caravans carrying gold, leather, and slaves, regularly stopped. Because of the rainfall along the coast, which was abundant compared to other cities in Tripolitania, and supplemental water from underground springs, Misrata's inhabitants were able to engage in unusually fertile agriculture in this largely arid region. The city was filled with thick areas of vegetable gardens while the surrounding countryside included fields of wheat, barley, date palms and olive orchards. Misrata's artisans also expanded on the city's ancient carpet industry for which it was regionally renowned. Although Misrata contained a well-built harbor, most of its long-distance trade was overland because the city of Benghazi to the east served as the preferable substitute for maritime shipping.
As a result of the abolition of slavery and increasing European colonial influence in Sub-Saharan Africa, Trans-Saharan trade declined and consequently Misrata's role in the trade decreased.However, the decline in Trans-Saharan trade saw the establishment of weekly and permanent markets in the city, replacing the seasonal markets associated with long-distance trade. Because of this new economic situation, the residents of the countryside devoted less time to pastoralism, husbandry and guide service for foreign traders and began to shift their focus on agricultural production. Farmers concentrated on growing cash crops, relying on market relations to provide income for their families, instead of subsistence farming and periodic barter exchanging. Bedouinsincreasingly abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and began to settle into permanent dwellings within the city limits. To cope with an rising population due to immigration from the surrounding areas, Misrata witnessed a construction boom in the late 19th-century. A covered produce market and numerous streets lined with shops were built in addition to new district and municipal government offices, a renovated Ottoman army barracks and several
