CLOCK TOWER

This square tower of 10 m high (with bluish glass since its last restoration) was built under the government of pacha Ali Ridha between 1866 and 1870, when the Réformateur Ottoman governor set up a programme of administrative modernization measures in the city. The construction of the Clock Tower was symbolically meant to mean that Tripoli was coming to the time of reform, égrainant on its dial the rational time of Turkish modernity, distinct from Muslim time chanted by the five calls for prayer. A municipal employee position was especially created to deal with the proper functioning of the clock.

Unlike the other towers in the old town, this tower was not a defensive function. It was first renovated between 1990 and 1991 and a second time in the 2005 program of backup, restoration and management of the Old Town.