On the site of the ancient Roman theater of Sabratha, about 70 kilometers west of the capital Tripoli, dozens of cooks are busy: in a few hours, they will present to the public a giant couscous, a Berber specialty cooked throughout North Africa.

In huge stainless steel pots, others continue to stir the semolina reddened by the tomato sauce and pile the ingredients already ready in large plates covered with aluminum foil.

On a dish four meters in diameter, we then pour the nearly 2,400 kilograms of semolina, mutton, pumpkin, and, above all, the inevitable "bossla", these onions candied in clarified butter.

Families gather happily around the giant dish, guarded by police officers, while young people film the scene with their phones.

Wearing a black coat and red veil, Ahlam Fakhri, from Tripoli, is delighted to see Libyans come together amid political tensions and armed violence following the fall and death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

"I come from a village known for its couscous, which can be smelled for miles around," boasts this doctor who has traveled a lot.

"Heritage not protected"

"The whole Maghreb is famous for its couscous, which distinguishes us from the Arab East," she says: "It's part of our identity, our culture, our heritage and we are proud of it."

However, Libya is the only Maghreb country not included in the traditions of couscous inscribed since 2020 in the intangible cultural heritage of Unesco. The reason: the State has not acceded to this UN convention.

So on the ground, civil society is mobilizing through various initiatives to "advance the file by putting pressure" on the authorities, mired in a serious political crisis in this country divided between rival camps.

With his association to support tourism and preserve heritage, Ali Messaoud Al-Ftimi organizes every year a giant couscous on a historic site, to pass "a message to Parliament".

Giant couscous prepared by Libyan chiefs at the site of the ancient Roman theatre in Sabratha, about 70km west of Tripoli, on March 10, 2023 © Mahmud Turkia / AFP

"Joining this convention will not only preserve couscous, Libya is rich in culture and heritage and this heritage is not protected," said the 54-year-old community activist.

The giant couscous, like National Traditional Clothing Day and other initiatives, is the result of "popular momentum," he said, hoping parliamentarians will ratify the international convention "in the near future."

"More than a dish"

Libya could thus join Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia on the couscous issue "because an inscription does not mean definitive ownership or exclusivity" by one or more countries, says UNESCO.

In Tripoli, Monira Zwait says she hopes for it with all her heart. The 43-year-old chef has opened her own restaurant in the capital, sharing her pastry creations inspired by current trends on Facebook and YouTube. But couscous remains a "red line": it scrupulously respects the traditional recipe.

Libyan gold embroidery on her white chef's uniform, she prepares her favorite dish by pouring a pinch of salt, a little chili powder and a touch of cinnamon that will leave an aftertaste of treat.

"Couscous is not just a dish we eat, it is the mirror of a civilization and a know-how transmitted from generation to generation," insists Monira Zwait, initiated very young by her mother.

Very attached to heritage, she defends it in the "simplest" way, continuing to cook traditional dishes. Food "speaks to everyone," she says, because it brings us back to an experience "both collective and intimate."

© 2023 AFP