The Great Man-Made River in Libya was once considered the 8th Wonder of the World. Water was first discovered in the 1960s when oil and gas drilling companies discovered enormous aquifers beneath the desert sands of Libya. 20 years after these discoveries, Libya was under the brutal dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi who had overthrown the monarchy in 1969. Gaddafi embarked on an ambitious plan to pump water from under the desert into large reservoirs that were connected by pipelines throughout the country. While three of the five planned phases were completed at an estimated cost of $30 billion, the project was halted when Gaddafi was killed in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings. This is the fascinating story of a despot who had a grand vision for Islamic pan-Arab nationalism and will forever be linked to one of the greatest engineering feats the world has ever seen; a man who was ultimately betrayed by western “allies” and ironically died as brutally as he ruled at the hands of young Islamic Arab nationalists.

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:35

Chapter One: 00:05:11

Chapter Two: 00:09:21

Chapter Three: 00:15:27

Chapter Four: 00:21:57

Chapter Five: 00:32:13

Chapter Six: 00:37:07

Bring it home, Max. 00:44:18

Resources

Water Supply Project: GMR (Great Man-Made River)

Middle East Institute: What’s next for Libya’s Great Man-Made River Project?

What Happened to Libya's Great Man-Made River Project?

GWI: Libya’s $11 billion water lifeline

ScienceDirect Topics: Agricultural Revolution - an overview

Reuters: Libyan leaders agree form new unified government

Al Jazeera: Libya’s High State Council elects new leader as political gridlock deepens

Muammar Gaddafi Interviewed Just Before Libyan Revolution

Moammar Gadhafi Dead Video: Last Moments Alive Caught on Tape in Sirte

Book Love

John Wright: History of Libya

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