The City of Ribat al-Amami is replete with tourist attractions combining various natural landmarks, marine, semi sahara and monumental sites. Anciently speaking, the city of Sirte is the name of an area which extends from the Mediterranean between Umm al-Garanik in the east and Uyun al –Haysha in the west. The present City of Sirte was given different names in history. It was known during the reign of the Phoenicians as "Euphoranta Markomandis". There was indication that the area had been inhabited during and after the reign of the Phoenicians because of graves dating back to the fourth century AD. The Fatimids, during their reign in eleventh century established a city called Sirte which was situated east of the present Sirte, the presently known as "al-Madina. The city houses a small museum close to the ruins of the City of al-Fatimiya which houses some Islamic artifices. The City of Sirte was very well known to Arab travellers/ explorers and foreigners alike. Some have written about the city and its population. The Turks in 1841 constructed on the debris of the Phoenician City a palace around which the present Sirte is built and named. In the Modern History, the City of Sirte has witnessed a number of important historical events. Most prominently among them; were the battle fought against the Italians on 29 April 1915 which was popularly known as the Battle of al-Qardabiya during which, the Italians were defeated under the command of General Amyani. The City of Sirte hosted the first national unity conference on Saturday of 22 January 1922 during the Jihad War against the Italian aggression on Libya. The City of Sirte has witnessed during the latest part of the nineties of the twentieth century the most important event in its history manifested in the proclamation of the African Union on 9 September 1999 (9/9/99) at the Ouagadugou Complex which constitutes its famous features. In the mid –eighties of the last century, the City was named al-Ribat al-Amami after the confrontation between Libya and America in the Gulf of Sirte. The Gulf of Sirte was named since then, the Gulf of Challenge.
|
