Tripoli

Introduction

Tripoli

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Tripoli (Arabic: طرابلس) is the capital and largest city in Libya with about 1.8 million inhabitants. It is located in the northwest of the country along the Mediterranean coastline and is the cultural, administrative and economical hart of the country and is also a major sea port. Tripoli was founded well over 2,500 years ago by the Phoenicians. The city's long history means there are many sites of cultural significance in and around Tripoli and travellers should at least spend several days here, also for the central part of Tripoli with the narrow streets in the medina.

Sights and Activities

• Assaraya al-Hamra (the Red Castle)
• Old town (medina)
• Gurgi and Karamanli mosques
• Nearby Leptis Magna and Sabratha

Weather

Tripoli has a typical Mediterranean climate with hot and dry summers and mild and relatively wet winters. From April to October it usually is warm to extremely hot with average day temperatures in July and August of around 35 °C but 45 °C is not uncommon when the wind comes straight from the Sahara desert. During the winter months of November to March it still is relatively warm with day temperatures close to 20 °C but on some nights temperatures may drop to just a few degrees above 0 °C. December usually is the wettest month with about 80 mm of rain.

Getting There

By Plane

Tripoli International Airport (TIP) receives most international flights to the country and Libyan Airlines is the national airline. Destinations include several cities in Northern Africa, the Middle East and European cities like Kiev, Rome and London. Afriqiyah Airways has more destinations to Europe though, with Amsterdam, Brussels, Düsseldorf and Geneva among others. It also flies to a number of cities in West Africa. KLM, British Airways and Lufthansa fly to Tripoli as well.

Afriqiyah Airways flies between Tripoli and Benghazi. Libyan Airlines flies between Tripoli and Beida, Benghazi, Ghat, Sebha, Sirte and Tobruk.

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

External Links