Tripoli (; ) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay. It includes the port of Tripoli and the country's largest commercial and manufacturing center. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli. The vast barracks, which includes the former family estate of Muammar Gaddafi, is also located in the city. Colonel Gaddafi largely ruled the country from his residence in this barracks. Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name (, ) before passing into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (, ). Due to the city's long history, there are many sites of archeological significance in Tripoli. Tripoli may also refer to the (top-level administrative division in the Libyan system), the Tripoli District. Name In the Arab World, Tripoli is also known as Tripoli-of-the-West ( ), to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon, known in Arabic as (), meaning 'Levantine Tripoli'. It is affectionately called "The Mermaid of the Mediterranean" ( ; lit: 'bride of the sea'), describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. The name derives from , literally "three cities", referring to Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The city of Oea was the only one of the three to survive antiquity, and became known as Tripoli, within a wider region known as Tripolitania. Neighboring Sabratha was sometimes referred to by sailors as "Old Tripoli". In Arabic, it is called , (; Libyan Arabic: , ; Berber: , from , from ). History The city was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name Oyat (Punic: 𐤅𐤉‬‬𐤏‬𐤕‬, wyʿt), suggesting that the city may have been built upon an existing native Berber city. The Phoenicians were probably attracted to the site by its natural harbor, flanked on the western shore by the small, easily defensible peninsula, on which they established their colony. The city then passed into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (Greek: Ὀία, Oía). Cyrene was a colony on the North African shore, a bit east of Tambroli and halfway to Egypt. The Carthaginians later wrested it again from the Greeks.