 | Tripoli Things To Do | Tips 31 - 40 of 157 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (157) ...is the hallmark of the Gurgi Mosque, the last of Tripoli's mosques to be built in the Medina during Ottoman times. Stone masons from Morocco and tile makers from Tunisia were brought to Tripoli to adorn this mosque. Built in 1833 at the behest of Mustapha Gurgi, a Barbary sea captain with Georgian antecedants (Gurgi meand Georgia), no expense was spared. With its tall twin-balconied minaret (the tallest in the city - photo 1) and elaborately carved and tile-decorated doors the mosque is as fine on the outside as it is inside where with the exquisite inlaid stonework on the minbar (photo 3) and the mihrab (photo 5), delicate stone tracery on the walls and domes in the ceiling, and the beautifully decorated and lacquered wooden-canopied sidda (photo 2) at the back of the hall, Mustapha Gurgi was making sure his was the most beautiful mosque in all the city. His tomb, along with those of his family, is to be found in a room beside the minbar.
Guided tours of the city always take in this mosque, rightly so.
The guardian here is justly proud of his charge and will point out the many features to you as you visit. A small tip is always appreciated though not obligatory. Leave a Comment Address: Sharia Hara KebirDirections: Behind the Aurelian Arch
|
 | |  |
Visiting Tripoli?
Read reviews about Tripoli Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
It was Eid al Kabir the first time I visited Qasr al Haj and, unfortunately, the qasr was locked so I had to be content with a walk around the outside, peering through the great palm trunk doorway. It was enough to see what a fantastic place this is, and to make me want to come back if and when I returned to Libya. Lying about 160km from Tripoli, at the base of the Jebel Nafusa, this is the closest of Libya's great fortified Berber granaries to the city and the only one that can feasibly visited in a day trip out of town
Built in the 12th century as a sort of community "bank" that offered safe storage for the village people's major assets - their valuable crops of wheat, barley and olive oil , it is the only qasr (photo 1) still in constant use. Its stone and clay construction, the massive and impregnable outer walls broken only by a few tiny "windows " and a single door, kept the stored goods cool and dry as well as safe. A portion of the crop was taken both to sell, to pay for the upkeep of the qasr and the nearby mosque, and to distribute among the poor. The old town is deserted now and the people of Qasr al Hajj have move to a new town up the road but the qasr, surrounded by a well-tended garden, is in kept in excellent repair.
There are 114 storerooms in the qasr, arranged in 4 tiers. Up to 5 metres deep, the rooms are divided into sections and sealed by a split palm trunk-door (photo 4) - though not all have their doors these days. A narrow staircase (photo 2) gives access to a walkway around the top layer of storerooms - and a wonderful birds'eye view (photo 3) of the huge circular courtyard and the jebel beyond (photo 5). Leave a Comment Directions: A visit to the Qasr can be combined with a visit to Gharyan's troglodyte houses and pottery market. We hired a taxi for the day at a cost of 120 LYD.
|
| | |
Tucked around the corner behind the Ottoman Clock Tower, the coppersmiths of Tripoli's Souq al Ghizdir continue to ply their trade in a time-honoured fashion. It will only take you a few minutes to walk the length of this little souq where you'll find the coppersmiths, hammer in hand, bent over their work in the doorways of the small workshops that line the alley (photos 1 and 2). Braziers glow in the dark interiors - this is a scene that transports you back through the centuries. Urns and teapots, trays, bowls, cooking pots and utensils of all shapes and sizes of copper and brass are stacked inside and out but it is the jammour - the crescent moons that sit atop a minaret - that really catch the eye (photo 3). Leave a Comment Directions: Souq al_Ghizdir leads off the clocktower square
|
Attempt to visit the archaeological museum early morning.
The old fort of Tripoli, located on the south-eastern corner of the Medina has been fitted out into a museum (Jamahiryiya Museum); walking by one morning, I found the door open (picture1) and I went in. only cleaning employees were there, but after a minute or two, somebody came and angrily told me to go out, which I did; bad luck! I just began to look at some antique statues and mosaics near the entrance, but I was supposed to go to the office and could not wait the museum opens. . . so I can show only pictures from the fort, outside ; a water pond nearby, borders with benches is a late evening attraction in Tripoli where people sit and . . . leave their drinks cans and carton beakers (picture2).
