When I saw a desert for the very first time;
It was in 1965 in Africa, I would not have given it a dime!!!
The reason, I saw it from way up high, from the air!
In a plane from my seat, it looked only bare!!!

Just rocks, sand-dunes and endless waddies,
or dry riverbeds, the Arabic name for these.
My husband, John and I still were intrigued by this Sahara!!!
"I never saw so much of absolutely nothing, Johanna"

He used to say, flying in the Oil Companies DC-3,
Coming home from the coastal town of Ras Lanuf to Tripoli.
So, on his week off, we decided to get ready to explore
this new country, away from the beautiful seashore.

We learned about "Sabratha", an old Roman resort-city.
Of course, it was now in ruins, what really was a pity!
However, what we found there, took completely our breath way!!!
From the huge Amphitheatre, marble baths to the green columns anyway!!!

The majestic columns of the Forum, many were still standing!
Their sheer size, the surrounding...the silence...we felt
the Roman Empires ending!
A huge marble head, of ZEUS laying on its side in the sand;
His magnificent body still erect, proved this once was Roman land!!!