Bayda, Libya

Bayda - Elbeida (/ˈbaɪdə/ or /ˈbeɪdə/; Arabic: البيضاء‎Al Baiḍāʾ  listen ), also spelled Az Zāwiyah al Bayḑā’,Zāwiyat al Bayḑā’,BeidaEl Beida and known as Beda Littoria under Italian occupation, is a commercial and industrial city in eastern Libya. It is located in the northern Cyrenaica. With a population 250,000 people, Bayda is the fourth-largest city in Libya (after Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata). It is the capital city of the Jabal al Akhdar district.

History

Bayda's history stretches back to Ancient Greece, when it was known as Balagrae. The 2,000-year-old ruins of the ancient Greek colony Cyrene are located nearby in Shahad.

One of the greatest attractions in the city is the tomb of a famous companion (sahabah) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Ruwaifi bin Thabit al-Ansari. For that reason, the city was known as Sidi Rafaa after him. After the arrival of Sayyid Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi in the area in the 19th century, and the construction of a zawiya, the city was renamed Az Zawiya Al Bayda. The modern city was built in the 1950s. It was originally intended to be the new capital of Libya and most of the necessary government buildings were constructed there. Eventually, the plan to move the capital from Tripoli to Bayda was dropped. Bayda is the administrative seat for Jabal al Akhdar district.