| Page Views: 2,213 Last Visit to Tripoli: June, 2007 I Visit Here Frequently | Tripoli - White Bride of the Mediterranean by iwys - last update: Aug 25, 2008 |
Tripoli is a pleasant Mediterranean port city. Originally known as Oea, it was founded by the Phoenecians in the 7th century BC. The modern name Tripoli, or Trablous in Arabic, comes from the Greek for "Three Cities". The three cities of Tripolitania were Sabratha in the west, Leptis Magna in the east and Oea in the centre. |
|  | Tripoli is faded and sun-baked and, compared to most capital cites, it is fairly quiet and safe. The souks and alleyways of the old city, or Medina, are worth exploring on foot. However, all signs, even for the big hotels and museums, are in Arabic and very few locals know English names, like "Green Square" or "Algeria Square" for any of the main sights. If you don't know any Arabic at all, you will need to do a bit of forward planning in order to find your way around.
Tripoli can be divided into three sections. At the western end of the harbour is the old city or Medina. This was the site of the Roman city, but most of what you see today dates from the Ottoman era. In the centre, extending eastwards from Green Square, is the Italian colonial section of the city, centred on Maidan Al-Jezayir, where the Italians built their cathedral in the 1920s. Finally, at the western end of the harbour is the modern city, with its high-rise office blocks, built in the 20th and 21st centuries. |
| | Sadly, in this growing city of 1.7 million people, the whitewashed buildings which earned it the nickname, White Bride of the Mediterranean, are beginning to be replaced by bare concrete blocks, so see it before it loses its character. |
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 Comments for iwys about Tripoli | | | | |
hunterV Thu Apr 16, 2009 19:39 UTC
Hello, Ian! Thanks for your story about your life in LY. | sourbugger Fri Jan 9, 2009 22:57 UTC
amazing stuff - i had no idea | jecochrane Sun May 25, 2008 15:53 UTC
Hi Found your comments on the 4 Seasons v helpful! I stayed in Tripoli a few times with friends (also in a hotel - can't remember the name but pretty dire) and now need somewhere not horribly expensive (or just horrible). 4 seasons sounds perfect. Janet | Basaic Tue Feb 12, 2008 21:08 UTC
Great Tripoli Page! |
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