Summers are very hot and dry; winters are mild with cooler evenings. The desert has hot days and cold nights.

Loose, long clothes in natural fabrics. A cover-up for the cooler months. Warm clothing for nights in the desert. Modest dress is advised, especially for women - upper legs and arms, shoulders and cleavage should be covered. A headscarf can be useful as extra coverage, and is essential for visiting mosques.

Libya consists mostly of huge areas of desert. It shares borders with Tunisia and Algeria in the west and Egypt in the east, while the Sahara extends across the southern frontiers with Niger, Chad and the Sudan. There are almost 2,000km (1,250 miles) of Mediterranean coast, with a low plain extending from the Tunisian border to the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain) area in the east. Inland the terrain becomes more hilly. Agriculture has developed mainly on the coast between Zuwarah and Misratah in the west and from Marsa Susa to Benghazi in the east. In the uplands of the old province of Cyrenaica and on Jebel Akhdar the vegetation is more lush. With the exception of the ‘Sand Sea’ of the Sarir Calanscio, and the Saharan mountains of the Sarir Tibesti, there are oases scattered throughout the country.