Tripoli Lebanon: Food Culture, Citizens, and Temper

Present

• ElMina

The harbour - ElMina - three kilometers away, hosted what was apparently at one time a Phoenician town of which nothing now remains. ElMina is also known as the "City of Waves and Horizons".

• Families

A comprehensive repository of Tripolitan families and expatriates.

• Handicrafts

Tripoli has long been known for its sweets industry, olive oil-based soap production, and copper crafts.

• Index Tripolis

A project to provide bibliographic information about Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Kazdoura

A wander around inside Tripoli, Lebanon: A diary of humouristic series of walkabouts "kazdouras".

• Links

Useful links and telephone numbers in Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Maps

Terrain, street, satellite, touristic, urban growth, sailing, and historical maps and aerial imagery of Tripoli, Lebanon.

• News

Daily and weekly news from Tripoli, Lebanon.

• North Lebanon

A guide for towns and villages neighbouring Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Palm Islands

The Palm Islands Park is a unique and integrated natural marine basin in the eastern Mediterranean that was declared as a reserve in 1994.

• Panoramic Views

Interactive panoramic views of Tripoli, Lebanon.

• TeDS

The 'Tripoli e-Discussion Society' is an independently self-controlled body that aims at gathering Tripolitans residing all over the world to discuss issues pertaining to Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Today's Tripoli

Various present aspects of Tripoli, Lebanon

• Tripoli Radio

An Internet Radio that features original on-demand programs about various aspects of Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Tripoli TV

An Internet TV that brings you original on-demand films about various aspects of Tripoli, Lebanon.

Past

• History

A quick reference about Tripoli in the Prehistorical, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusade, Mameluke, and Ottoman periods.

• Monuments

The wealth of historical monuments make Tripoli the second largest preserved Mameluke city in the world.

• The Tripoli Quiz

An educational game to test your knowledge about Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Tourist Guide

A comprehensive tourist guide for sightseeing in Tripoli, Lebanon.

• Virtual Museum

A documented history of Tripoli from the 3rd to the 20th centuries with large collections of coins, garments, manuscripts, paintings, old photographs, and many other artifacts.

Languages

• Français

Bienvenue à Tripoli, Liban

• عربي

أهلاً بكم في طرابلس لبنان

• Ramadhan / رمضان

The Holy Month of Ramadhan in Tripoli / شهر رمضان المبارك في طرابلس

• عائلات

العائلات الطرابلسية

Information presented in The Tripoli Internet Database/tripoli-city.org web site is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized public reproduction or distribution of material contained in The Tripoli Internet Database/tripoli-city.org web site, or any portion of it, may result in severe civil and criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible under the law.

Please send your comments, suggestions, or contributions to: Dr. Ghazi Omar Tadmouri.

Tripoli is famous for the variety in desserts and delicious food that needs long hours of preparation. This is in addition to the Oriental Sweets. Some of the famous Tripolitan dishes include:

1. Shamite Sweets: Mafroukeh, Halawet Shmayseh, Mamdoudeh, Hariseh, ...
2. Falafel
3. Hommos Bethineh (Ground Chick Peas with lemon and garlic)
4. Fool Moudammas (Fava Bean)
5. Tasqiyyeh
6. Moughrabiyyeh
7. in addition to the major 'Lebanese' dishes as: Tabbouleh, Kebbeh, Mezze, Stuffed Grape Leaves, Kousa Blaban, ... El-Mina, the port area, is a good place to find seafood restaurants and fish markets.

Related Links

Saveurs du Monde (video).

Some of the Tripolitan sweets: (From top right to top left) Billawriye, Ish elBoulboul, Baqlawa stuffed with pine seeds, Asabe'e Snawbar, (from center right to center left) Barma stuffed with pine seeds, Barma stuffed with pistachio, Faysaliyyah, Laffet elQadee, (from bottom right to bottom left) Kol-we-Shkor stuffed with pine seeds, Kol-we-Shkor stuffed with pistachio, Basma stuffed with pine seeds, and Basma stuffed with pistachio.

Some of the Tripolitan sweets: (From top right to top left) Knafeh with cream, Ka'ak-be-Knafeh, Qatayef, Ward elSham, Faysaliyah with cream, (from center right to center left) Taj elMalek, Zonoud elSett, Halawet elJobn, Halawet AlJanneh, Ma'amoul with cream, (from bottom right to bottom left) Miramar, Koullaj, Mafroukeh, Basma, Halawet AlRozz stuffed with sweet cheese.

Piles of Burma.

A main Tripolitan dish is Fava Bean, known in Arabic as Foul. The photo (top) shows Tripolitans at a popular Fool shop in old Tripoli. Of course, "Foul" can't be eaten without oriental bread (below).

As in many Lebanese cuisines Tripolitan cuisine includes a great number of tiny apetiser dishes named in Arabic "Meze". In the picture is a sampler of Lebanese Meze featuring (from top clockwise): Tabbouleh, yoghurt dip, kebbeh, Hommos, samosa, stuffed vine leaves, baba ghannouj, Lebanese green olives, garlic dip.

In Tripoli, there are a lot of high-class restaurants that offer a variety of Lebanese food in interesting surroundings, decoration, colors, natural views of mountains and the sea. Many of the restaurants are found in Tripoli or the touristic places around. But cafes are spread in almost all quarters of the city. The most important of these are: City Complex, Pergolo, Andalous, Top, Pinky, Cup O Tea, Tea Garden, Negresco, etc.. These are considered as places for political, poetic, cultural, and artistic meetings.

Smoking narjile (Hubble-Bubble) is still a common practice in Tripoli.

Tripolitans, as all other Lebanese, are generally known for their love to travel and immigration for labor, education, and acquaintance with people in the world. Tripolitans are present in different places of the world achieving success and many of them got educational, political, economical, and social positions.

Tripolitans are known for their youth and liveliness. They are brave, respectful, welcoming the guest and having good temper. They love science, fiction, and art. They reserve their culture, social tradition, and family ties. Rarely in the world exists a country having an impressive sense of hospitality as Tripoli. This is not away of living, it is a vocation and its slogan. In direct opposition to the artificial merits of countries which are stressed upon in international guides, Tripoli remains always, as it has been, as natural as could be, the second home for all its visitors.