Zuwarah, Zuwara, or Zwara ( ); () is a coastal city in north-western

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Zuwara is primarily inhabited by indigenous

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

people of Libya. The local Berber dialect, known locally as Zuwari, is commonly spoken as a first language by the inhabitants of Zuwara. Zuwara is famous for its beaches and seafood. It is situated west of Tripoli and from the

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n border. It is the capital of the Nuqat al Khams

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. Zuwarah consists of 49 districts.

History

The settlement was first mentioned by the traveller Abdallah al-Tijani in the years 1306-1309 as composed of two parts: ''Zwara al-soughra'' ("Little Zwarah") and ''Zwara al-koubra'' ("Greater Zwarah"). In the

Catalan Atlas The Catalan Atlas (, ) is a medieval world map, or mappa mundi, probably created in the late 1370s or the early 1380s (often conventionally dated 1375), that has been described as the most important map of the Middle Ages in the Catalan language, ...

(1375) it was called as Punta dar Zoyara. The town is mentioned by Leo Africanus in the 16th century. It later served as the western outpost of

Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...

(1912–43), being the terminus of the now-defunct Italian Libya Railway from Tripoli to the east. Its artificial harbour shelters a motorized fishing fleet. Cereals, dates, and

esparto Esparto, halfah grass, or esparto grass is a fiber produced from two species of perennial grasses of north Africa, Spain and Portugal. It is used for crafts, such as cords, basketry, and espadrilles. '' Stipa tenacissima'' and '' Lygeum spar ...

grass (used to make cordage, shoes, and paper) are local products. It was in 1973 in Zuwara that

Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...

first proclaimed the Libyan "Cultural Revolution".

2011 Libyan civil war

During the

2011 Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...

, the city was reported by

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

to be under control of the local anti-Gaddafi forces on 23 February 2011, and lost by the government of

. Thousands of anti-government protesters, gathered in the Zuwara town square on 24 February, repulsed another Libyan Army attempt to retake the city. Loyalist forces used the pro-government towns of Jumayl and Riqdalin to the south as bases for their attacks on the city. However, from March onwards, the city was under the control of loyalist forces. Amidst the August rebel coastal offensive, rebels took Zuwara on 18 August. In September 2011, and following the fall of the Gaddafi government, Zuwara was the first City in Libya to democratically elect its local council."The voice of Libya's minorities"
; November, 2011

Economy

The city's

Port of Zwara Zuwarah, Zuwara, or Zwara ( ); () is a coastal city in north-western Libya. Zuwara is primarily inhabited by indigenous Berbers, Berber people of Libya. The local Berber dialect, known locally as Zuwara Berber, Zuwari, is commonly spoken as a fi ...

is used as a transfer point for smuggled fuel by the militias who fight the government. Often these vessels fly the flag of

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

and are operated from a mailbox in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

Climate

Zuwara has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BWh'').

References

Sources

* Terence Frederick Mitchell, ''Ferhat. An Everyday Story of Berber Folk in and around Zuara (Libya)'', Köln, Köppe, 2007 -

External links

Official Zuwara Municipality website
- ''in Tamazight and Arabic''
official Zuwara website
- ''in Arabic'' {{District capitals of Libya Populated places in Nuqat al Khams District Port cities and towns in Libya Tripolitania Baladiyat of Libya Berber populated places