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The Glossary
Tripoli Travel Guide
Tripoli (not to be mistaken for Tripoli in Libya) which is Trablous in Arabic, has an inimitable character, quite different from the glitzy and sleek city of Beirut. Could it be its palpable historical wealth and laid-back lifestyle or its flourishing business climate? Though the city may not be imposingly modern, it has its own streak of sophistication with a medieval blend, populated with a lively and hospitable metropolis of Sunni Muslims.
Under the unconquerable Crusaders, Tripoli became an eastern Mediterranean port where Pisans, Arabs and Jews ran shipyards, fisheries, textile shops and orange groves. Its sugar traders were famously innovative and were among the first to cater to the European's sweet tooth.
The well-fortified city fended off three sieges in the 13th century. The last two were by the formidable Al-Zahir Baybars, a Mamluk sultan who had become a Muslim hero in 1260, fighting in the vanguard of Sultan Al-Muzzafar Qutuz's victory over the Mongols at 'Ain Jalut.
The city is peppered with a whole range of religious, civil and military edifices such as mosques from the Ottoman and Mamluk times and the Muslim schools called madrassah along with the remains of the medieval Mamluk architecture. The souks, together with the khans (caravansary) form a commune of various trades where tailors, jewelers and tanners work in harmony in a surrounding that has changed very little over the last 500 years.
Today, Tripoli is a crowded den of dilapidated charm: like a labyrinth, the city remains difficult to navigate. The stems of satellite dishes poke out of the old slit windows of apartments while the sugarcane fields between Al-Mina and the Mamluk city brim with ranks of apartment buildings whose drabness is compensated by the scenery: the sea on the right side and the snow-capped mountain on the other.
The recent dispute between the Palestinians and the Lebanese army makes the atmosphere bleak and dreary making it difficult for Tripoli to persuade tourists to see its hidden splendor. However, Lebanon's souks, castles and mosques will surely enthrall the traveler.
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