The capital city of Libya is not very large. It is home to one million people, which is rather small for a North African nation. It was in the past a Roman city, of which there are a few remains, like the Triumphal Arch of Marcus Aurelius. The medina stands slightly below the street level, almost in a lower garden and it contrasts harmonically with the surrounding Arabic architecture of the old medina. After the Romans, the Ottomans came and they left some legacy, one of which is the Red Castle – right at the end of the medina and close to the harbour. Part of it is ruined but secured and the rest is housing a museum. It looks nice but is not excessively impressive. Just outside of the castle there are two columns, which resemble those standing in Rhodos, Greece. Intriguing because the columns did not look very old… Modern Tripoli is still growing. The new high rise buildings only start to grow. There are still concrete and ugly, but I saw plans for more modern ones of glass and steel. [edit text][editors]
