Marj ( ar, المرج, Al Marǧ, The Meadows), also spelt ''El Merj'', generally believed to be on the site of the ancient city of Barca or Barce, is a city in northeastern

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

and the administrative seat of the

Marj District Marj ( ar, المرج ', en, The Meadows) is an administrative division (''shabiyah'' or district) of northeastern Libya, lying on the Mediterranean Sea coast. Its administrative seat is the city of Marj, which was formerly known as Barca. M ...

. 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 north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

by a range of hills, part of the Jebel Akhdar Mountains. 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.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 ar, طلميتة is a village in the northern Cyrenaica region of eastern Libya, some east of Benghazi, near Ad Dirsiyah. Its name is derived from Greek language, Greek Πτολεμαΐς (''Ptolemais''), the name o ...

( 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

. 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 possession, was occupied by Italy in 1911 after the Italo-Turkish War, which resulted in the establishment of two colonies: It ...

, Al Marj had been the eastern terminal of . Nowadays, Al Marj is linked with

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

by two roads. One runs through

Tocra Tocra, Taucheira or Tukrah, is a town on the coast of the Marj District in the Cyrenaica region of northeastern Libya, founded by Cyrene. It lay 200 stadia west of Ptolemais. Today it is a coastal town west of Marj. History Founded by the Gr ...

(part of

Libyan Coastal Highway The Libyan Coastal Highway ( ar, الطريق الساحلي الليبي), formerly the Litoranea Balbo, is a highway that is the only major road that runs along the entire east-west length of the Libyan Mediterranean coastline. It is a section ...

). The other runs through

Al Abyar Abyar (al-Abyā) ( ar, الأبيار ') is a town in the Marj District, Libya, roughly 50 km to the east of the city of Benghazi and 42 km southwest of the city of Marj. (), its estimated population was 32,563. History The town is the ...

. Al Marj is linked also with

Lamluda Lamluda is a village in the Jebel Akhdar region of Libya. It's located east of Bayda. Lamluda is on the cross-roads of several roads in northern Cyrenaica: *It's connected with Marj by two roads, the northern one (through Bayda) is a part of t ...

by two roads. One runs through Al Bayda (part of

). The other runs through

Tacnis Tacnis or Taknis, Tècnis, also is a small town in Jebel Akhdar region in north eastern Cyrenaica, Libya. It's located east of Benghazi. It is on the inner road between Marj and Lamluda. There is a minor road connecting the town to the north ...

and Marawah. From Tacnis it leads to the

Charruba–Timimi Road Charruba-Timimi road is an asphalt road in the Cyrenaica region of eastern Libya running from Charruba to Taban, Libya, Taban, Mechili, and Timimi. It's about long and known in Libya as “Et Terigh El Foghiya” (literally "The Upper Road"). The ...

Notes

External links

{{Authority control Cyrenaica Cities destroyed by earthquakes Baladiyat of Libya

History

Transport

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links