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Gharyan

(Encyclopedia)Gharyan gärēănˈ [key], town, NW Libya, connected by rail and highway with nearby Tripoli. Many of the inhabitants live in a centuries-old subterranean town. A modern settlement was built (20th cen...

Marzuq

(Encyclopedia)Marzuq mo͝orˈ– [key], town (1984 pop. 42,294), SW Libya. With Sabha, it is one of the chief settlements of the Fazzan municipality. Marzuq developed around a fort built c.1310 (now in ruins). The ...

Al Aziziyah

(Encyclopedia)Al Aziziyah ăzĭzēˈä [key], town, NW Libya, near Tripoli. It is a major trade center of the Jifarah plain. Al Aziziyah was long considered to have recorded the highest shade temperature on earth, ...

Ghudamis

(Encyclopedia)Ghudamis or Ghadames both: gədäˈmĕs [key], town, W Libya, in an oasis in the Sahara, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia. It was long an important caravan center on the route from Tripoli to...

Alamein, El

(Encyclopedia)Alamein, El äl älămānˈ [key], town, N Egypt, on the Mediterranean Sea. It was the site of a decisive British victory in World War II (see North Africa, campaigns in). In preparation for an attack...

Benghazi

(Encyclopedia)Benghazi or Bengasi both: bĕngäˈzē [key], city (2021 est. pop. 807,000), capital of Benghazi municipality, NE ...

North Africa, campaigns in

(Encyclopedia)North Africa, campaigns in, series of military contests for control of North Africa during World War II. The desert war started in 1940 and for more than two years thereafter seesawed between NE Libya...

Misratah

(Encyclopedia)Misratah mēzo͞oräˈtä [key], city (1984 pop. 131,031), NW Libya, located in an oasis. A seaport on the Mediterranean Sea, the city exports dates and grain and is noted for its handwoven carpets, p...

Leptis

(Encyclopedia)Leptis lĕpˈtĭs [key], ancient city of Libya, E of Tripoli. It was founded (c.600 b.c.) by Phoenicians from Sidon. Annexed (46 b.c.) to the Roman province of Africa, it flourished as an important po...

Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre

(Encyclopedia)Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre âr ôˌkĭnlĕkˈ, ôˌkhĭn– [key], 1884–1981, British field marshal. In World War II he commanded briefly (1940) at Narvik, Norway, then in building defenses in...