Freak raging sand and rain storm in Tripoli



...this is my car windshield :) and I'm sitting in the car trying to drive ..

Sandstorms are usually a summer occurence in Libya, we call them the Ghibli. Intense heat of almost 60 degrees celcius in the shade, red sand everywhere.

It's Thursday here and the weather has been warmer in the last few days. so I was looking forward to a lovely weekend. However by 10 am the wind picked up, the sea got rough until by afternoon Tripoli was buried in sand fog, and strong winds. The cars were practically crawling and we had to use the high front lamps and even fog lights. If you drive fast you can get blown over. Then it started raining, big fat blobs. Now the sand is also mud. Tripoli at 3:30 PM looked like it was night. The wind is really strong now and I'm afraid our satellite dish will be blown away this time. The sand is gritty and sticking everywhere, I think the sitting room looks like it has enough sand to make a beach....don't know how we're gonna clean this mess. I'm trying to post this before my telephone line disapears. I got some photos for you but I'm not sure you will make out anything :) The red colour is exactly how it is outside.




For all those I cannot reach online, I will try as soon as I can.