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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
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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.
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| Tripoli by Night |
A majestic sky caressing Tripoli at sunset time.
The first landmark that we encountered in Tripoli as we arrived from south (Beirut), is the Nour (light) Square (also named AbdulHameed Karameh Square). Nour square changes its skin everyday. At daytime, the square witnesses the busiest traffic of Tripoli. As soon as the sun travels away, Nour square starts shining to silently welcome the night.
After passing the Nour Square, we continued north through the boulevard until the cross point of Azmi street. There we went east (right) to reach the Tell Square. On our way, we sensed the refreshing drizzles of the Municipality Fountain, surrounded from the north by the Municipal palace and from south by the Menshiyeh Park.
The first historical monument we visited is the Tell Clocktower, a late Ottoman construction. It overlooks the busy Tell (or Jamal AbdulNasser) Square.
The Tell Clocktower was recently renovated and its bells started ringing after a long silence expressing its sorrow to lose its friend: The Tell Saray. A famous Ottoman building that once occupied the area of the actual Tell square and was a victim of ignorance and negligence.
We left the Tell Clocktower heading to the Nejmeh Square. Most shops are closed except fast-food restaurants (Shawerma, falafel, etc..). This does not seem to affect the never resting traffic.
The second non-sleeping area of Tripoli is the Nejmeh Square and its surrounding streets.
There are not many shops open as in Tell Area, but the traffic heading up to Abou Samra hill and the sound of the hubble-bubbles (Narjileh) of Tripolitan overnighters enjoying the fresh breeze coming from the mountains gives a feeling of a warm welcome in this business center in Old Tripoli.
We followed the traffic and went up through the Refa'iyeh alley. After few minutes and few turns in Abou Samra district, we reached the famous Tripoli Citadel.
The Tripoli Citadel is one of the largest and oldest military fortresses in Lebanon. It was founded by the Arab commander "Sufyan ben Mujib alAzdi" in 636 CE.
The Tripoli Citadel was subsequently enlarged by the Crusades, Mamelukes, and Ottomans.
The present state of this large fortress (130 meters long and 70 meters wide) is largely the result of extensive restoration work by the Ottoman Sultan "Selim ben Selim the First", who commissioned the construction of the northern tower that includes the main gate, and Mustapha Barbar Agha, governor of Tripoli at the beginning of the 19th century.
When looking at the Citadel from the Center of Tripoli, the Citadel resembles a crown placed on the head of a king. This, in fact, was the idea behind its construction in that place: To survey the city and follow the slightest disturbance in the sea caused by unwanted visitors and pirates.
We left the Citadel to visit the modern districts of Tripoli. At the beginning of the Mina Road, we encountered an interesting new statue that represents the lemon tree leaves, an important symbol in Tripoli. Until a recent time, orchards of lemon trees occupied large areas of Tripoli. In spring time and when the lemon flowers mature, they spread a very pleasant odor that perfumes Tripoli for several days, that is why Tripoli is also known as alFayha’a (the city with a pleasant odor). Unfortunately, these orchards no more exist and the refreshing phenomenon is now considered as a history in this modern place.
From the Mina road, we took some sideways to visit the Tripoli International Fair (Rasheed Karameh Exhibition Center). At first sight, it looks like a ball of light emerging from a black sea. The superb view of Tripoli from the Abou Samra hill did not stop us from looking back at where we were few minutes before.
As we advance to the exhibition center, we noticed the large parking areas that made us guess the size giant construction we were about to visit.
When we continued our tour around the Tripoli International Fair, one of the largest exhibition centers of the Middle East, we encountered a second large parking area. Surprisingly, it turned out to be the parking for a five-star hotel that was recently inaugurated in the area.
We did not envy of course the residents of the hotel for the silent view they are enjoying because our aim was to visit a new bustling area.
We took new sideways to access the Mina road again. In less than a minute we found ourselves in front of a modest and modern shopping mall: The City Complex. Most of the visitors of the complex are teenagers, this is considered as one of their favorite places to get together, because of the availability of fast-food restaurants, cafes, and cinema halls.
To be continued!
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