Tripoli is the capital city of
Libya, with an estimated population
of just under two million people.
It is located in the northwest
side of the country on a rocky
land projecting into the sea
and forming a natural bay. The
name Tripoli comes from Tri-Polis,
which means 'three cities': the
famous three cities that made
up the region of Tripolitania
in ancient times: Sabratha (Zwagha),
Leptis Magna (Lubdah) and Oea
(Tripoli). The
origin of polis goes
back to archaic Greek where it meant "city-state",
a city with its own legal body and ruled by its own citizens. Thus, the name
is found in many forms, like Pentapolis (the five cities of Cyrenaica
in Eastern Libya), Acropolis (a citadel with a temple inside), cosmopolis (large
cosmopolitan urban centre), Necropolis (city of the dead), and, of course,
the current Arabic form of the Libyan capital: Tarabolous, Tharaboulus or T'arāboulus,
which is written in Arabic as طرابلس, while internationally it was more specifically
known as T'arābulus al-Gharb (Tripoli
of the West), طرابلس الغرب, to
distinguish it from another city in the Middle East by the same name, namely
Lebanon's Tripoli.
Brief History of Tripoli
The city of
Tripoli was used by the Phoenicians
as a commercial city during the 1st millennium BC, when
they first arrived in Tripolitania. Over the course
of the centuries, the Carthaginians' influence grew to dominate
the entire Mediterranean, and even threatened the
existence of emerging Rome, when Hannibal imprisoned
the Romans in their own home for 12 years. Apparently
Hannibal refused to attack Rome because he objected to killing women and children
in their own home, and instead waited for Roman men
to come out and give him a decent fight.
The Romans, fearing certain death,
began their conspiracy to divert the war to Carthage and as a result
Hannibal was ordered by his superiors to return home to defend
the capital; where he was eventually betrayed
and lost. The Romans grazed the North African capital to the ground. Following
this disastrous defeat, Tripolitania first came under the influence
of the Berber Kingdom of Massinissa's Numidia, before
it was taken over by the Romans and eventually became a Roman protectorate, providing
grains, air-like wine, wild animals, and slaves to Rome.
The city was badly devastated by the Vandals in the
5th century, and was almost paralysed during the Byzantine period where
it remained so until the arrival of the Arabs in
the 7th century AD.
Tripoli then became Tarabulus, and gradually recovered
its commercial status, linking the Sahara and the rest of Africa with Europe
and Asia. By the the 15th century Tripoli became an international trading
post, and declared its independence in 1460, albeit
for a short while; as the city once again was attacked by the Spaniards, then
the Turks, then the Knights of St John of Malta in the 16th century.
A View of Tripoli.
During the Ottoman period Tripoli was
renamed Tarabulus al-Gharb (West
Tripoli) to distinguish it from Lebanon's Tripoli
in the Middle East, in Asia.
After the Italian
invasions of 1911 Tripoli began to grow in size beyond
the confines of the Old Medina, and after the Second
War (WWII), many families left the Old Medina to
live in the new and recently vacated Italian villas
and houses. By 1950s the population of Tripoli grew to 100,000,
and then to one million by 1980s.
The population of Tripoli today is estimated at
1.8 million.
In short,
Tripoli is one of the most exotic and alluring cities of
the Mediterranean world.
The vibrant atmosphere of the capital is rich in
signposts of its long history and culture,
from the Roman sites and the Old Medina, to the modern
developments of booming Libya, where local Libyan traditions are mixed
with Islamic, Byzantine and Turkish cultures to create
a unique place, fast becoming a cosmopolitan city. With the recent lifting
of the visa restriction and the opening of Libya
to international investment and tourism, Tripoli once more is becoming an
international business centre and fast emerging as
the sun, sand
and sea destination of the future.
The Shores of Tripoli.
Places of Interest To Visit In Tripoli
A map of the centre of Tripoli, showing the Old City (Medina) and Assaraya Museum (coloured blue).
The Martyrs Square
The Old City (Old Medina)
Assaraya Alhamra Museum
Janzur Museum
Tripoli's Shores
Italian Façades
The Red Castle
Arch of Marcus Aurelius
Janzur Beach
&
the Tourist Village
Darghut Mosque
Gurgi (Gurji) Mosque
Ahmed Pasha Karamanli Mosque
The Karamanli House
The Karamanli (Qaramanli) House
Tripoli Historical Exhibition
The House of Karamanli, or al-Qaramanli
House, was built in the second half of the 18th century, during the reign of
Ali Pasha Alqaramanli, and was used by Yousuf Pasha until his death. The house
was restored during the early 1990s and became known as Tripoli Historical
Exhibition. The
house includes a fine fountain and mosaic-covered walls, with two floors: the
ground floor comprises four rooms, including Assaddah Room, the Guest
room, the Clothes room, the toilet, and the kitchen. The first floor contains
Dar Alqabou,
which houses the Karamanli costumes and furniture from that period; the Bedroom
(with traditional bed and embroidered cushions); Historical & Traditional
Weapons Room, containing models dressed in traditional costumes from all periods
of Libyan history; and Dar Alarasah (models of instruments used by
the Sufis). Please see our museums for more on this.
