Jenan Moussa Profile picture
Sep 17, 2018 14 tweets 9 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
1/ Much cultural heritage was destroyed in Mid-East. Look at Palmyra, Mosul...

Luckily ancient Greek city of Cyrene in east Libya was spared.

We took a drone to Cyrene +horse tracks of Benghazi +ruins of Susa.

Fly with me above a Libya u don't often see
2/ Cyrene (in the town of Shahat) is just a stunning place.

Luckily ISIS/Qaeda never reached it but were kept near to Derna, around 60 km to the east. Nothing in Cyrene was vandalized.

The tribe of Shahhat protects this historic site.

@akhbar
3/ These days Cyrene is open to the public.

Not a lot of foreign visitors due to Libya's problems but many local people visit it.

I wouldn't say it was crowded but I saw around 100 visitors in one afternoon.

@akhbar
4/ Every Friday afternoon, there are horse races in Benghazi.

Many Libyan men - of all ages - take their horses to the track in the south of the city. Here they race and show their riding skills.

Very nice atmosphere. Check this pic.

@akhbar
5/ Some more pics of the horse races in Benghazi, Libya.

I am lucky that I could attend this.

@akhbar
6/ Just like you and I, the people of Benghazi love life.

Although the war only ended recently, there are some cool things to do in the city.

In the weekend, people go to the beach. Watch this guy on his jet ski at Bengahzi beach.

@akhbar
7/ When you get hungry, visit a traditional Libyan restaurant, like "Chef Khaled" restaurant in Benghazi.

There are a lot of local delicacies on the menu. Like the sheep head.

It requires courage to try but once you do, you realise that it tastes great.

@akhbar
8/ Barn find alert! When you have some time on your hands during your visit to #Benghazi, restore the old Porsche which once belonged to the Libyan royal family of king Idris.

@akhbar
9/ Of course I have a pic of me in Cyrene, Shahat. A photo to cherish.

Just to be able to walk in a place which is thousands of years old...

#Libya @akhbar
10/ And here is something I never expected to see in Benghazi.

There were 3 kite surfers at #Benghazi beach. And these guys were really good.

I was standing a bit far away as you see in video but impressive what these guys can do.

@akhbar
11/ One more thing about Libya: if u go there or if u have a Libyan friend, ask them to prepare Matrouda for you.

"Matrouda" is equivalent to a cheese cake for the people of the desert. Made of fresh bread, local butter, milk and dates.

@akhbar
12/ Thank u all for interacting with this report.

My aim was to show you some of the beautiful parts of #Libya. The Libya that u don't normally see in the news.

I just hope Libyans will put their differences aside &make their country a safe & prosperous place.

@akhbar
13/ And thank you @HaraldDoornbos for the amazing drone work. 🙏
14/ And one more last thing: a shout out to the cool guys at the #Benghazi motor club.

I wanted to film with them but it didn't work out. Hopefully next time.

@akhbar

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More from @jenanmoussa

Sep 11, 2018
1/ Six yrs after US consulate attack in Benghazi, I got NEW FOOTAGE.

In Benghazi I identified 17 extremists seen near/in consulate during attack.

6 out of 17 are in vid.

Witnesses say: Most of 17 killed/fled city. 1 lives in Berlin. 1 might be in Sweden
2/ As you know by now, my tv report for @akhbar is in Arabic.

But please do follow this thread where I will tweet out the relevant details in English.

#Benghazi
3/ Ten days ago I left Benghazi where I spent 3 weeks.

Ansar al-Sharia, the terrorist group that attacked US consulate on 11 Sept 2012 is now dismantled, defeated by Libyan army.

Although it happened 6 yrs ago, I used my time in #Benghazi to re-investigate the attack.

@akhbar
Read 22 tweets
Sep 5, 2018
As world focused on ISIS in Raqqa& Mosul, another city was destroyed: Benghazi.

After ISIS &AlQaeda took city in 2014, Libyan army fought extremists &defeated them end 2017.

Price of victory high.

Our drone footage shows what's left of center Benghazi

2/ I have to tell you that when I recently arrived in Benghazi, I was really shocked by the destruction of the city.

Much worse than I thought it was.

As you can see in our drone video, center is fully destroyed during fighting between extremists & army.

Very painful to see.
3/ I had tears in my eyes seeing Benghazi like this. I can't even start to explain to you how the people feel.

This is for example the now destroyed court building.

This was the center of 2011 uprising against Ghadaffi. It was blown up by Al-Qaeda group Ansar al Sharia.
Read 14 tweets
Sep 4, 2018
1/ I spent 3 weeks in east #Libya.

We were 1st foreign journalists to enter Derna after Libyan army began operation to clear city from ISIS, AlQaeda etc.

Army now controls large parts of Derna but extremists still in old city.

We took drone with us.

2/ Happy to be safe after 3 weeks in east Libya. Difficult area to reach.

I met great people in Benghazi. Thank u all for keeping me safe &helping me get great stories.

I'll update this Derna-thread in English later today. But 1st let me call my mom that I'm okay.

@akhbar
3/ As East Libya is largely forgotten by int media, a bit of context:

Benghazi was center of Libyan uprising in 2011. After Gaddafi’s fall, extremists took advantage of the chaos.

From 2012-2014 Al-Qaeda +ISIS linked groups started reign of terror in Benghazi +Derna.

@akhbar
Read 12 tweets
Aug 8, 2018
1/ After recent gains by Syrian regime, all eyes now on Idlib.

Via intermediary I got in touch with 3 European jihadists in Idlib. I sent my questions+fixer to Idlib.

Jihadists expect an attack &say they'll fight till end.

My story, English subtitles.👇
2/ It's difficult to reach foreign jihadists in Idlib. And even more difficult to record interviews with them.

The 3 foreign fighters in Idlib I got in touch with via intermediary are from Holland (2) &from Belgium (1).

They've been in Syria 5+ yrs.

#EuroJihadists

@akhbar
3/ The foreign jihadists in Idlib answered my questions in Dutch &Flemish. They also know Arabic.

Their (jihadi) names are: Abu Mohammad alHollandi, Abu Zubair alHolandi & Abu Abdul Rahman alBelgiki.

Here is same story but with Arabic subtitles. @akhbar
Read 21 tweets
Aug 3, 2018
1/ Today is 4th anniversary of Yazidi genocide by #ISIS. Thousands of Yazidis killed &enslaved.

In Syria I found #ISISfiles, some on treatment of women by ISIS.

Here my story for @akhbar

It's in Arabic but in thread I'll explain in English
2/ The #ISISfiles about women can be divided into 2 categories.

a. Restrictive laws mainly meant to control local female population in ISIS parts of Syria.

b. Rulings regarding behavior of ISIS-female members. What work can ISIS-women do? Can ISIS-women fight? Etc.

@akhbar
3/ ISIS files show court cases whereby (male) ISIS “spies” accuse Syrian females of having attended "mixed" weddings (males and females attended wedding). Also women were accused of wearing make-up.

@akhbar
Read 15 tweets
Jul 24, 2018
I recently visited #Hungary and went horseback riding in a Vincent van Gogh painting. Wonderful.
On the pic I was actually riding a Lipizzaner, which are famous horses in central Europe with a long tradition in former Habsburg empire.

Next time I hope to visit Spanish Riding school in Vienna.
This was actually my view from top of the horse. How beautiful.
Read 4 tweets

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