 | Tripoli Things To Do | Tips 61 - 70 of 157 |  |
Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (157) Standing all on its own beside a small section of stone wal (the last remaining fragment of the original medina walls) you'll find the little Sheikh Sidi Abdul Wahab Mosque, the smallest of all the mosques in Tripoli's medina. The sheikh was a 14th century holy man and mosque is his burial place and a holy shrine. This is the last place pilgrims leaving Libya or Mecca come to pray before leaving from Tripoli's airport. In more than a dozen visits to Tripoli, MrL has never found it open, and I didn't either. Leave a Comment Directions: Along the medina waterfront, at the foot of Sharia Hara Kebir near the Roman Arch |
Tripoli's castle is built into the southeast corner of the city wall, overlooking the harbor. The existing plan of the main complex is Ottoman, with a mosque, harem and many courtyards, but the castle is undoubtedly built on the foundations of earlier fortresses. The intricate network of paths within the castle reflects the style of winding arcaded streets seen in the old city. The fortress has been added to by each successive generation of Tripoli's rulers, and thus contains a mix of architecture and decoration. The main gateway dates from the 16th century, and shows the influence of the Spanish rulers at the time.
No longer used for defensive purposes, the castle was renovated and opened in 1988 as the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Museum, housing cultural artifacts from all periods in Libya's history Leave a Comment Address: Heart of tripoli |
The whisky bottles
Tripoli has recently build lots of modern new buildings, hotels or office buildings, changing progressively the skyline.
The whisky bottles (as they call them here) are office buildings (I was working in one of them), and it is amazing to see the fog (we are near the sea) hiding the high parts of the buildings in the morning (pictures 1 and 2).
Bordj al Fattah (Picture 3 and 4) is a commercial centre and office building not far from the bottles, it is high, but has a Stalinian style, not like the beautiful hotel Corinthia (picture 5) |
This former Roman Catholic cathedral in Algeria Square, built by the Italians in 1928, is not to be confused with the older former cathedral of Santa Maria degli Angeli in the Medina.
This neo-Romanesque building is on a much grander scale and has been converted to a mosque, whereas the one in the Medina is now used as an art gallery.
The tall steeple was changed into a minaret after the cathedral was converted to a mosque in 1970. Leave a Comment Address: Maidan al-Jezayir |
I did not travel by bus in Tripoli, and I probably would have needed some time to understand the transportation system. There are taxis, (black and white) and then yellow and white vehicles, shared taxis, some operating in the city, other yellow and white but bigger probably going to the suburbs or further, then small buses, and finally big buses going to the countryside. There are numerous bus-stations which, even early morning are already crowded. The bus drivers have a hard job (picture3) |
Souq al-Turq, or the Turkish market, runs north-south throught the heart of the Medina, parallel to Souq al-Mushir. It is partially covered by overhanging strips of corrugated aluminium to offer shoppers shade from the sun. This is the most businesslike, least touristy of the souqs. Leave a Comment |
The Gurgi Mosque was built in 1833 by Yussef aka Mustapha Gurgi , a sea captain who originally came from Gerogia. You can see his tomb, through a window, in an antechamber to the right of the minbar. Nine columns support a roof made up of sixteen small domes. The mosque's minaret, which is the tallest of all Tripoli's mosques, is octagonal in shape and has two balconies.
This was the last of Tripoli's mosques built in the Ottoman period and it has the most lavishly decorated interior of any of the Medina's 38 mosques, with marble columns imported from Italy, ceramic tiles from Tunisia and stone carvings from Morocco. Leave a Comment Address: Sharia Hara KebirDirections: In the northern part of the Medina, just behind the Arch of Marcus Aurelius |
Al-Nakah means She-Camel and the mosque of that name is believed to be the oldest in Tripoli. However, only the foundations are from the original building. Most of the current building dates from the early 17th century. Leave a Comment Directions: In the southern part of the Medina near Souq al-Turk. |
When you walk in the streets or visit a monument, you are not at all harassed by kids, beggars or all sorts of “tourist-interested” people. Khalil on picture 2 was very curious about what I was doing at Marc-Aureles arch and quickly his numerous friends wanted to pose for me (picture1); look how they are happy! I asked to the young guys on picture 3 about taking a picture of a house, and we finished with a long chat about cycling, Europe and the football world cup in “anglo-arabic” and hands language. Late at night kids are outside in the Tripoli streets and play enen babyfoot, I did not want to disturb them and took the picture without flash (picture4). |
Ah, I told a lot about shisha here and there. Water pipe smoking is a cultural and social activity in many Arabic countries, and here in Tripoli, you can find shishas and shisha smokers in almost every café, from noon to late evening. The tobacco is generally perfumed (green apple, the most used, rose, strawberry, spices. . . ); the tobacco is burned with charcoal on a cup and you inhalate the smoke sucking at the end of the long flexible hose, the smoke getting cold by going through a water receptacle. Lots of men (I spotted women twice) just smoke for socialising, for relaxing and discussing about whatsoever (politics?). I enjoyed a lot smoking shisha in the open air cafes, feeling the marine breeze, waiting for a drink or watching football. You can have a shisha for about one half Euro, and you have enough for one half hour (may be specialists can smoke longer).
On picture 1 and 2 the waiters are preparing the shishas, notice the shovel for carrying the burning coal; on picture 3 you can see the furnace where the coal is prepared and burned, picture 4 shows shishas on a bar (no beer bottle here) and on picture 5, many shishas help to watch the game. |
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on April 11, 2007
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