Long narrow rooms, generally in the form of a Latin cross with the foot wanting, lead from this gallery. At right angles to these narrow rooms, or more strictly speaking, corridors, are two larger rooms which open from them. These several apartments are separated from each other by draperies or portières.
The section of Tripoli which lies nearest to the quay is populated by Christians, who have grouped their dwellings around the two or three churches of the town. The Jews occupy the western section of the town, which is, if possible, more unsanitary than the others.
Still, Tripoli is not without interest; for, both within and without its walls, we find not only beautiful gardens but manufactories for leather, carpets, scarfs, and the like.
From Tripoli we can watch the departure of the great caravans for the Sahara on their way to Timbuctoo Bornoo, and other points, to obtain the products of the Soudan. This overland trade we shall find, however, has to a great extent decreased in recent years. The town of Tripoli may well be considered the center of a large agricultural population. Here the native men of wealth, or capitalists, increase their revenues by acting as money lenders to the peasantry, who of course have to pay high rates of interest for the loans.
It is interesting to notice that in no other section of North Africa does the Great Desert approach so closely to the sea as in the province of Tripoli. The Atlas chain of mountains, which, so far, has served as a protection to the Mediterranean shore from the shifting sands of the desert, here dwindles away to a low ridge of hills, and finally disappears entirely in the little Gulf of Systa, which lies west of the town of Tripoli.
On this gulf is the natural seaport of the Soudan, from which, according to Dr. Barth, opens the easiest route to the center of the continent.
The boundaries of the province of Tripoli can hardly be said to be definitely fixed. By some writers the whole area, including Fezzan and Barca, has been estimated at four hundred thousand square miles. Some writers include the oasis of Kufra, east of Fezzan; others declare it to be independent. The total population of the province is estimated at upwards of one million. Of this number about three hundred thousand belong to Barca.
Strange to say, the coast line, stretching as it does over a distance of between seven and eight hundred miles, has only one harbor, that of the town of Tripoli.
The eastern part of the interior is really a continuation of the Great Desert, and has the same general character; hence, large tracts of barren sand are common. The southern portion of the province is partly crossed by the Black Mountains, an eastern range of the Atlas. These slope away into successive terraces, which include many valleys and fertile plains. Off to the west, the surface of the country shows still greater variety; here the scenery is often beautiful and grand.
By far the richest tract in the whole province of Tripoli is Mesheea. This has a stretch of about fifteen miles of coast line. Its width, however, does not exceed five miles. Its capital is situated very nearly in the center of the district.