I've been there once the year before the "Arab spring"... You have to be prepared and have to know where are you going and that is - one developing muslim country in Africa. That should tell you something, right. And that also means - forget about local chicks (unless you want to get into real trouble). On the other side there are really beautiful things to see. If you can go to "desert/Sahara trip" - its a 2 day trip where they put you in SUV and drive you around so you can visit oases, do camel riding, visit really interesting Barber village/family... really interesting. Bring your camera since there you'll be able to make some really beautiful pictures.
Alcohol is/was available to tourists but not to locals. Avoid any talk about politics, religion and such. I would rate country as quite secure. I didn't had any security problems... I've also been into main city, walking, shopping and site seeing on my own without any problems.
Hotels are really crappy. Most of them was built in 80s or so and 5* hotel in there is like 2* or 3* in Europe or so. If you want anything extra or you are not happy with something just tip the hotel staff and that will get you about anything that you need
It's really cheap in there. Most of the prices for tourists are like 3 times bigger than the prices that locals pay. They do not issue bills/receipts and even if they do they will try to scam you so be aware. Do not enter places that do not have price list before entrance.
They can be really annoying when trying to sell something to you. Act uninterested and thank them and they will leave. They had great ice cream