Tripoli is one of the oldest human existence residues it self, but nothing remain from the old days, the Mamluks dynasty did away in fact with all residues of previous times. However, the little that has remained from the two preceding centuries certainly deserves the attention of the visitor. Such as the Crusader ruins, represented with the St Gilles citadel. At the foot of the fortress a small community nestled, which eventually became the centre of the current city. Coquetted by the Muslims, Tripoli became a Muslim city, above the main gateway built by the Crusaders. The Ottomans came after the Mamluks, and most of the ruins in the city go back to that era.

Forty five buildings in the town, many dating from the 14^th century have been registered as historical sites; twelve mosques from Mamluk and Ottoman era have survived beside an equal number of Madrassas or Muslim theological schools. Secular buildings incorporate the Hammam or Bathing House, which followed the traditional model of Roman-Byzantine baths, and the Khan or Caravansary. The Souks, with the Khans, form an agglomeration of various trades where tailors, jewelers, perfumers, tanners and soap-makers work in surroundings that have changed very little over the last 500 years.