Fishermen began building Saint Elie Church on El Mina’s seafront in 1861. Its foundation commemorated their survival of a violent storm at sea: they recalled seeing a sign on the shore from a distance and reaching land safely. Tall columns formed part of the church’s outer structure. Light from the building served as a beacon […]
Read MoreOur Lady of Al Najat Maronite Church was built in El Mina in 1889, during the time of Bishop Estefan Haddad.
Read MoreSaint Georgios Church in El Mina was built in 1732, during the time of Archbishop Makarios and Tripoli’s governor Suleiman Pasha. It stands above an older place of worship: the rocky cavern of Saint George, located beneath the altar. The church is divided into three aisles. The central one is dedicated to Saint George, the […]
Read MoreA small Saint Michael Orthodox Church stands along the stairway connecting Qobbeh with the Abu Ali River. Its position gives it a panoramic view over the old city. The church was probably built before 1890. Tripoli’s Orthodox families contributed the funds needed for its construction.
Read MoreThe Orthodox Shrine of Our Lady of Younis lies in Tripoli’s old city. Latin letters carved on its arch suggest that the place was already in use during the Crusader period. A local religious tradition tells of a man from the Younis family who hid in the cave while fearing execution. The Virgin Mary is […]
Read MoreSaint Michael is one of the largest Maronite cathedrals in Tripoli. Its design follows a Western architectural style. The inscription above the entrance gives 1858 as the date of its construction.
Read MoreThe history of Saint Nicholas Church is connected with an exchange of property between Tripoli’s Muslim and Orthodox Christian communities in the early nineteenth century. The old church adjoining Al Ouaisiya Mosque was exchanged for a property in the Tarbiya area, where a new church could be established. Work on Saint Nicholas began in 1908. […]
Read MoreSaint Joseph Syriac Catholic Church stands opposite Saint Georgios Orthodox Cathedral. Built in the nineteenth century, it originally belonged to the Franciscans before becoming a Syriac Catholic church.
Read MoreSaint Georgios Orthodox Cathedral is the largest historic church in Tripoli and an important example of nineteenth-century sacred architecture. It stands in the Christian quarter of Dabbagha, near Al Kanaes—Churches Street—at the meeting point of the old and newer parts of the city. Its importance within the Orthodox community has been compared with that of […]
Read MoreChristian history in Tripoli reaches back through the Roman, Byzantine and Crusader periods. Most of the historic churches standing in the city, however, were constructed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Older traces also survive, including remains associated with Saint John in Abu Samra and Our Lady of Al Hara. Together, these sites preserve different […]
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