City Africa
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital of Libya, on the Mediterranean Sea. An old Roman arch made of stone still stands in the city.
Tripoli is the capital of Libya and its main port, on the Mediterranean coast in the northwest of the country. In Roman times the town was called Oea, and a stone arch from the 160s still stands there. Libya's statistics bureau estimated 1,293,016 people in the Tripoli district in 2020.
Tripoli, ancient Oea, was a Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman and Byzantine trading post before it passed to Arab rule in 643, then to Spain, the Knights of Malta, the Ottomans and Italy. It became the capital of independent Libya in 1951. Libya's Bureau of Statistics and Census estimated 1,293,016 people in the Tripoli district on 1 January 2020.
Photo: David Stanley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Tripoli
Tripoli is a big city by the sea. It is the capital of Libya, a country in North Africa.
Ships come and go from its port.
Tripoli is the capital of Libya, its largest city and its main port and business center. It lies on the Mediterranean coast in the northwest of the country.
At Libya's 2006 census, the Tripoli district counted 1,063,571 people. The country's Bureau of Statistics and Census estimated 1,293,016 people there in 2020.
Encyclopaedia Universalis calls Tripoli (Tarabulus al-Gharb, 'Tripoli of the West') Libya's capital, largest city, main port and economic center, in the northwest of the country.
City Population lists the Tripoli district (835 km²) with 1,063,571 people at the census of 15 April 2006 and 1,293,016 in the Bureau of Statistics and Census estimate for 1 January 2020, adding that the reliability of the 2020 figures may be low. Benghazi, the next city, was estimated at 750,000.
- Country
- Libya (its capital and main port)
- People in Tripoli district (official estimate, 1 January 2020)
- 1,293,016
- People in Tripoli district (census, 15 April 2006)
- 1,063,571
- Area of Tripoli district
- 835 km²
A Roman arch
This big stone arch was built by the Romans long, long ago. It is more than 1,800 years old!
In the photo, a tall palm tree and white houses stand near it.
The Arch of Marcus Aurelius is the only monument of Roman Oea that can still be seen, the history site Livius explains. Despite its name, it celebrates the victories of Lucius Verus, the brother of Marcus Aurelius. Livius dates it to the year 165, from the titles it gives the emperors.
The arch has four faces, and its corners point to the four points of the compass. In the photo it stands in a garden, with a palm tree, white houses and a tall, thin tower around it.
Livius notes that the arch's inscription names its builder, a local magistrate called Gaius Calpurnius Celsus, and dates it by the emperors' titles: they are called Armeniacus, a title taken the year before, but not yet Medicus and Parthicus, added in 166, which points to 165. The photo's Commons description gives 164.
Its four facades face northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest, and the northwest face is the best preserved. Wikidata places Libya's national museum, founded in 1919, about 0.6 km southeast of the arch.
- Arch of Marcus Aurelius
- a Roman arch from the 160s (Livius: 165)
- Built by
- Gaius Calpurnius Celsus, a local magistrate
- National museum
- about 600 m southeast of the arch
Many rulers, one port
Long ago, traders from across the sea came to trade at a town here. It was called Oea.
Many different rulers came and went. Today Tripoli is the capital of Libya.
In ancient times Tripoli was called Oea. Its good harbor made it an important trading town for Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Byzantines in turn. Arab armies took the city in 643.
Spain captured Tripoli in 1510, the Knights of Malta held it from 1530, and the Ottomans took it in 1551. Italy took the city in 1911 and made Libya a colony. When Libya became independent in 1951, Tripoli became the capital of the new country.
Universalis traces the medieval Arab city, which grew on the ancient grid around a north–south cardo and an east–west decumanus, with an urban plan shaped by the port, markets and mosques. From 1710 to 1835 the local Karamanli dynasty ruled with partial independence from the Ottomans, before direct Ottoman rule returned and the city was modernized in the Tanzimat reforms.
Italy took Tripoli in 1911, brought in settlers and expanded the city until the end of the Second World War; Libya became independent in 1951 with Tripoli as its capital. During the war of 2011, fighting damaged the city center and many public buildings.
