El Mina, Lebanon
El-Mina or El Mina (Arabic: الميناء / ALA-LC: al-Mīnā’, which means "harbour"), is a coastal city in Northern Lebanon. El-Mina occupies the location of the old Phoenician city of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. It acts as the harbour city for modern neighbouring Tripoli, situated 5 km to the east.
History
El Mina is the site of the ancient city of Tripolis that dates back to the Phoenician era, and is one of Lebanon's oldest cities, alongside Byblos, Tyre and Sidon.
The site of Tripolis moved inland after the Islamic reconquest from the crusaders, and today's El-Mina became the harbour district of Tripoli, eventually having its own municipal board in the beginning of the twentieth century, separate from that of Tripoli, but within the context of Greater Tripoli.
Geography
El-Mina is the city with the largest number of islands surrounding it, along the Levantine coastline. It has nine islands, the closest, the Abdul Wahab Island can be visited by crossing a bridge over the sea. The farthest island, 'Ramkin', is 10 kilometers away from the coast, and has a lighthouse. Four of the islands have been declared as natural reservations, to help breed fish, and preserve their natural habitat.
The city's seashore extends 3 to 4 kilometers, and its famous seashore sidewalk, the "corniche", is a popular site frequented by people from all around Lebanon, who come to enjoy the fresh air.
The city is mostly flat, and has a diameter of only one km, that extends from the seashore to the border of the city of Tripoli. Due to large expansion, El-Mina and Tripoli are almost attached, except for a roundabout that indicate the separation between the two cities, close to 100 meters distance.
