Tripoli (Tarablus):

About 85 km from Beirut, Tripoli is the admistrative capital of the North and the second largest city of Lebanon. It was founded by the Phoenicians in 800 B.C. and was named Athar. But as traders from Arwad, Sidon and Tyre settled and lived in three totally separated districts, it became known as Tripoli or "the three cities".

The city flourished under the Arabs and many of its principal monuments go back to Islamic times, such as the famous Bourj as-Sibaa, a tower built by the Mamluks in the 15th century. There are also many beautiful mosques, madrassahs, khans, souks and bazzars. Towering above the Abu Аli River stands the fortress of St. Gilles (Sinjil), built by Raymond de St. Gilles on Mount Pelerin in the early 12th century, and which was since remade and enlarged by the Mamluks and Turks.