"Traveling - It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller" Ibn Battuta.

Last month, we took a long road trip to the beautiful city of Tripoli. Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate that is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the whole country. Our trip was scheduled so to meet our Generation of Innovation Leaders - GIL project participants; the project that is funded by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Lebanon and supported by UNICEF Lebanon. We were expecting a standard meeting in one of INJAZ Lebanon's sites. However, our experience this time was completely different.

On December 20, 2017 we arrived to Tripoli around 10:00am. We headed to INJAZ Lebanon office and then our Field Officer in the North accompanied us to go visit one of the GIL teams. We headed to the Nejme square and then to the Big Mosque. There, we met Douaa Al-Sibahi - 18 years old - and Hadi Al-Choughary - 20 years old - the two founders of the "TripoliZens" project. As we met Douaa and asked her to tell us a bit more about TripoliZens, she said:

What is better than having an awesome day in the wonderful, traditional, old city of Tripoli? What is more attractive than getting engaged in its wealthy history and its still present traditions? Douaa and Hadi are here to take you on a tour all over Tripoli, offering it in 4 different languages."

Upon seeing the sparkle of passion in their eyes, we asked Douaa and Hadi to tell us more about their TripoliZens project and how participating in GIL helped them make their dream; of telling the story of Tripoli to the world, come true. The team told us that the entrepreneurship training they underwent helped them develop their leadership skills and helped them transform their love towards Tripoli from mere individual feelings into a collective experience of the city. They added, the "GIL project enabled us to become pioneers and to include an added value in each of our tours."

And there, our day started. After briefing us about the Big Mosque, Douaa and Hadi took us on a tour to Khan Saboun, Haman Al-Abed, Khan Kheyateen, Al Bertasya Mosque, and the Castle of Tripoli. It was a spectacular tour, where we got a feel of the real Tripoli, all led by local TriploiZens. After spending the day in Tripoli, we came back to Beirut with tens of stories about the city.

Don't you think it is time for you to go on an internal tour in Lebanon? Well, we got you a great team to accompany you in Tripoli! Reach out to the TripoliZens: Douaa and Hadi.