Darna

Derna lies on the Mediterranean at the eastern edge of the Jebel Akhdar. A valley descends from the hills to a fertile coastal plain, where water supports gardens of fruit trees and vegetables. The ancient town, known as Darnis, was one of the settlements of Cyrenaica under Greek and Roman rule.

After a long period of decline, Derna revived with the arrival of Andalusian families in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Settlers cultivated the land and dug channels to bring water to their fields. Their influence could be seen in the town's buildings, including houses, arches and domes. Under Ottoman rule Derna remained one of the principal coastal settlements of Cyrenaica, connected both to Tripoli and to the lands eastward toward Egypt.