The Arch of Marcus Aurelius
Arch of Marcus Aurelius in Tripoli.
The triumphal Arch of Marcus Aurelius is located at the
junction of two roads: the Cardo Maximus and Decumanus,
providing an impressive welcome to the city from the harbour.
The good condition of the arch is actually due to the fact that the arch was
relocated from Leptis Magna. The empty niches in the facades of the pillars once
contained the statues of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus ('the wise') - the
Roman emperor from the year 161 to 180, who also was
a Stoic-philosopher and a writer of
the literary work: Meditations. The arch dates to 163 AD.
برج طرابلس
Burj Tarabolous
The tower was previously known as Al-Fateh or Al-Fateh
Tower, in reference to the 1st of September 1969. After the liberation of
Libya on October 2011 all names containing the word "Alfateh" were changed to
"Tarabolous" and thus the current name: Tripoli Tower. The Burj consists of two
towers, each of 24 floors (excluding the ground floor), with a revolving restaurant
at the top. The restaurant turntable is in the shape of a doughnut with a stationary
service core, very reminiscent of a sushi restaurant.
The offices of most of the airliners, large institutions, and foreign companies
are located in this tower.
The New Burj Boulayla (Boulayla Tower)
The new sky scrapers of Tripoli (still under construction): dwarfing Boulayla
and Tripoli towers. JW.Marriott Hotel (bottom right).
Markets (traditional souks)
The Market in the Old City.
Tripoli is the home of a number of traditional markets, doing
business for most of the day and well into the evenings. Among the main markets
of the capital are: Souk Attara (textiles and clothing, just off Martyrs Square);
Souk Ghizdir (commission your own copperware); Souk Atturk (the largest market
in the Old City, sells everything); Carpet Bazaar; and Souk Sharea ar-Rashid
(all kinds of goods).
The Red Castle or Assaraya Alhamra:
Assaraya Alhamra before Gaddafi.
The castle was the seat of power in Tripolitania ever since
the Turkish Pashas used it as their official headquarters in the 16th century,
and remained so until recently when things began to change after
the colonial wars at the start of the 20th century.
Assaraya Alhamra, Tripoli.
The Red Castle is an impressive building with an area
of about 13000 square metres. The site
was the location of a Roman fortified camp, dating to the 2nd century AD. In
the 16th century the citadel was improved by adding
defensive towers to aid in defending the castle. During the conflict
between the religious factions of Turkey, the castle became a true
house of horror, with leaders crucified, butchered, plagued and
exiled.
[Photo: Libyan Air Force.]
The Red Castle Museum
Assaraya Alhamra Museum (the Red Castle Museum), sometimes also
known as the National Museum), is one
of the must-see places in Tripoli; housing a rich collection
of artifacts from various periods of Libyan history, right from
the Stone Age and down to the present, including a wonderful
collection of Greek and Roman statues and busts. Most of the other sections
of the complex are currently used by the Libyan Department of Antiquities.
The entrance to the
Assaraya
Alhamra Museum
(the Red Castle Museum).
The Old City (Medina)
The main entrance to the Medina, known as Bab Al-Hurriyah (the Freedom Gate).
The Old City (or Old Medina), with its labyrinthine dark
lanes, is an exotic place to see, bustling with life and shoppers and
oozing with rich aromas of spices, coffee, nuts, falafel
and freshly-made sweets. The local shops in the medina sell
a wide range of traditional products such as clothing,
textile, leather products, like shoes, bags and wallets, silver
and gold jewellery, and copper and brass ornaments of all kinds.
This is what you call an old street from the Old City. There are a number of similar
streets in the medina,
where the real character of the medina is still clearly visible.
Apparently Tripoli remained within the boundaries of
the Medina until sometime during the 19th century when
the city began to grow and subsequently spread beyond the boundaries of
the old city. The latest statistics indicate that about
3500 people still live in the medina. Many of the houses in the city are in need
of restoration work.
Tripoli's Taxi Chariot
Explore the streets of the capital the traditional way: a white chariot drawn by a white horse.
Emergency Phone Numbers & The Main Hospitals In Tripoli:
