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Murzuq, Former ‘Paris of the Desert’
By Nick on July 5, 2008
When I was young, I used to spin the globe and stop it with the end of my finger. Wherever I put my finger was where I was supposed to go when I grew up. I tried this little trick with the globe in Google Earth, and found myself in Murzuk, a small town in Libya with a population of close to 70,000. To put that in perspective, you could fit all the people of Murzuk into Manchester United’s Old Trafford football stadium.
Murzuq is one of 34 municipalities that make up Libya. The capital city of Murzuq is unimaginatively called Murzuk, and used to be known as ‘Paris of the Sahara’ back when it was occupied by the Turkish Ottomans in 1578. It was home to a major Turkish fort which, like much of the town, now lies in ruins.
Murzuk was the center for the Arab slave and arms trade during the 16th-19th centuries, and also acted as a base for Saharan explorers who would venture out into the ’sea of sand’.
The Italians took control of Murzuk in 1912, but with the advent of motor and air travel, the town declined and now serves as a local trade center with a women’s market dealing in animal products and handicrafts.
More info…
- Murzuq municipality and Murzuk town on Wikipedia
- Murzuk in Google Maps
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One Response to “Murzuq, Former ‘Paris of the Desert’”
Comments
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Mark Ramsay, globetrotting from an armchair in England.
6:50 pm on July 5th, 2008
Thats really good Nick, hey maybe i should do that next time. I love our blogs they are fun and serious at the same time. Murzuk what a name. The most fasicinating names of towns often come from Africa or certain parts of Asia. Look forward to your next blog post keep up the good work.