The personal life of Muammar Gaddafi was complicated and the subject of significant international interest. Personality A very private individual, Gaddafi was given to rumination and solitude and could be reclusive. The reporter Mirella Bianco interviewed Gaddafi's father, who stated that his son was "always serious, even taciturn", also being courageous, intelligent, pious, and family-oriented. Gaddafi's friends described him to Bianco as a loyal and generous man. More widely, he was often regarded as being "bizarre, irrational or quixotic". Bearman noted that Gaddafi was emotionally volatile and had an impulsive temperament, with the CIA believing that the Libyan leader suffered from clinical depression. Health He was seen in a wheelchair in 1998, allegedly due to hip surgery, which caused speculations about his health. Religion Gaddafi described himself as a "simple revolutionary" and "pious Muslim" called upon by God to continue Nasser's work. Gaddafi was an austere and devout Muslim, although according to Vandewalle, his interpretation of Islam was "deeply personal and idiosyncratic." Interests He was a football enthusiast and enjoyed both playing the sport and horse riding as a means of recreation. He regarded himself as an intellectual; he was a fan of Beethoven and said his favourite novels were Uncle Tom's Cabin, Roots, and The Stranger. Appearance Gaddafi regarded personal appearance as important, with Blundy and Lycett referring to him as "extraordinarily vain." Two Brazilian plastic surgeons, Liacyr Ribeiro and Fabio Naccache, claimed they were hired by Gaddafi in 1994 to perform a hair transplant and inject belly fat into Gaddafi's face to help him look younger. Clothing Gaddafi had a large wardrobe, and sometimes changed his outfit multiple times a day. He favoured either a military uniform or traditional Libyan dress, tending to eschew Western-style suits. He saw himself as a fashion icon, stating "Whatever I wear becomes a fad. I wear a certain shirt and suddenly everyone is wearing it." Gaddafi's wardrobe was the subject of significant press coverage over the years which was criticized as distracting from serious coverage of Libya. In 2011 during the revolution Gaddafi invited the New York Times to Tripoli to see his clothing collection. Residences Following his ascension to power, Gaddafi moved into the Bab al-Azizia barracks, a 6-square-kilometre (2.3 sq mi) fortified compound located two miles from the centre of Tripoli. His home and office at Azizia was a bunker designed by West German engineers, while the rest of his