طرابلس

Tripoli ( TRIP-əl-ee; Arabic: طَرَابُلُس, ALA-LC: Ṭarābulus, pronounced [tˤaˈraːbulus] ; Lebanese Arabic: طرابلس, romanized: Ṭrāblus, locally [ˈtˤrɔːblɪs]; see below) is the largest and most important city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated 81 km (50 mi) north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Tripoli overlooks the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and it is the northernmost seaport in Lebanon. The city is predominantly inhabited by Sunni Muslims, with smaller populations of Alawites and Christians, including Maronites and Armenians among others. The history of Tripoli dates back at least to the 14th century BC. It was called Athar by the Phoenicians, and later Tripolis by the Greek settlers, whence the modern Arabic name Ṭarābulus derives. In the Arab world, Tripoli has been historically known as Ṭarābulus ash-Shām (Arabic: طرابلس الشام, lit. 'Tripoli of the Levant'), to distinguish it from its Libyan counterpart, known as Ṭarābulus al-Gharb (Arabic: طرابلس الغرب‎, lit. 'Tripoli of the West'). Landmarks of Tripoli include the Mansouri Great Mosque and the Citadel of Tripoli, which is the largest crusader castle in Lebanon. The city has the second highest concentration of Mamluk architecture after Cairo. Tripoli also holds a string of four small islands offshore, the Palm Islands, which were declared a protected area because of their status as a haven for endangered loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta), rare monk seals and migratory birds. Tripoli borders the city of El Mina, the port of the Tripoli District, which it is geographically conjoined with to form the greater Tripoli conurbation. With the formation of Lebanon and the 1948 breakup of the Syrian–Lebanese customs union, Tripoli, once on par in economic and commercial importance to Beirut, was cut off from its traditional trade relations with the Syrian hinterland and therefore declined in relative prosperity.