TRIPOLI (Tarabulus el-Gharb, i.e. Tripoli of the West)

This article appears in Volume V27, Page 291 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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TRIPOLI (Tarabulus el-Gharb, i.e. Tripoli of the West) ,

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

of the Turkish vilayet of

Tripoli

, North Africa, situated in 32 53' 40" N. and 13 11' 32" E. on a promontory stretching out into the Mediterranean and forming a small

crescent

CRESCENT (Lat. crescens, growing)

-shaped hay which shelters the harbour from the north winds. Its crenellated enceinte

wall

WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the
original
- ORIGINAL
O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

has the form of an irregular pentagon. A line of small ancient forts is supposed to protect one side of the harbour, and the citadel the other. This citadel, dating from the time of the Spanish occupation, now serves as the residence of the

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

. The harbour has a depth of watervarying from 15 to 24 ft.; steamers drawing 21 ft. can anchor inside, but shoals render the entry difficult. At the quayside the depth of water is from 2 to 5 ft. only. The desert almost touches the western side of the city, while on the

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

is the verdant

oasis

OASIS (Gr. &toss, the name given by Herodotus to the fertile spots in the Libyan desert: it probably represents an Egyptian word, cf. Coptic ouahe, ouih, to dwell, from which the Egyptian Arabic sod is derived)

of Meshia, where are still to be seen the tombs of the Caramanlian sultanas and the twelve-domed kubba of Sidi Hamonda. The aspect of the city is picturesque; the houses (many possessing beautiful gardens) rise in terraces from the seashore. The Turkish quarter contains numerous mosques whose minarets and cupolas break the monotony of the flat-roofed and whitewashed houses. The Grand mosque and the Pasha mosque (originally a church built by the Spaniards) both have octagonal minarets. By the harbour are several houses built in European style, but the general aspect of the city is Oriental. Many of the streets are arcaded; the auks or markets are the scene of much animation. Near the port stands a Roman triumphal arch. This arch, quadrifrontal in form, is made entirely of white marble, the blocks being held together with cramps, and is richly embellished with sculpture. It was begun in the reign of the emperor Antoninus, according to a still unmutilated dedicatory inscription, and finished in that of Marcus Aurelius. In the arch, now partly buried in debris, a cabaret has been installed.
A few small manufactures of carpets and silks as well as "

Cordova

CORDOVA (Span. C6rdoba)
CORDOVA (Span. Cordoba; Lat. Corduba)

leather " are carried on, but

Tripoli

is essentially a trading town, being the

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

Mediterranean gateway to the Sahara. The population, about 6o,000, is very mixedBerber, Arab, Turk, Jew, Maltese, Italian and Negro. The Maltese inhabitants number about 4000, the Italians roots and the Jews 8000. The local trade is almost entirely in the hands of the Jews and Maltese; the shipping in the port is largely Italian.
See H. M. de Mathuisieulx, A travers la Tripolitaine (Paris, 1903).

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