Coast of Jeffara

The coast of Jeffara borders the broad plain of western Tripolitania. Inland, the dry plain gives way to the long escarpment of Jabal Nafusa, whose higher ground receives more rain and supports olives, dates and cereals. Oases dot the coastal strip, where the ancient city of Sabratha grew from a Phoenician trading post into one of the three cities that gave Tripolitania its name. Its harbour linked the plain to the Mediterranean world.