mediterranean countries, stretching some 2,000 kilometers. The coastline provides one of the biggest production centers of Mediterranean tuna, which we can also find in Japanese supermarkets. The tuna migrates to the Bay of Sirte in early summer. They are caught by Japanese fishermen off the coast of Tripoli and sent to Japan. Most of the tuna that we used to call "flying tuna" during the days of the bubble economy is from this area.

Some of the high-quality Mediterranean fish are favorites among Japanese people who like us live in Tripoli. "Negimayaki," skewed tuna and leek, is a luxury dish that only people in this area can enjoy.

A sightseeing tour of the remains features, fishing, marine sports, and an "abstinence diet." Now we welcome you to Libya, the sightseeing nation.

The memorial gate of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius