A Mediterranean capital with a Roman arch in its medina
Tripoli has been a port since Phoenician times, when it was founded as Oea. Its old walled medina holds Ottoman mosques, caravanserais and souks, and the second-century Arch of Marcus Aurelius, the only Roman monument still standing in the city. The Red Castle, Assaraya al-Hamra, guards the harbour and houses a national museum of classical and Islamic history. Martyrs' Square opens onto the waterfront, and the city is the gateway to the ruins of Leptis Magna and Sabratha.