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Tripoli
Tripoli is 82 Km from Beirut with an altitude of 175 m. Known as the capital of the North, Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city. Its historical wealth, relaxed lifestyle, and thriving business climate make it a city where modern and medieval blend easily into a lively and hospitable metropolis. The Greeks called the city Tripolis, meaning “three cities” (Sidon, Tyre and Arados), whereas the Phoenicians called it Ather or Tour Bil, meaning “the Mountain of God Bil”.
Forty-five buildings in Tripoli, many dating from 14th century, have been registered as historical sites. Twelve mosques from Mamluke and Ottoman times have survived, along with an equal number of madrassas or theological schools. Secular buildings include the hammams or bathing-houses, which followed the classical pattern or Roman-Byzantine baths, and the khan or caravansary. The souks, together with the khans, form an agglomeration of various trades where tailors, jewelers, perfumers, tanners, and soap-makers work in surroundings that have changed very little over the last 500 years.
Habitation of the site of Tripoli goes back to at least the 14th century B.C., but it wasn’t until about the 9th century B.C. that the Phoenicians established a small trading station there. Later, under the Persians, it was home to a confederation of the Phoenician city states of Sidon, Tyre and Arados Island. Built on the trade and invasion route near the Abu Ali River, Tripoli’s strategic position was enhanced by offshore islands, natural ports, and access to the interior.
Under the successors of Alexander the Great during the Hellenistic period, Tripoli was used as a naval shipyard. There is also evidence that it enjoyed a period of autonomy at the end of the Seleucid era. Under Roman rule, starting with the takeover of the area by Pompey in 64-63 B.C., the city flourished, and during this period the Romans built several monuments here. The Byzantine city of Tripoli, which by then extended further to the South, was destroyed, along with other Mediterranean coastal cities, by an earthquake and tidal wave in 551 A.D.
 After 635 A.D., Tripoli became a commercial and shipbuilding center under the Umayyads. It achieved semi-independence under the Fatimid Dynasty, when it developed into a center of learning. At the beginning of the 12th century, the Crusaders laid siege to the city, finally entering it in 1109. the conquest caused extensive destruction, including the burning of Tripoli’s famous library, the Dar Al-L’ilm , with its thousands of volumes. During the Crusaders’ 180-year rule, the city was the capital of the County of Tripoli. However, Crusader Tripoli fell in 1289 to the victorious Mamluke Sultan Qalaoun, who ordered the destruction of the old port city (today Al-Mina) and the construction of a new inland city near the old castle. It was at this time that numerous religious and secular buildings were erected, many of which still survive today.
Tripoli has a special character on its own thanks to its historical wealth, relaxed lifestyle and thriving business climate. It is a city where modern and medieval blend easily into a lively and hospitable metropolis. The city holds the Fortress of Saint Gilles (Sinjil), built early 12th BC. The castle was remodeled by the Mamluks and Ottomans later. Several Muslim monuments such as the Great Mosque and the Mosque of Taynal (built using elements from ancient and Crusader monuments) are still preserved in Tripoli. It also has khans (caravansary), souks (bazaars), and the famous Assiba Tower which was built by Mamluks in the 15th BC.
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