Leptis Magna, Sabratha and Oea make up the three cities of Tripoli.
Leptis Magna is a World Heritage site on the Mediterranean coast. Founded by the Phoenicians in the 10th Century BC, it became part of the new Roman province of Africa around 23 c. BC.

Sacked by a Berber tribe in 523 AD, it was abandoned to the desert and was not excavated until the 1920s. In 1994, a new excavation of part of the site was started by a professional archaeologists team from a variety of academic and research institutes around the UK. The team was led by Dr. Hafed Walda from Kings College - London, and sponsored by the Society for Libyan Studies which was established as a British Institute Abroad in 1969 and based at the Institute of Archaeology in London.

Today, the ruins are in a superb state of conservation, with many original columns, arches and statues still standing. Visitors can wander ancient streets to admire magnificent public monuments, the marketplace with its shops and storehouses, and extensive residential districts.

The city of Sabrata is located on the Mediterranean coast, one-hour drive west of Tripoli. It was founded by the Canaanites in the 6th century BC. A Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland, Sabrata was part of the short-lived Numidian kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.

Like Leptis Magna, Sabrata began as a settlement to service the coastal trade of the Carthaginians. It was developed as a permanent site in the 4th century BC to act as a terminal for the trans-Saharan trade since it had a natural harbor on an otherwise long and unindented coastline. The site was later to become of the 3 cities with Leptis and Oea (Tripoli).

Sabrata prospered in the third century AD as a trading place for the Ivory coming from central Africa, through Ghadames and Fezzan. The Vandals who invaded North Africa from Europe abandoned it after its destruction. In 533 AD the Byzantines occupied the city and rebuilt most of it noticeably, the church of Justinian with its fine decorated mosaic floors.

Amongst the walls and foundations of public buildings discovered in the city, are the market, tribunal and some temples. Among the most prominent features of the city during Roman times are the public arenas, the Temples of Liber Pater, Sirapis, Isis, and Hercules, the forum, the theatre, the tribunal arena, and the public paths. Ruins of the earliest Phoenician settlements have been found beneath the Roman town in the area between the forum and the Sea.

The main monument is the Amphitheatre, used in modern times as a theatre and concert hall. There is a variety of public baths, temples and fountains, with many first class mosaics both on site and in the adjacent Museum, Some Byzantine remains are on show to exemplify the revival after the Vandal invasions.
Sabrata is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.
(source : www.libyaonline.com)

Tripoli was known to the ancients as Oea and owed its name to a Libyan tribe of the fifth century BC. Since that time it has hosted to a succession of civilizations: Roman, Byzantine and Islamic.

The most important of its ancient monuments is the Arch Of Marcus Aurelius which dates from the Second century AD. The castle known as the Al-Assaraia Al Hamara spans the historical periods; it contains important columns and mosaics from the first century AD.

Today Libya's largest city, Tripoli is known for its Islamic sites comprising the Medina, the souks and mosques, particularly its mosques.