el Merdj
| el Merdj | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 32 ° 29 ′ N , 20 ° 50 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Libya | ||
| al-Marj | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | LY-MJ | ||
| height | 333 m | ||
| Residents | 85,315 (2004) | ||
 Aerial view of el Merdj
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el Merdj ( ˈmɑrdʒ ; Arabic المرج, DMG al-Marǧ ), also el Merj or Marge , formerly Barke or Barca , is a city in northeastern Libya and the administrative seat of the El Merdj district . It is located in a highland valley, which is separated from the Mediterranean by a series of hills, part of the Gebel el-Achdar .
El Merdj has a roughly estimated population of 85,315 (as of 2004). There are a number of banks on the main street, while the post office is in the center of town, not far from the Abu Bakr Assiddiq Mosque .
history
El Merdj was the site of the Greek colony Barke from the 7th century BC. It was established in 512 BC. Captured by the Persians and after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. Annexed by the Ptolemies . In 641 AD the city was forcibly taken by the Arabs invading from the east .
In the 1800s, the city grew around a Turkish fort, which was built in 1842 and has now been restored. The Italians built the city (1913–1941) into an administrative and commercial center and hill resort .
Marj was also the capital of Cyrenaica from 1942 to 1943 at the time of the United Kingdom of Libya .
Most of the city was destroyed on February 21, 1963 by an earthquake of 5.6 on the Richter scale, killing about 300 people and wounding 500 others.
literature
- Hamilton, James (1856) Wanderings in North Africa J. Murray, London, OCLC 5659586 , available at Google Books
Web links
- Marj, Libya , Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Room, Adrian (2006) “Al Marj” Placenames of the world: origins and meanings of the names for 6,600 countries, cities, territories, natural features, and historic sites (2nd edition) McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, p. 26 , ISBN 0-7864-2248-3
- ↑ Wolfram Alpha
- ↑ a b Pliez, Olivier (ed.) (2009) “Al Marj” Le Petit Futé Libye Petit Futé, Paris, p. 237 , ISBN 2-7469-2276-2 ; French
- ↑ Merriam-Webster, Inc. (1972) "Barca" Webster's New Geographical Dictionary G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Massachusetts, p. 118, ISBN 0-87779-146-5
- ↑ Stewart, John (1996) “Cyrenaica” The British Empire: an encyclopedia of the Crown's holdings, 1493 through 1995 McFarland & Co., Jefferson, North Carolina, p. 125, ISBN 0-7864-0177-X
- ↑ Earthquake at USGS ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Hewitt, Kenneth (1983) "Seismic Risk and Mountain Environments: The Role of Surface Conditions in Earthquake Disaster" Mountain Research and Development 3 (1): pages 27-44, page 30
