Marj (Al Marj)
It has an estimated population of 85,315. There are a couple of banks on the main street and the main post office is in the city centre, not far from the Abu Bakr Assiddiq mosque.
According to most archeologists, Marj marks the site of the ancient city of Barca, which, however, according to Alexander Graham, was at Tolmeita (Ptolemais).
Marj grew around a Turkish fort built in 1842 and now restored. During the colonial dominance of Libya (1913–41), the town was called Barce and was developed as an administrative and market centre and hill resort.
During World War II North African campaign, the 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery won a battle for the region of Barce on 5 February 1941. The regiment commemorates this battle by naming the facilities at its base at Enoggera as Barce Lines.
From 1942–1943, the town was the capital of British-occupied Cyrenaica.
Most of it was destroyed by a 5.6 earthquake on 21 February 1963, which killed some 300 people and injured 500 more. Major rebuilding was undertaken about 5 km from the old site, and was completed about 1970.
Map - Marj (Al Marj)
Map
Country - Libya
Flag of Libya |
Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures. In classical antiquity, the Phoenicians established city-states and trading posts in western Libya, while several Greek cities were established in the East. Parts of Libya were variously ruled by Carthaginians, Persians, and Greeks before the entire region becoming a part of the Roman Empire. Libya was an early center of Christianity. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century when invasions brought Islam to the region. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire and the Knights of St John occupied Tripoli until Ottoman rule began in 1551. Libya was involved in the Barbary Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries. Ottoman rule continued until the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted in the Italian occupation of Libya and the establishment of two colonies, Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica (1911–1934), later unified in the Italian Libya colony from 1934 to 1943.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
LYD | Libyan dinar | لد | 3 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
AR | Arabic language |
EN | English language |
IT | Italian language |