About Tripoli
Libya is slowly opening up to the outside world and there is the beginnings of a tourism industry, with cruise passengers among the first to enjoy some of the most fascinating sites to be found in North Africa or anywhere around the Mediterranean.
The capital and cruise port, Tripoli, is a typical North African city of narrow streets and lively souks. It also has a fascinating national museum but the real treasures are still out in the desert which covers most of this country.
First, along the coast to the east of the capital, is one of the best-preserved ancient Roman cities in North Africa or Europe: Leptis Magna. Its remarkably impressive scale and condition is down to the protection afforded by the layers of desert sand which buried it until discovery early last century. Along the coast to the west and near the border with Tunisia is another Roman city, Sabratha.