Well if you want to visit the museum, opening hours: 9 a.m.to 5 I do not know, the guy told me only the opening hour!)
If you arrive early have a walk around the fort (picture3)
and pictures here: http://www.jorgetutor.com/libia/tripolimuseo2/tripolimuseo.htm
|
| | |
The Jami Chamid Al Ain mosque is located in one of the long North-south streets of the Medina near the hammam Darghout. I was not in the prayer room but the corridors around, and the ways to a Madrassa were accessible; I liked this decoration with the plants on the carpets, the tiles on the wall like windows, the discrete blue painting; it was peaceful to have a stop here , look at the decoration, feel the ambience of this small mosque, not being bothered by what happens around; the pointy minaret seems typical of Tripoli . Address: Medina
|
Visiting Tripoli?
Read reviews about Tripoli Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
This café is located on the southern side of the Medina, near the museum which is located in the old fort (picture1). it was crowded when I was there; people were watching a world cup game having a drink or a shisha. I had a light dinner there (falafel) and enjoyed a shisha too. I did not look at the football game but at the people and the surroundings; it is an Egyptian café, the waiter was very helpful keeping a free space for me , as he thought I wanted to watch the game on the giant screen and took care I had nobody in front of me (picture3); Arabic sense of welcoming. . . . Address: South east, between Medina and Fort (museum)
|
What a contrast! at 6 or 7 morning the Medina is very quiet, the streets are empty, the area is for you; but everything is closed and you just can walk around and may be spot some area you may visit later when people will be there or find interesting buildings you will visit later when they open.
The entrance of the medina is almost deserted in the morning (picture1), only the lider maximo is already there, possibly admired by the taxi drivers. . . Small streets are arches under houses with some interruptions between houses for let the light go on the small streets (picture 2), bigger streets (picture3) have shops on each side and are partly covered. Nice surprises happen when you find a tree at the corner of a street, (picture4); well in other parts it is a bit . . . dirty, but it is part of real life. . .and if the scent is a bit aggressed, the eyes have a lot to see.
|
| | |
As we have seen in a general tip, the lider maximo is everywhere, and if you do not have enough, you can even buy tee shirts with his effigy; smart, tasteful, I did not dare to buy one for myself or for a friend, but I should have done, and if you happen to go to Tripoli, go to the souk in the Medina, enter the main door (the one opening to Assaha Al Khadra square, where you see him watching the crowds going in and out of the Medina), well, go in, pass the first souvenir shop on your left, the one on picture 2, turn left and about 20 m left is a big souvenir shop selling all sorts of tee shirts, old silver jewellery, tourist souvenirs in general, and you will find these very nice tee shirts.
Ah, I cannot resist to the pleasure to show you some more pictures of the lider maximo, as he likes so much to be shown and displayed. . . . Picture 4shows him at the exhibition park (exhibition? has it something to do with exhibitionism?), picture 3 looking again for better future on a building near this exhibition park, and acting as a model for sunglasses and a modern cut keffiah in the souk on picture 5. Address: MedinaDirections: Left after the south entrance
|
| | |
I did not drive in Tripoli, but if some people intend to hire a car, one advice: be sure you have gas when you drive or go somewhere, it seems (at least in Tripoli) that there are very few gas stations, and there are always cars lining in queues. People I met there told me it can take hours before you get your car filled. I cannot say more, its expatriates who live there who told me, it would be a pity to lose time or to get stuck on the road because of a gas problem.
|
I found this one of the most beautiful places in Tripoli. It is located on Almogaryif street, a busy street in the “Italian” district. You can freely go inside this Turkish palace through a porch (picture2), and look at the gardens and the buildings. It is a school and there is only a small vitrine which displays what is produced here. The garden with a very big ficus tree (picture3)is a relaxing place where you can have a chat with the watchmen, and you have a nice look from the balconies (picture 1) , where Mauresque arches decorate the building (picture4). From the street it also looks impressive, it was probably an Italian official building? Address: Almogaryif street
|
|
 |
 |
Search Hotels
Find the best room rates |
|
 |
|
on April 11, 2007
on October 26, 2006
