--- description: Well that was quick. Do a search for "Martyrs' Square, Libya" on Google Maps (or just click here) and see what happens. As rebels advanced... title: Libya: How ‘Green Square’ Got Renamed ‘Martyrs’ Square’ on Google Maps So Quickly image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) # Libya: How 'Green Square' Got Renamed 'Martyrs' Square' on Google Maps So Quickly by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Aug 22, 2011 6:46 PM CUT by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) Aug 22, 2011 6:46 PM CUT Well that was quick. Do a search for “Martyrs’ Square, Libya” on Google Maps (or just [click here](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Martyrs'+Square,+Libya&hl=en&ll=32.895002,13.18162&spn=0.007405,0.0128&sll=33.896423,35.507147&sspn=0.014641,0.025599&vpsrc=6&z=17 "undefined")) and see what happens. As rebels advanced on Gaddafi Sunday night, they took the liberty of renaming “Green Square” back to “Martyrs’ Square,” its name before Gaddafi took power some 40+ years ago—a change that’s already been reflected on Google Maps. (**PHOTOS:** [Inside the Battle for Tripoli](http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2060413,00.html "undefined")) So how could such a change have occurred so quickly? Some bleary-eyed Google engineer up at all hours _with his finger on the button?!!!_ Not really. Regular people [have been able to edit Google Maps](http://techland.time.com/2011/04/19/google-maps-now-open-for-editing-in-u-s/ "undefined") for a while now, so it’s very possible that someone updated the map with the new (old) name and—boom—hello, Martyrs’ Square. Google supposedly vets such changes and, sure enough, the listing says “This place has unverified edits.” It’ll be interesting to see if this change becomes permanent and, if not, how long it’ll last. **VIDEO:** [**The Mental Toll of Libya’s War**](http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,894914650001%5F2063932,00.html "undefined") \[via [MSNBC](http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/%5Fnews/2011/08/22/7440696-the-politics-of-cartography "undefined")\] Libya: How ‘Green Square’ Got Renamed ‘Martyrs’ Square’ on Google Maps So Quickly ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7239717/libya-green-square-already-renamed-martyrs-square-on-google-maps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7239717/libya-green-square-already-renamed-martyrs-square-on-google-maps/"},"headline":"Libya: How 'Green Square' Got Renamed 'Martyrs' Square' on Google Maps So Quickly","datePublished":"2011-08-22T18:46:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T10:51:01.617Z","description":"Well that was quick. Do a search for \"Martyrs' Square, Libya\" on Google Maps (or just click here) and see what happens. As rebels advanced...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7239717/libya-green-square-already-renamed-martyrs-square-on-google-maps/","keywords":["Tech","Libya","Web"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7239717/libya-green-square-already-renamed-martyrs-square-on-google-maps/","name":"Libya: How 'Green Square' Got Renamed 'Martyrs' Square' on Google Maps So Quickly"}}]}] ```