Old City Souks

The old city souks of Tripoli are the most authentically functioning medieval market in Lebanon and arguably one of the best-preserved in the Arab world. Unlike the restored souks of Beirut, which are largely a commercial recreation, Tripoli's covered markets still operate as working neighbourhood commerce: tailors, spice merchants, soap makers, goldsmiths, coppersmiths, and vegetable sellers in their traditional locations.

The main covered souk, the Qaysariyya, is a thirteenth-century Mamluk khan that now functions as a fabric and clothing market. The Souk al-Haraj nearby specialises in auction sales of various goods — a custom that has operated here continuously since the Mamluk period. Getting lost in the souk is easy and recommended; the area is compact enough that you will eventually emerge at a recognisable point. The best time to visit is mid-morning on a weekday.

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A story
The covered souks of Tripoli are still organised by trade in the same way they have been for centuries — the jewellers' souk, the goldsmiths' souk, the copper workers' souk, the soap souk. This trade-specific organisation was a feature of all medieval Islamic cities and has largely disappeared elsewhere, but in Tripoli's old city the same trades are still concentrated in the same alleys where they have been for 700 years.