Closed to most outsiders for decades, Tripoli is beginning to reveal its secrets to
visitors once again. From central Green Square, stroll streets of colonnaded,
Italian-built edifices. Head in the other direction into the atmospheric Medina
walled old city, much of which dates from the 16th century. Watch old men playing
backgammon and drink a glass of lousa almond milk in an atmospheric Medina cafe.
Background
Tripoli lies on the Mediterranean Sea in the far west of Libya, near the Tunisian
border. The city was under Italian control between 1911 and the Second World War,
and Italian architecture is still in evidence in the modern city. 1 September Street
has many boutiques selling jewellery and clothes. More fascinating, though, are the
lanes, souk markets and monuments of the predominantly Ottoman, centuries-old
Medina old town. The two parts of the city are linked by palm-flanked Al
Saaha Alkhadhraa (Green Square).
First-time visit
Explore Tripoli's walled old town, dominated by the Assaraya al-Hamra
(Red Castle). In the castle, see the Janahiriya Museum's impressive
collection. Admire the attractive Gurgi Mosque's floral decorations
and octagonal minaret. The Santa Maria degli Angeli Church, rebuilt in 1891
in stone imported from Malta, is also worth a visit. See the second-century Roman
Arch of Marcus Aurelius in its own square on the edge of the
Medina. People-watch as you sit at a cafe on Green Square sipping mint
tea and nibbling peanuts. Take a trip out to Leptis Magna, one of the most
impressive and best-preserved Roman cities.
Return visit
Admire the colonnaded galleries around the courtyard of Dar Karamanli
(Karamanli House), family home of the former ruling Karamanli dynasty. It later
became the Italian consulate. The architecture of the Old French and Old British
Consulates is equally impressive. Try typical Libyan dishes like
bazin barley dumpling served with hot sauce, or sherba spicy soup. Pay
your respects to over 1400 allied soldiers who fell in the Second World War at the
Commonwealth War Cemetery. Across the desert is the Phoenician
– and later Roman – UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site of
Sabratha.
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