From the earliest times Tripoli in North Lebanon was an unusual city due to its configuration for it was not one city but " three cities in one", hence its name Tripoli or the "Tri-city". Built on a rocky promontory on the East Mediterranean cost. Its geographical and strategic position was further enhanced by the presence of offshore islands and natural ports. Tripoli thus inevitably played and still playing a predominant role in political and economic developments in the region and the Middle East for over two millennia.