Tripoli, Lebanon's Overlooked Second City: An Overview

Lebanon is in the headlines--and again for tragic reasons. While the Lebanese government deals with the fallout of literally thousands of pagers and now walkie-talkie portable radios being apparently rigged at the manufacturer level with small, difficult-to-detect amounts of explosives, our thoughts are with the innocent civilians who were injured in Tuesday and Wednesday's electronics blasts.

After publishing his article on Beirut from the perspective of an expat or Lebanese origin repat real estate investor, as well as potential EU pensioner/retirees perspectives, we had asked ESW's Cairo-based MENA Editor Ahmed to also write a short piece on Tripoli. While Tripoli lacks the size and many amenities that Beirut has, the north of Lebanon also offers lower housing costs and a greater distance from the Israel-Hezbollah conflict than Beirut and the south.

For the longer term, peace in neighboring Syria and Syrian-Turkish détente would be bullish for the region.

-- James Smith

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, ExitStrategy.World

September 18, 2024

We first discussed the city of Beirut and gave it a general overview in one of our past articles, the next one is regarding Tripoli (not the capital of Libya), the second largest city in the country. But first we must start with some context.

Tripoli is a small, but a quite densely populated district in the North of Lebanon, in the North Governorate, it actually consists of several different suburbs and other localities, including the port town of El Mina (literally translating to “The Port” in Arabic) and the suburbs, it is a Muslim-majority city with anywhere from 75% to 80% of all residents being Muslim, the remaining 25% to 20% consisting of Christians (Greek Orthodox and Catholic Maronites) and a very small minority of Alawites.

The Northern District by itself is somewhat unique, with many varied landmarks such as plains and hills – including the largest mountain in all of Lebanon, the Mount Lebanon, with such a varied topography, coupled with the Mediterranean climate. There are many seasons and activities in the North, which influences both its lifestyle and economic activities, such as industry, tourism, maritime trade, fishing, etc.

Considering that Lebanon is in the Middle East, there are many continuously-inhabited cities that have been inhabited for millennia. Tripoli is unique in that it is not far from and has served as an ancient sea port to Damascus for thousands of years. Tripoli remains one of the few continuously inhabited cities of the world since 700 BC. It has been a landmark of several civilizations and empires, including of the Biblical Syro-Phoenicians, Alexandrian Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and later French Catholic Christian, and Islamic rulers.

Thus, the city has many historical landmarks, such as churches, mosques, old forts, antique shops etc with a large imprint left behind by all of these bygone empires. Notable landmarks include the Teylan Mosque, the Great Mosque, the castle of Saint Gilles, and the Tower of Lions.

Lebanon political map with capital Beirut, national borders, important cities, rivers and lakes.

Regarding prices in Tripoli, usually, the ranges are as follows.

An apartment in the city would cost anywhere from $150 to $1,000 in monthly rent, depending on the apartment itself (size, number of bedrooms, etc)

A single bedroom unit in the central districts would go between $200 to $300 per month, while further from the center it would be $100 to $200. Three bedroom apartments for a family to rent would cost between $600 and $1,000, while outside of the central areas it would be anywhere from $250 to $600 a month.

Price per meter square also vary depending on the location, with inner city prices being $1,000 to $3,000 per meter, while outer city limits being $800 to $1,500 per square meter.

However, the real estate industry, which flourished and was well developed in the 2000s and the early 2010s, has taken some serious hit in recent years. The real estate market is considered to be in recession across Northern Lebanon due to the economic crisis. Many Lebanese are buying property based on loans and connections--usually government-related employees get the biggest slice of the pie. However, by 2017 and 2018 these type of purchases have also taken a severe hit and the real estate sector has yet to fully recover. This is primarily due to the purchasing power of all Lebanese citizens falling off dramatically from inflation. Despite rampant inflation prices for most real estate actually dropped--sometimes by half--as most Lebanese simply cannot afford to buy property. But this is not a problem for expatriates, as well as Lebanese 'repats' who have accumulated savings in the Collective West.

However, even if you have several hundred thousand dollars to spend on buying properties, there is still a shortage of newer post-2000s or renovated inventory. New projects are barely past the planning stages, the chronic recession has hit the country for some years and thanks to the escalating Israel-Hezbollah War, Lebanon is unlikely to recover in the near future.

Photo credit above: A Tripoli, Lebanon mosque

Uploaded to iStock by Sergey Strelkov Oct 2023

Now, regarding the districts themselves...there are 10 main districts, and they are as follows:

1. Al-Mina (El-Mina)

Al-Mina, main maritime port of Tripoli and wider Lebanon, has the Corniche, and many waterfront activities including the Tripoli Sailing Club. But it's not really a residential area – unless you can afford a high value property with a sea front view.

2. Old City (Midan)

Historical area of Tripoli, full of Mameluke and Ottoman architecture, such as mosques, schools, inns, and marketplaces, has the aforementioned Citadel of Saint Gilles, the Great Mosque, and some notable marketplaces such as Souk al Haraj, also has the Soap Khan (Khan al-Saboun).

3. Bab al-Tabbaneh

One of the more residential/common districts of Tripoli, it suffered heavy fighting during the Lebanese Civil War, the people of the district used to get in fights with the nearby religious minorities. Now an uneasy calm prevails in his section of the city.

5. Jabal Mohsen

An isolated enclave of Alawites on a hill, which has seen some violence on several occasions and is not really well developed. Most expats will likely avoid looking at property in this area.

5. Tebbaneh

Tebbaneh, although different from Bab Al-Tabbaneh, is still quite similar, it is another low-income district and a residential district where you can find lower rents.

6. Qobbeh (Al-Qobbeh)

Is in the northeast part of the city, a mixed residential district inhabited by Christians and Sunni Muslims, which has not seen much violence recently. It is also home to the Qobbeh Prison – the largest prison in all of Tripoli.

7. Zahrieh

A quiet residential district in the city, it is close to the old district, but with moderate rents.

8. Abou Samra

A mixed-use district for residential and commercial purposes, it is one of the few areas in the city to have had any development in recent years. It is a mostly a Sunni Muslim district. This is one of the more attractive parts of the city to invest in property.

9. Azmi (Azmi Street)

A commercial district in the city, full of shops, restaurants, and cafés.

10. Tal (Al-Tall)

A Central commercial district in Tripoli, also considered a logistical hub, with several cafes and shops in the area.

When the current conflict eases ESW plans on publishing more material about Lebanon for Lebanese repats and expat property investors.