The cocktail of influences—Arab, Ottoman, Italianate, European modernist—suits the relaxed, eclectic and rebellious nature of the city. But there is something else, a material that does not belong to any other culture or period. It is timeless and unique to Benghazi. It is perhaps the most important architectural material there is, more than stone. It is light. The Benghazi light is a material. You can almost feel its weight, the way it falls and holds its subject.
