Benghazi travel guide

Benghazi (Arabic بنغازي, transliterated Banġāzī) is the second largest city in Libya and the main city (or capital) of the Cyrenaica region (or ex-Province). During the Kingdom era of Libya's history, Benghazi enjoyed a sort of joint-capital status (alongside Tripoli), possibly because the King used to reside in the nearby city of Al Bayda' and the Senussis (royal family) in general were associated with Cyrenaica rather than Tripolitania. Benghazi continues to hold institutions and organizations associated normally with a national capital city. This creates a constant atmosphere of rivalry and sensitivities between it and Tripoli and by extension between the two regions (Cyrenaica and Tripolitania).
Benghazi was originally founded around 6th century BC by Ancient Greeks and named "Euesperides" and few centuries later refounded by Ancient Egyptians and named "Barneek" (or "Berenice"). This later old name sounds similar to Cyrenaica's Arabic name (برقه, pronounced "Barqah", or Barca), so the city's old name might be related to the region's recent Arabic name. The city's present name, Benghazi, is derived from that of a pious benefactor of the city named Ghazi or "Sidi Ghazi," as the locals called him, who died about 1450. The city was renamed "Bani Ghazi" (which literally means Ghazi's sons or descendants). The population was 500,120 in 1995 (census) and has increased to 660,147 in the 2004 census (another 2004 estimate puts the number at 950,000, possibly due to the inclusion of a larger area of outskirts around the city). (...) more....

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