Port Said Attractions
Apart from commerce and shipping the main elements in the city's economy are foodstuffs and chemical industries and the production of salt.
Port Said (Bur Said; named after Viceroy Said, 1854-63), chief town of a governorate, Egypt's fourth largest city and after Alexandria its largest port, lies in a barren and desolate setting on a narrow strip of land which is gradually increasing in width by the deposit of silt between Lake Manzala and the north entrance of the Suez Canal, to which the town owed its foundation in 1859.
In November 1956 much of what was then a thriving town was destroyed by air bombardment during the Suez War. It made a rapid recovery, but suffered another severe blow when the Suez Canal was closed to traffic in 1967 and the Sinai Peninsula was occupied by Israeli forces, some 70% of the population being evacuated. Reconstruction has been under way since 1974, and it is planned to develop the port into a major center of trade with the Near East and East Asia, with free port facilities and an international airport.
Port Said is a town of European style architecture with a regular layout in the form of a right angled triangle, which has little in the way of tourist attractions apart from its fascinating mixture of races and the lively and colorful Oriental bustle of its streets.
Port Said (Bur Said; named after Viceroy Said, 1854-63), chief town of a governorate, Egypt's fourth largest city and after Alexandria its largest port, lies in a barren and desolate setting on a narrow strip of land which is gradually increasing in width by the deposit of silt between Lake Manzala and the north entrance of the Suez Canal, to which the town owed its foundation in 1859.
In November 1956 much of what was then a thriving town was destroyed by air bombardment during the Suez War. It made a rapid recovery, but suffered another severe blow when the Suez Canal was closed to traffic in 1967 and the Sinai Peninsula was occupied by Israeli forces, some 70% of the population being evacuated. Reconstruction has been under way since 1974, and it is planned to develop the port into a major center of trade with the Near East and East Asia, with free port facilities and an international airport.
Port Said is a town of European style architecture with a regular layout in the form of a right angled triangle, which has little in the way of tourist attractions apart from its fascinating mixture of races and the lively and colorful Oriental bustle of its streets.
Harbor
The large Harbor (570 acres) and the northern entrance to the Suez Canal are protected by two long piers. The west pier, continuing the line of the harbor quay for some 2.5mi/4km, is designed to prevent the silting up of the channel by the deposit of mud carried down by the Nile. At its near end there formerly stood an imposing statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805-94), constructor of the Suez Canal, but this was pulled down by Egyptian nationalists in 1956. To the south, on the harbor quay, is a 175ft/53m high lighthouse, with a light visible 23mi away. The east pier is almost 1mi/2km long.
The town has recently been considerably extended on the north and west, where new land has been reclaimed from the sea.
The town has recently been considerably extended on the north and west, where new land has been reclaimed from the sea.
Lake Manzala
To the west of the Port Said is the great expanse of Lake Manzala, mainly consisting of marshland and reed beds, with great numbers of water birds.
Port Fuad (Bur Fuad)
Opposite Port Said, on the east side of the Suez Canal and the harbor, is the suburb of Port Fuad (Bur Fuad: ferry service), established in 1926 (and named after the then reigning King) by the Suez Canal Company, with their headquarters and housing for their employees. It has attractive parks and gardens and good beaches.
Facilities
Beach
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