Marj (, , "The Meadows"), El Merj in
Benghazi
Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
and
Egyptian Arabic
Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian, or simply as Masri, is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic variety in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. The esti ...
, is a city in northeastern
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
and the administrative seat of the
Marj District. It lies in an upland valley separated from the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
by a range of hills, part of the
Jebel Akhdar Mountains, and is generally believed to be the site of the ancient city of
Barca.
, it had 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.
[Pliez, Olivier (ed.) (2009) "Al Marj" ''Le Petit Futé Libye'' Petit Futé, Paris]
p. 237
; in French
History
According to most archeologists, Marj marks the site of the ancient city of Barca, which, however, according to Alexander Graham, was at
Tolmeita
Tolmeita, Tolmeta or Tolmeitha is a village in the northern Cyrenaica region of eastern Libya, some east of Benghazi, near Ad Dirsiyah. Its name is derived from Greek Πτολεμαΐς (''Ptolemais''), the name of the classical city of Ptolemai ...
(
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 the
North African campaign
The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 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 to 1943, the town was the capital of British-occupied
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...
.
Most of it was destroyed by a
5.6 earthquake on 21 February 1963,
which killed some 300 people and injured 500 more.
[Hewitt, Kenneth (1983) "Seismic Risk and Mountain Environments: The Role of Surface Conditions in Earthquake Disaster" ''Mountain Research and Development'' 3(1): pp. 27–44, p. 30] Major rebuilding was undertaken about from the old site, and was completed about 1970.
Transport
During the
Italian colonization of Libya
The Italian colonization of Libya began in 1911 and it lasted until 1943. The country, which was previously an Ottoman Tripolitania, Ottoman possession, was occupied by Kingdom of Italy, Italy in 1911 after the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted i ...
, Al Marj had been the eastern terminal of the .
Nowadays, Al Marj is linked with
Benghazi
Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
by two roads. One runs through
Tocra (part of
Libyan Coastal Highway). The other runs through
Al Abyar.
Al Marj is linked also with
Lamluda by two roads. One runs through
Al Bayda (part of
Libyan Coastal Highway). The other runs through
Tacnis and
Marawah. From Tacnis it leads to the
Charruba–Timimi Road.
See also
*
List of cities in Libya
This is a list of the 100 largest populated places in Libya. Some places in the list could be considered suburbs or neighborhoods of some large cities in the list, so this list is not definitive.
''Source:Amraja M. el Khajkhaj, "Noumou ...
Notes
Further reading
* Hamilton, James (1856)
Wanderings in North Africa' J. Murray, London,
External links
{{Authority control
Cyrenaica
Populated places destroyed by earthquakes
Baladiyat of Libya