Misrata

Misrata
Climate diagram
	Temperature in ° C , precipitation in mm
	Source: wetterkontor.de

Arabic مصراتة; Misurata ; Misrata
	Misrata
	Misrata
Coordinates	32 ° 23 ' N , 15 ° 5' E Coordinates: 32 ° 23 ' N , 15 ° 5' E
Basic data
Country	Libya
Shaʿbiyya	Misrata
ISO 3166-2	LY-MI
Residents	330,540 (2006)
	Park in Misrata

Misrata ( Arabic مصراتة, DMG Miṣurāta , also Misurata ) is a city in Libya . It is located in the Tripolitania region on the Mediterranean coast near the cape of the same name. Misrata is located 210 km east of the capital Tripoli .

Misrata is the capital of the municipality of the same name , in which more than 550,000 people lived in 2006, and is an important national economic center. The city's port is called Qasr Ahmed . The 2006 census counted 330,540 inhabitants.

Geographical location

Misrata is located on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea , about 211 km east of Tripoli and 825 km west of Benghazi . Cape Misrata , the westernmost point of the Great Syrte, belongs to the urban area . The city spreads out in a large oasis , which is separated from the sea in the north and east by a belt of coastal dunes . In the interior there is a sandy desert. Palm trees, olive trees and parks shape the image of the city center with modern buildings and wide streets.

history

antiquity

Misrata is considered to be one of the coastal trading centers that the Phoenicians established in what was later to be Tripolitania in the 10th century BC. Therefore, it is believed that the city has been an important commercial and economic center for around 3000 years. Misrata is also known for well-known scholars, writers and artists in Libya.

In ancient times the city was known as Kephale Tobactus (other names: Thubactis , Thubaqt, Tubartis, Tobartis). The importance of the place was based on the local crossing point of trade routes on the North African coast and as the center of a fertile area called Cephale Promentium . In the fourth century BC, the place is also mentioned in the Stade Somas Marcie Magna (the longest distances in the Mediterranean). In these oldest written sources, which date back to 2350 years, the coastal town of Qasr Ahmed is also mentioned for the first time, where the ancient and current port of Misrata is located. In the first century BC, the geographer Strabo describes the cape as an overgrown elevation that marks the beginning of the Great Syrte. Ptolemy mentioned as Treron Akron the three capes that jut out into the sea and where the Misurata tribe live. The place was also called Dat Arrimal (the sandy one) because of its wealth of white and yellow sand dunes .

Civil War 2011

During the 2011 uprising in Libya , the city came under rebel control.

On March 16, 2011, government troops shot at it with artillery and tanks . Several people were killed. On March 23, there was heavy fighting between loyal soldiers and insurgents. Residents reported that the city's hospital was also attacked on the evening of March 23. Tanks shot at the clinic, killing two people.

Government troops completely encircled the city on April 3, 2011 and subsequently fired grenades on the city every day. Fierce fighting broke out between the insurgent rebels and government forces. Many houses have been set on fire, numerous dead and very many injured. The city's supply situation deteriorated dramatically, with a lack of medicine and water in particular. On April 2, the Turkish ship Ankara, under the protection of Turkish F-16 fighter jets and two frigates, brought 230 seriously injured people from the hotly contested city. There was no longer sufficient care there for them and they were cared for in well-equipped hospitals in Turkey.

The government troops fought their way to the city center, but withdrew to the outskirts of the city on April 23 because of the fierce defensive fighting. They continued their attacks from a distance and fired missiles into the city. On May 5, 2011, the government troops succeeded in breaking the UN flight ban and using small agricultural aircraft to drop bombs over the tanks in which the city's gasoline supplies were stored; the tanks burned out. On May 16, NATO naval forces prevented another attack on shipping traffic to the port of Misrata - the only connection into the enclosed city. Misrata Airport, which was badly damaged in the war, was reopened in December 2011 thanks to private financing. The city's port was also able to be operated again by private business people with 90% of its pre-war capacity by 2013.

After the revolution, Misrata became the first city in Libya to hold free elections for a city council on February 20, 2012. In the following months, the city council dealt with rebuilding the police, army, school and health system largely autonomously from the central government in Tripoli. In addition, the procedure for opening trading and commercial operations has been massively simplified in order to get the city's economy going again. Most of the members of the militias were taken over as employees in the city administration.

Mayor Muhammad Eshtewi was murdered by unknown assailants in December 2017.

Economy and Infrastructure

Road from Misrata to Tripoli

Misrata is known for its industry, in particular the steel mills as well as carpet and textile production in addition to numerous trading and service companies. The city is home to the corporate headquarters of numerous state-owned companies, including in the port sector (Libyan Ports Company), in the steel sector ( Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) ), in the media sector and in the financial sector.

In addition to the port of Qasr Ahmad and the airport , Misrata can be reached via the coastal expressway and, in future, the Ras Ejder – Sirt railway line . In future, the steelworks will be connected to the ore deposits inland by the Misrata – Sabha railway line .

education

Misrata is home to the October 7th University with 15 faculties. In addition, there are other higher educational institutions as well as external faculties of the Al-Tahadi University Sirte and the Al-Fateh University Tripoli.

Climate table

Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Misrata

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C )	18.0	19.3	20.5	23.0	26.5	29.9	31.6	32.5	31.1	27.8	23.9	19.4	O	25.3
Min. Temperature (° C)	8.5	9.2	11.1	13.8	16.8	20.0	21.9	22.5	21.5	18.2	13.6	10.0	O	15.6

Precipitation ( mm )	56	25th	20th	11	4th	1	0	0	11	42	38	59	Σ	267

Hours of sunshine ( h / d )	6.1	7.5	7.5	8.3	9.7	9.9	11.8	11.4	9.0	7.7	7.1	5.7	O	8.5

Humidity ( % )	70	68	69	68	70	71	73	72	71	69	68	67	O	69.7