Libya _ Libyan Professor Honoured with Greece’s Golden Order of Phoenix &

Prof. Fadel Ali Mohamed (right) receiving the Golden  Phoenix award from the Greek ambassador to Libya

THE TRIBOLI POST

At its embassy in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, through its ambassador Mr. Kyriakos Amiridis, Greece recently presented Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed, the Libyan Professor of Archaeology and Ancient Languages, with the Golden Order of Phoenix. The honour was conferred to him by HE the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Carolos Papoulias.

Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed was curator of Antiquities in Cyrene for eight years and Special Advisor to the Libyan Ministry of Culture on Antiquities and Ancient Cities.

After the February 17, 2011 Libyan Revolution, he was appointed Head of the Department of Antiquities. He is also Professor of the ancient Greek Language at the University of “Omar Al Mukhtar” in Beida and Derna.

Professor Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed has published seven books in English about the Libyan archaeological sites of Cyrene, Ptolemais, Apollonia, Pentapolis, and three books, in Arabic, about Islamic coins and inscriptions in Cyrenaica and about the history of Al Faidia.

He has also published a book about the Greek language in Cyrenaica.

Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed is the person who, par excellence, is responsible for the preservation and the promotion of the archaeological site of Cyrene, the biggest archaeological site outside Greece on the opposite coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and its museum.

This archaeological site symbolises the start of cultural relations between Greece and Libya since the 7th Century BC, when the first Greeks from Santorini Island (Thyra) reached Apollonia, seaport of Ancient Cyrene and founded there a flourishing and booming city. The site of Cyrene is located in the famous “Green Mountain” in Cyrenaica overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

On the initiative of Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed, a museum has been established there with more than 8,000 statues on exhibition.

President Carolos Papoulias, decided to decorate Professor Mohamed for his magnificent contribution in the research and study of history and archaeology and for preserving the findings of the archaeological site of Cyrene, an important remnant of ancient Greek civilisation and point of reference in the brotherly relations between Greece and Libya.

The Greek embassy said that the decoration ceremony took place at a crucial moment for Libya, an important and strategically located country in Northern Africa, which is trying to preserve its own cultural heritage, patrimony and treasure and at the same time struggling to establish democratic institutions, safety, justice and prosperity to its people.

The Golden Order of Phoenix depicts the ancient Greek mythical bird “Phoenix”, reborn from its ashes, and symbolises the strength of the human being to reborn and rise back overcoming the difficulties and become stronger.

In conferring the award, Greece hopes that the mentioned symbolism will be reflected positively, in Libya, in order for it to soon have the renaissance it deserves