- Ancient name
- Oea
- Ottoman rule
- from 1551
- Capital of independent Libya
- since 1951
Ships and caravans
Long ago, caravans of traders carried goods across the desert to Tripoli. Ships carried them across the sea.
Tripoli is still Libya's main port.
Tripoli grew because it stood where routes met: along the coast between Egypt and the lands to the west, and from the Sahara Desert to the Mediterranean Sea. Caravans crossing the Sahara brought trade to the city, and ships used its harbor.
Today Tripoli is still Libya's main port. Mitiga International Airport lies about 10 kilometers east of the Roman arch.
Universalis attributes Oea's early importance to the quality of its harbor and its position as a relay between Egypt and the Maghreb, and between the Sahara and the Mediterranean; trans-Saharan caravan trade helped the medieval city develop, and local merchants, caravan traders and ship charterers largely governed it.
It lists the port and airport among the infrastructure renovated from the mid-1990s. Wikidata places Mitiga International Airport about 9.6 km east of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius.
- Position
- a relay between Egypt and the Maghreb, and between the Sahara and the Mediterranean
- Trade
- caravans across the Sahara helped the city grow
- Mitiga International Airport
- about 9.6 km east of the arch
Hot, dry summers and mild winters
Summer in Tripoli is hot and almost completely dry.
Winter is mild, and that is the wettest time of year.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for 1961 to 1990 give Tripoli August days of about 33 °C and nights of about 23 °C. In January, days average about 18 °C and nights about 9 °C.
About 334 millimeters of precipitation fall in an average year, nearly nine-tenths of it from October to March. December is the wettest month, and in June, July and August there is hardly any.
WMO averages for 1961–1990 give highs and lows of 32.6 °C and 22.7 °C in August, the hottest month, and 17.9 °C and 8.9 °C in January, the coolest.
The monthly precipitation averages add up to about 334 mm. December is the wettest month (67.5 mm) and August the driest (0.1 mm); October to March bring about 296 mm, close to nine-tenths of the year, while June to August bring only about 2 mm.
- August, average daily high and low (WMO, 1961–1990)
- 32.6 °C and 22.7 °C
- January, average daily high and low (WMO, 1961–1990)
- 17.9 °C and 8.9 °C
- Precipitation in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 334 mm
Water from under the desert
Tripoli's summers are almost completely dry. Water is also brought to the city from deep under the desert!
Its old town grew up around the port and its markets.
Since the mid-1990s, Tripoli has received water through the Great Man-Made River, a project that brings water from ancient underground stores beneath the Sahara.
The old town grew on top of the Roman town's grid of streets, shaped by the port, markets and mosques. Under the Ottomans, merchants from many places lived there.
Universalis describes the Great Man-Made River as a water-supply network drawing on fossil groundwater beneath the Sahara, reaching Tripoli from the mid-1990s and paid for by oil revenues.
Under the Ottomans, it notes, the city's society was very diverse: merchants of many origins, Christians, and Jewish families from the inland Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula, with two Jewish quarters and several mixed districts near the port. Ancient, medieval and Ottoman heritage was renovated from the mid-1990s.
- Great Man-Made River
- brings water from under the Sahara since the mid-1990s
- Old town
- built on the ancient street grid
- Population growth
- 1,063,571 (2006 census) to 1,293,016 (2020 estimate)
Tripoli on the map
Find the Mediterranean Sea on the globe. On its southern shore, in North Africa, is Libya.
Tripoli is on Libya's coast.
Tripoli is on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, in the northwest of Libya, at about 33° north.
Measured from the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, the national museum is about 600 meters to the southeast and Mitiga International Airport about 10 kilometers to the east.
Tripoli lies at about 32.9° N and 13.2° E, in northwestern Libya (Universalis).
Measured from the Arch of Marcus Aurelius (Wikidata points), the national museum is about 0.6 km southeast, Wikidata's point for the city about 1.8 km southeast and Mitiga International Airport about 9.6 km east. The hero photo was taken about 20 m from the arch.
- Latitude
- about 32.9° north
- Longitude
- about 13.2° east
- National museum
- about 0.6 km southeast of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius
Amazing facts
-
The Arch of Marcus Aurelius was really built to honor his brother!
