Libya Couscous Dish Eyes Guinness Book of World Records

More than 15 Libyan chefs came together to prepare the largest plate of couscous in the hope of entering the Guinness Book of Records. (218TV via Twitter)
More than 15 Libyan chefs came together to prepare the largest plate of couscous in the hope of entering the Guinness Book of Records. (218TV via Twitter)
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Libya Couscous Dish Eyes Guinness Book of World Records

More than 15 Libyan chefs came together to prepare the largest plate of couscous in the hope of entering the Guinness Book of Records. (218TV via Twitter)
More than 15 Libyan chefs came together to prepare the largest plate of couscous in the hope of entering the Guinness Book of Records. (218TV via Twitter)

More than 15 Libyan chefs and several of their assistants came together on Friday to prepare the largest plate of couscous in the hope of entering the Guinness Book of Records.

The dish has a diameter of 4.5 meters, weighs 1,200 kilograms and contains 375 kilograms of dried meat, in addition to large quantities of butter, chickpeas, onions, spices, almonds, raisins and coconut.

This event, in Ghadames, southern Libya, was launched in the hope of making Libyan couscous part of the World Intangible Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO).

The took place after a wave of popular anger erupted in Libya over UNESCO’s inclusion of couscous from Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Mauritania on the World Intangible Heritage List in January, while Libyan couscous was excluded.

According to Africa Gate News, the dish cost around 95,000 Libyan dinars, and it was funded by a local food and beverage company.

Ali Masoud Al-Fateeni, the event organizer, pointed out that the dish, the largest of its kind, can serve 5,000 people. It was distributed to attendees.

The couscoussier, which was made with galvanized iron and then wrapped and decorated with inscriptions reflecting the Libyan identity, was designed by the engineer Jalal Al-Rumaili.



A Young Gorilla Rescued from Aircraft Hold Recovers at Istanbul Zoo

Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla infant who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla infant who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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A Young Gorilla Rescued from Aircraft Hold Recovers at Istanbul Zoo

Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla infant who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla infant who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is recovering at an Istanbul zoo, officials said Sunday, while wildlife officers consider returning him to his natural habitat.

The 5-month-old gorilla was discovered in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand last month. After a public competition, he has been named Zeytin, or Olive, and is recuperating at Polonezkoy Zoo.

“Of course, what we want and desire is for the baby gorilla ... to continue its life in its homeland,” Fahrettin Ulu, regional director of Istanbul Nature Conservation and National Parks, said Sunday, The AP reported.

“What is important is that an absolutely safe environment is established in the place it goes to, which is extremely important for us.”

In the weeks since he was found, Zeytin has gained weight and is showing signs of recovering from his traumatic journey.

“When he first came, he was very shy, he would stay where we left him,” said veterinarian Gulfem Esmen. “He doesn’t have that shyness now. He doesn’t even care about us much. He plays games by himself.”

Both gorilla species — the western and eastern gorillas, which populate central Africa’s remote forests and mountains — are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

As Istanbul emerges as a major air hub between continents, customs officials have increasingly intercepted illegally traded animals. In October, 17 young Nile crocodiles and 10 monitor lizards were found in an Egyptian passenger’s luggage at the city’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport.