Qasr Ahmad or Gasr Ahmed ( ar, ميناء قصر أحمد) is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

and port in the eastern region of the city of

Misurata Misrata ( ; also spelled Misurata or Misratah; ar, مصراتة, Miṣrāta ) is a city in the Misrata District in northwestern Libya, situated to the east of Tripoli and west of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast near Cape Misrata. With a ...

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 ...

. The neighborhood was developed to provide housing for port workers. Lighthouse Qaser Ahmed - Misrata

It is approximately 15 kilometers away from Misurata's city center, and about 250 kilometres away from

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

, capital of Libya.

History

The Palace of Ahmad

Qasr is an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

word for

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, and Qasr Ahmad according to the geographer Ayyubid Abu al-feda (1273 -1331) (p. 202) : "Kasr Ahmed is the name of a town in the province of Africa at the beginning of the fourth climate According Sayd Ibn his situation is on the border of the province of the east side of Africa and at the beginning of the country of Barca in the same latitude at a distance of about twelve miles dwellings of Berber family called Misurata. The land is planted with olive and palm trees Residents exporting horses in Alexandria The pilgrims traveling to Mecca the Maghreb face in them very politely Casr Ahmed is properly the name of a village that serves as it store Arabs and where they lock their commodities. From Ahmed Casr we went to Barca in the desert." The name probably refers Ahmed Arab families from the tribe of Heyyeb s were established at this location.

Cephalae Promontorium

Development and construction works in Qasr Ahmad revealed ruins of archeological interest, including

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

foundations which prove the existence of a huge wall in the surrounding area. Pre-construction clearing below the

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

removed the

overburden In mining, overburden (also called waste or spoil) is the material that lies above an area that lends itself to economical exploitation, such as the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. Overburden is distinct from tai ...

that had buried Roman

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

, and room formations that are believed to be

Roman baths In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

, which are remains of the Roman station port of Cephalae Promontorium.

Libyan civil war

In May 2011, during the

First Libyan Civil War The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Libya ...

, Gaddafi’s forces planned an overnight attack on Qasr Ahmad with pesticide-spraying planes.

Ports

Qasr Ahmad is famous for being the location of the Port of Misrata, which holds its name, but the total number of ports in Qasr Ahmad is two.

Port of Misrata

The Port of Misrata, also known as the Port of Qasr Ahmed, is one of the major business centers in Libya. The port is one of the most important

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

and

ship transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...

centers in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

, being the major sea entrance to Libya. It is also the seat of the Libyan Ports Company. The port has a capacity is 6,000,000 mt per year, with a maximum draft of 11m and a total berth length of 3,550m.2.1.5 Libya Port of Misrata
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Port of Libyan Iron and Steel Company

Constructed as an extension to the Port of Misurata, the Port of LISCO is totally owned and operated by the

Libyan Iron and Steel Company The Libyan Iron and Steel Company (Lisco) is one of the largest iron and steelmaking companies operating in North Africa. Based in Misrata, it is subsidized and owned by the Libyan government. Lisco's foundation stone was officially laid on 18 Sep ...

, serving its imports, and export services.

Business Importance

Qasr Ahmad is the location of major commercial and financial activities of the Libya government, being the ground soil of the first Libyan

free economic zone Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...

project, the headquarters and factories of the Libyan Iron and Steel Company, and the administration of major private Libyan banks.

Misurata Free Zone

It's a zone free of any restrictions such as tax, custom duties, commercial and monetary restrictions, among others, established by decision of people's committee General No (495) 2000 and reorganized by decision of

General People's Committee The General People's Committee ( ar, اللجنة الشعبية العامة, ''al-lajna ash-sha'biyya al-'āmma''), often abbreviated as the GPCO, was the executive branch of the government of Libya, during the existence of Muammar Gaddafi's L ...

. The free zone was established in order to vary and support the national income sources by attracting the investments to Great Jamahiriya in an environment free of management and fiscal restrictions development of commercial, goods and service exchange and creating an industrial base in addition to transporting and setting technology and training upon it and providing work opportunities for the citizens and with this zone and its development will increase opportunities of attracting the investors in industrial, service and commercial activities which target the African market to settle their investments in Jamahiriya. Misrata Free Zone extends to 3539 hectares (8745.06 acres), including Misrata Seaport with a capability of expansion in the southern side up to more than 2000 hectares (4942.1 acres).

Libyan Iron and Steel Company

The Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) is one of the largest iron and steelmaking companies operating in North Africa. Based in Misurata, it is subsidized and owned by the Libyan government. Muammar Gaddafi officially laid LISCO's foundation stone on 18 September 1979. In 2004, the online magazine Arab Steel ranked Lisco ranked third among the largest Arab iron and steel companies. The company operates from a headquarters building, five factories, a sea port, and warehouses in Qasr Ahmad.

References

External links

* About Misrata Free Zone https://web.archive.org/web/20091205143826/http://www.mfzly.com/en/free.html * Over the Ages, Misrata (Archeological Paper) https://web.archive.org/web/20110713203958/http://libyan-group.com/arabic/index.php?view=article&id=9:2009-02-11-13-39-51&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=28&lang=en * Free-Zones.org Misrata https://web.archive.org/web/20050523205412/http://www.free-zones.org/MISURATA%20BROCHURE.doc * ندوة المناطق الحرة في ليبيا التي استضافتها مدينة بنغازي (الجزيرة نت) http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/18CCB76C-FB92-42A9-B7D7-9A9B08127469.htm {{Misrata District Misrata Populated places in Misrata District Ports and harbors of Libya Tripolitania Archaeological sites in Libya