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Tripoli

Capital of LibyaIn the northwest of Libya, close to the border with Tunisia, Tripoli stands on a rocky point of land reaching into the Mediterranean Sea, at the edge of the desert.

Why it's the capital

The Phoenicians founded the city, then called Oea, in the 7th century BC. From 1711 the Karamanli pashas ruled the Tripolitania region from here almost like an independent kingdom. After Libya's independence in 1951, Tripoli and Benghazi took turns as capital, and Tripoli later became the sole capital.

Fun facts

  1. The name comes from the Greek for 'three cities', meaning Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna.
  2. Apart from scattered columns, the only Roman remains still visible in the city are the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, built in the 2nd century AD.
  3. People call it the 'Mermaid of the Mediterranean'. The Arabic nickname literally means 'bride of the sea'.

Finding it on the globe

Sicily lies almost straight north of Tripoli across the sea. Tap Libya's coast near its western end, not far from Tunisia.

Easy to mix up

There is another Tripoli in Lebanon. In Arabic, the Libyan capital is also known as Tripoli-of-the-West to tell the two apart.

Sources: Wikipedia: Tripoli, Libya, Wikipedia: Kingdom of Libya, Wikipedia: Sicily