Tripoli's heart is the vast "revolutionary" Green Square – full of traffic during the day, and teeming with strolling families, merchants and entertainers at night. Right by here lay the old Roman settlement of Oea, one of the three ancient cities which (together with Leptis Magna and Sabratha), formed the Roman 'tripolis' that eventually gave the capital its name. On top of this was built the Turkish medina. Here the souks throb with human traffic and the shops and street markets do a roaring trade, run by Arabs, Africans and Egyptians, and probably Lebanese, Tunisians and Moroccans too. In daylight, the Tripoli medina epitomizes much of Libya: very run down and dusty, the buildings decrepit and crumbling, electric wires festooning every facade, and the streets littered with every kind of garbage imaginable. But after dark, it takes on a new life as the hustle and bustle, the brightly lit shops and stalls, and the sociable noise of commerce bring warmth and friendliness to the whole scene. Around the old heart of Tripoli lie the Italianate boulevards of the colonial era, once grand, but today sorely in need of repair and restoration. The rest of the capital consists of sprawling suburbs constructed since the oil began to be exploited in the 1960's. Wherever you go, however, at any hour of day or night, you meet nothing but warm 'salaams', smiles and friendliness. It is by no means a very exciting city overall, but it makes up for it in terms of openness and affability.