Libya is the third largest country of Africa with an approximate population of 6.5 million. Almost three quarters of the total population is living in the urban areas and Tripoli is the capital of Libya which is also the largest city of the country. A civil war was urged in 2011 as a result of which the undemocratic regime was collapsed with the death of the country’s famous dictator Col. Muammar Gaddafi. Since the independence of Libya as the United Libyan Kingdom, the country observed strict and conservative religious codes of lives. Almost 97 % of the total population of Libya practice Islam and they belong to the Sunni School of thought.

Two Libyan girls in their traditional dresses - Mansour Ali's Image

The ancient Libya was a region of the indigenous Berber and Bedouin people, so their traditional values are the part of the Libyan cultural heritage. Although ,if we deeply study the pre historic Libya, the marks of the Phoenician, Greek and Roman civilizations will be prominent upon the culture of Libya. In the sixteenth century was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and remained under their control for a long time. Libya was occupied by the Italian, British and French forces on its different parts till the mid of the twentieth century.

A girl in a typical Libyan traditional costume - CH Lee's Image

The present Libyan people consider themselves as the part of the Arab world and Arabic is the official language of Libya. Although, Berbers and Tuareg groups still speak their own tribal languages.

The traditional dress of Libya consists of a long and loose gown along with the trouser for the lower body. They also use a cloak to cover their bodies and use the traditional cap on their heads. The Libyan youth is rapidly turning toward the Western clothing and the boys are normally seen in the jeans and shirts in the main cities.

A Libyan woman in her traditional dress - Valonia Hardy's image

The Libyan women also wear the typical long gowns which are also usually used to cover the heads. Modern girls although love to wear the fashionable and bright colored costumes but most women still continue to cover their hair in Hijab.

The women of Libya in the urban parts also use scarves - Alan Shipley's Image

Even the modernly designed costumes are also the blend of the traditional and Western styles. The traditional dress and jewelry is also very common in the rural areas.

A young Libyan girl in her traditional costume - Mansour Ali's Image

The nomadic Berber people of Libya trace their African roots back to 2000 B.C.E. and their traditional dress passed through many amendments caused by the influences of invading cultures. Still many Berbers continue to wear a “haik”, a large cloth wrapped around the body and wrap their heads with the cloth turbans. Similarly the Berber women cover their hair with scarves and their faces with veils called “mandeels”. Under their haiks, many Berbers wear ankle-length tunics or loose trousers called “shalwar”. A Berber women’s dress is very colorful and decorative.

A Tuareg man of Libya wearing his traditional dress on a camer. Image © Eric Lafforgue

Walking on the streets of Libya, you can see the Libyan people moving in different styles of garments. Even to see any man or woman in the traditional dress of Libya is not unusual.

Some Tuareg people of Libya dancing in their traditional ccostumes - Chris G Images

For more interesting posts on the same subject on the Lovely Planet, please click the following links ;

The exquisite culture of Lebanon is the product of its diverse population belonging to different ethnic and religious groups who have inhabited over here for thousands of year. Lebanon is considered the gem of the Middle East and it has been dominated by the greatest human civilizations of the lovely planet like the Roman, Persian, Greek, Arab, Ottoman and the most recent French. Currently the people of Lebanon are very modern and perhaps Lebanon is the most fashionable country of the Arab world. The traditional and cultural clothing in the daily lives is very hard to find these days in the modern Lebanon.

The Lebanese dancers wearing traditional costumes (Imahe: genotypewriter)

In the urban areas, the people are usually seen in the Western outfits of the latest fashion, however, in the countryside, women sometimes wear traditional colorful skirts and men wear a traditional serwal or sherwal (baggy trousers).

The traditional dress of a Lebanese man and woman

The sherwal is the existing and the surviving traditional dress of Lebanon which is the most prevalent and practical garment among villagers and mountain people. The common people of Lebanon also use the labbade, an ancient headdress which may have been worn as long ago as Phoenician times. The women of Lebanon traditionally used to wear the headdresses like the woolen scarf, silky veils or silver coned tantour.  The scarf and veil can be observed today but the tantour has become obsolete.

A Lebanese country man in his traditional costume ( Image: Luca Gargano )

Other traditional Lebanese outfits include Kurban, Abaya, Abba, Jubbe and Gambaz.  The Kubran was an ancient Lebanese dress and lost its existence today. On the other side the Abaya cloak has maintained its significance being utilitarian. The abaya is a rectangular overcoat worn by men, or it may be the outer garment of certain Muslem women.

