Grand Hotel Tripoli

Grand Hotel Tripoli
Location within Tripoli, Libya
General information
Location Libya Elfatah Street, Tripoli, Libya
Coordinates 32°53′35″N 13°11′4″E / 32.89306°N 13.18444°E / 32.89306; 13.18444
Opening 1982
Other information
Number of rooms 350

The Grand Hotel Tripoli, also known as Funduq-Al-Kabir Hotel in Arabic, is a hotel on El-Fatah Street in Tripoli, Libya. The modern hotel was built in 1982 and designed by the British firm of Wakeman Trower & Partners Ltd.[1] It replaced the smaller historic hotel originally built around 1920, and was also called Grand Hotel Tripoli, which was originally demolished. After the February 17th Civil war, the grand hotel now remains abandoned and closed as of 2018.

The original Grand Hotel Tripoli

The Original hotel stands in an extensive open park which overlooks the then unfilled Tripoli harbor, not far from the Algerian embassy and Tripoli Cathedral - Jamal Abdul Nasser Mosque. It has 350 rooms.[2] It is noted for its many arches, inspired by the original building's facade, which form the basis of the structure. The hotel once had a propaganda poster on the outside of the hotel showed a crying child superimposed above a montage of the wreckage caused by the attack by the British.[3]

Historic Importance

General Italo Gariboldi welcoming Generals Erwin Rommel and Johannes Streich to Tripoli 12 February 1941 in front of the Grand Hotel of Tripoli

The Original Grand Hotel of Tripoli, dating back to as early as 1920, appears to be included within a photo taken with Italian General Italo Gariboldi welcoming Erwin Rommel and Johannes Streich on February 12, 1941. Erwin Rommel was selected by Adolf Hitler to lead the newly formed Afrika Korps divisions in the fight against British forces in North Africa. Two days later, his troops arrived in Tripoli. Several days later, his troops staged a parade in the 'Suq-Al-Khubsa' plaza, now known as Martyrs square where he multiplied the number of his forces by ordering his tanks and infantry to circle the square multiple times, to boost morale and falsify numbers to any British spies. Erwin Rommel then expelled the British 8th Army out of Libya, and eventually led his forces and into the North Africa campaign that lasted for 3 years.

References

  1. ↑ "Tripoli Grand Hotel". archnet.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21.
  2. ↑ Curry, Jeffrey E.; Putzi, Sibylla (August 2001). Global road warrior: 95-country resource for the international business communicator and traveler. World Trade Press. p. 480. ISBN 978-1-885073-86-0. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Marozzi, Justin (1 May 2002). South from Barbary: along the slave routes of the Libyan Sahara. Flamingo. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-00-653117-3. Retrieved 8 March 2011.


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