Despite its name, Tripoli's Arch of Marcus Aurelius celebrates the victories of his brother, Lucius Verus.
Livius points out that the so-called Arch of Marcus Aurelius commemorates the victories of Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius's brother.
-
The corners of Tripoli's Roman arch point north, south, east and west!
The arch's four corners point to the four points of the compass, so its four faces look northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest.
Livius: the corners face the cardinal points and the facades face northwest, northeast, southeast and southwest; the northwest face is the best preserved.
-
Tripoli's full Arabic name means 'Tripoli of the West'.
Tripoli's full Arabic name, Tarabulus al-Gharb, means 'Tripoli of the West'.
Universalis gives the name Tarabulus al-Gharb, 'Tripoli of the West', long known in Europe as 'Tripoli of Barbary'.
-
Tripoli's water travels a long way, from deep under the Sahara.
The Great Man-Made River carries water from ancient underground stores beneath the Sahara to Tripoli.
Universalis: from the mid-1990s Tripoli has drawn on the Great Man-Made River, which brings fossil groundwater from beneath the Sahara.
Words to know
- arch
- a curved structure over an opening, often made of stone
- port
- a town with a harbor where ships load and unload
- caravan
- a group of travelers, often with camels, crossing a desert together
- magistrate
- an official who helped run a Roman town
- groundwater
- water stored in rocks and soil under the ground
- colony
- a land ruled by another country
Discovery challenge
-
Tripoli is the capital of which country?
Tripoli is the capital of which country?
Tripoli became the capital of which country at its independence in 1951?
- Morocco
- Libya
- Sudan
Show the answer
Libya
Libya!
Libya, in North Africa.
Libya.
-
What was Tripoli called in Roman times?
What was Tripoli's name in Roman times?
Under which ancient name was Tripoli a Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman and Byzantine trading post?
- Oea
- Troy
- Sparta
Show the answer
Oea
Oea!
Oea.
Oea.
-
Who really is the Arch of Marcus Aurelius about?
Whose victories does the Arch of Marcus Aurelius actually celebrate?
Livius says the so-called Arch of Marcus Aurelius commemorates the victories of whom?
- Julius Caesar
- Lucius Verus, his brother
- A local fisherman
Show the answer
Lucius Verus, his brother
His brother, Lucius Verus!
Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius's brother.
Lucius Verus.
-
A giant water project brings water to Tripoli. Where does it come from?
Since the mid-1990s, where has the Great Man-Made River brought Tripoli's water from?
The Great Man-Made River supplies Tripoli with fossil groundwater from beneath which desert?
- From under the Sahara
- From a big lake in the city
- From icebergs
Show the answer
From under the Sahara
From under the desert!
From underground stores beneath the Sahara.
The Sahara.
-
Which month is the hottest in Tripoli?
Which month has the hottest days in Tripoli, on average?
Which month averages a daily high of 32.6 °C in Tripoli (WMO, 1961–1990)?
- January
- August
- December
Show the answer
August
August!
August, at about 33 °C.
August (32.6 °C high, 22.7 °C low).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa.
- Describe how a good harbor and trade routes helped a city grow.
- Explain how a city in a dry land can get water from under a desert.
- Compare monthly temperatures and precipitation in a Mediterranean climate.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Tripoli's Roman arch has stood for more than 1,800 years. What helps a building last that long?
- Ships and camel caravans both brought goods to Tripoli. How do goods reach your town today?
- Almost all of Tripoli's precipitation falls in the cooler months. How might that change when people plant gardens?
Try at home or in class
- Arch building: stack sugar cubes or blocks over a curved support to make an arch, then remove the support.
- Rainfall chart: plot Tripoli's monthly precipitation and color the wet and dry months.
- Trade map: draw the Mediterranean and the Sahara and mark Tripoli where the routes meet.
Key vocabulary: arch, port, caravan, magistrate, groundwater, colony
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Libya: districts (census 2006, official estimate 2020) and cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Bureau of Statistics and Census Libya
- Tripoli (Libye) , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Oea, Arch of Marcus Aurelius , Livius.org (Jona Lendering)
- File:Arch of Marcus Aurelius - Tripoli.jpg (David Stanley) , Wikimedia Commons
- Tripoli, Libya: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.