A wonderful Lebansese dancer group in traditional outfits ( Image: Heather Kashmera )

The Druze people of Lebanon used to wear which a short sleeved and a knee length coat that was particularly used by men. Similarly Jubbe was the most common among the Bedouin community of Lebanon which is a hip length jacket with no collar and no fastenings.

The Lebanese men wearing traditional outfits ( Image: whl.travel )

Gambaz is an ornamental dress which is prepared with the expensive materials like velvet, brocade and shiny silk. The gambaz often has a low neckline for décolletage which is accepted among married women since the bosom is considered the symbol of maternity. Kab Kab is the traditional footwear of Lebanon; a simple clog shoe which is commonly in use even today.

The Lebanese belly dancers in their traditional costumes ( Image: megtelu )

Due to the multiple cultural dominations, the people of Lebanon are suffering from the exact national identification. Apart from this issue, the traditional and the cultural values of this country are awesome that can be observed in the festivals, ceremonies and folk presentations. The traditional dress of Lebanon is used mostly by the people belonging to the performing art and nowadays it is the integral costume for the folk singers and dancers.

Lebanese women dancing in a ceremony ( Image: agbu )

They’ll dedicate you everything they have, if loved. Even, if the women belong to any walk of life or whatever position or status they’re enjoying, they’ll never ignore their main responsibilities. Women of all races, sects, religions or nations deserve true respect and prestige. The purpose of the Women of the Lovely Planet series is to pay a special tribute to the women of the world. We honor the roles of the mother, the sister, the aunt, the wife and the daughter as they toil the most for their families. The women of the lovely planet are the special gifts of God on earth and they are created to be loved as they love us for our all defects.

Check out these fantastic images of the women of the lovely planet taken by some wonderful photographers;

86- A beautiful lady from Georgia in stylish pose

A beautiful lady from Georgia in stylish pose

87- The woman of Ghana

The woman of Ghana (World Bank Photo Collection)

88- A smiling Greek girl from Greece

A smiling Greek girl from Greece (Joseph Sakalak's Image)

89- A woman from Grenada while dancing

A woman from Grenada while dancing

90- A girl from Haiti

A girl from Haiti (United Nations Photo)

91- A native woman of Honduras

A native woman of Honduras (Image: Lon&Queta)

92- A gorgeous woman from Iceland

A gorgeous woman from Iceland (Image by Anna Guðmundsdottir)

93- A magical smile of an Italian woman – Italy

A magical smile of an Italian woman (Image by Pulicciano)

94- A native girl from Kiribati

A native girl from Kiribati - Image: M-J Field

95- An elegant lady of Kosovo

An elegant lady of Kosovo (Azem's Image)

96- A beautiful Krgyz woman of Krgyzstan

A beautiful Kyrgyz woman of Kyrgyzstan (tracingtea images)

97- A lady of Kuwait holding candles

A lady of Kuwait holding candles (ARABISC's Image)

98- A girl of Laos in her colorful dress

A girl of Laos ( Image by Vueltaa )

99- A working woman from Lesotho

A working woman from Lesotho (DIFID's Image)

100- A local woman of Liechtenstein

A local woman of Liechtenstein

101- A gorgeous girl of Luxembourg

A gorgeous girl of Luxembourg (Image: Clem Mason)

102- The Macedonian woman in her cultural dress – Macedonia

The Macedonian woman in her cultural dress (Bob Symons Photo)

103- The indigenous girl of Madagascar

The indigenous girl of Madagascar ( Image by Daniele Romeo Ph )

104- The woman from Malawi

The woman from Malawi (Image by Sean Hawkey)

105- A Tuareg woman of Mali

A Tuareg woman of Mali (Mark William Brunner's Image)

106- A local girl of Maldives in Malay

A local girl of Maldives in Malay (Image: Trent Burkholder)

107- A woman of Marshhall islands with her kid

A woman of Marshhall islands with her kid (Image: eoopilot)

108- A smiling lady of Mauritania

A smiling lady of Mauritania (Image: Karin Lakeman)

109- A lady from Mauritius with a fantastic smile

A lady from Mauritius with a fantastic smile ( Image: Suri JV )

110- The Moldovan woman in Moldova

The Moldovan woman (Image by Stella Knight)

111- A lovely girl of Monaco

A lovely girl of Monaco (Photo: Louis Galanos)

112- A Mongolian woman in her traditional attire

A Mongolian woman in her traditional attire (tanjakanca images)

