Maydan al-Shajara

Maydan al-Shajara is one of the main public squares in central Benghazi, a tree-lined open space in the heart of the city's commercial district. Before 2011 it was a typical North African city square — cafes around the edges, men sitting in the shade, traffic circling — and it is returning to something like that function as the city stabilises. The square is surrounded by some of the older commercial buildings of Benghazi's pre-revolutionary centre.

The square serves as an orientation point for the old city: the covered market, the Atiq Mosque, and several of the remaining Italian colonial buildings are within easy walking distance. The tree cover that gives the square its name is a welcome relief in the heat of summer. The immediate vicinity is one of the more accessible areas of the old city for visitors, and the surrounding streets have some street food and café options.

things to do sight
A story
Maydan al-Shajara — The Tree Square — takes its name from a large tree that once stood at its centre, a landmark around which the square was organised. The square was one of the main gathering points for anti-Gaddafi demonstrators in February 2011 when the revolution began in Benghazi, and it retains symbolic importance as the place where the uprising started. The events of that February fundamentally changed Libya's trajectory and Benghazi's history.