113- A lady from Montenegro sitting on a rock

A lady from Montenegro sitting on a rock (Image by cooinda)

114- The woman of Mozambique in traditional Make up

The woman of Mozambique in traditional Make up ( Image: Leonid Plotkin )

115- A Kiwi woman from New Zealand

A Kiwi woman from New Zealand (Image: Infinite Monkeys)

116- A smiling Irish lady – Ireland

A smiling Irish lady (Image : OKie surfer-Ireland)

117- The woman from Nicaragua-Jinotega

The woman from Nicaragua (An image by Lon&Queta-Jinotega)

118- The native village woman of Niger

The native village woman of Niger - By: etrenard

119- A Nigerian woman on sewing machine – Nigeria

A Nigerian woman on sewing machine (Mennonite Central Committee's Image)

120- A woman from North Korea

A woman from North Korea (Image by Raymond Cunningham)

121- A snowy woman from Norway

A snowy woman from Norway (Image: Dieter Müßler Nordland Fylke)

122- A BEDOUIN WOMAN IN SINAW, OMAN

A BEDOUIN WOMAN IN SINAW, OMAN ( Eric Lafforgue )

123- A Pakistani girl in her traditional dress and a random capture of a Pakistani urban woman – Pakistan

A Pakistani girll in traditional attire ( Ingrid92x )

A random capture of a Pakistani urban woman (Image: Sohna Munda)

124- A Palestinian girl in scarf – Palestine

A Palestinian girl in scarf (Image courtesy: yourolivebranch.org)

125- A woman from Panama

A woman from Panama ( Image: etrenard )

126- A graceful lady from Papua New Guinea

A graceful lady from Papua New Guinea (Image Courtesy: Eric Lafforgue)

127- A native girl of Paraguay

A native girl of Paraguay (Image:Henk de Boer)

128- A Filipino girl from Philippines

A Filipino girl from Philippines (Image: Filipino girls)

129- A pretty Polish girl from Poland

A pretty Polish girl from Poland (By: dudesitsgabby)

130- A pretty Portuguese girl from Portugal

A pretty Portuguese girl from Portugal (Image: sandeepgill47)

The Parliament house of the Trinidad and Tobago is officially known as the Red House which is located in the center of the capital city Port of Spain. The Red House is the symbol of the political activities which is currently used as a meeting place for parliament. The classical architecture of the graceful Red House reminds us the Greek revival style. The structure was completely coated with red paint in 1897 when Trinidad was preparing to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. After this, the building was generally called as “The Red House”.

The Red House. Image by CB4

In 1903, the Red House caught fire after some political riots. This happened when on the same day, the legislative council was discussing about the new strategy of the distribution and payment for water in the town. A demonstration was held by the people who were opposing some of the clauses of the new ordinance. The people also threw stones and most of the window panes were broken and the ground floor was burnt. After this a bloody incident occurred when the police opened fire on the crowd. Sixteen people were killed and forty-two injured, and the Red House was completely gutted. After the fire only the shell of the original Red House remained.

The Parliament house of the Trinidad and Tobago is officially known as the Red House

After few years a new building plan of the Red House of Trinidad & Tobago was designed by D. M. Hahn who was a Chief Draughtsman of the Public Works. The work was completed in 1906.

Albanians are famous in the Balkan region for their awesome culture and amazing folklore. Whether we talk about the heroic epics , the sweetly melodic lullabies , wedding songs or other folk festivals the beauty of Albanian culture is so fascinating. This is because Albania is geographically located between two great civilizations, the Greek and the Roman. And this has resulted into a remarkable cultural heritage of Albania.

Shota dance performer in her beautiful style

Shota the traditional dance of Albania is also a reflection of the great folk heritage of Albania. This dance is very popular in whole Balkan region. The neighboring Kosovo people also love to dance Shota. Shota or Shote dance has the historic significance as well as this traditional dance is named after the Albanian heroine Shote Galica. Shote Galica was a great warrior in this region who was involved in more than 40 guerrilla campaigns against the enemy. She fought to safeguard her countrymen form the violence and terror caused by the Belgrade and Serb regimes. In the last days of her life, Shote Galica moved to Albania, where she died in Fushe-Kruje. As a tribute of her great services she was declared by the Albanian government as People’s Heroin of Albania.

Shota the traditional dance of Albania  is performed by taking speedy steps with the fast rythems of music. The main art of the Shota dancers is to maintain the momentum going fastly with the bouncing beats. Shota is so favorite dance of Albanians as it is displayed in many folk festivals, wedding occasions and many other events.