El Qantara ( ar, القنطرة, al qantara, the bridge) is a northeastern
Egyptian city on both sides of the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
, in the
Egyptian governorate of
Ismailia, northeast of
Cairo and south of
Port Said
Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...
. The two parts of the city are connected by a high-level fixed road bridge, the
Mubarak Peace Bridge
The Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Egyptian–Japanese Friendship Bridge, Al Salam Bridge, Al Salam Peace Bridge or Mubarak Peace Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El-Qantara, whose name means "the bridge" in Egyptian Ar ...
. The bridge makes a connection between the division of
Africa, and
Asia, making El Qantara a
Border town.
History
El Qantara was built next to a site of an ancient city Sele (, , ''Tcharou'').
During
World War I, Kantara, as it was referred to by the Allied troops, was the site of Headquarters No. 3 Section, Canal Defences and Headquarters Eastern Force during the latter stages of the Defence of the Suez Canal Campaign and the Sinai Campaign of 1916. The massive distribution warehouse and hospital centre supported and supplied all British, Australian and New Zealand operations in the Sinai from 1916 until final demobilization in 1919.
Beginning in January 1916, a new railway was constructed from Kantara to Romani, and eastward through the Sinai to
El Arish and
Rafa
Rafa is a masculine given name, mostly as a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Rafael. It may refer to:
People
* Rafael Nadal (born 1986), Spanish tennis player
* Rafa (footballer, born 1985), Spanish footballer Rafael López Gómez
* Rafael Ben ...
on the border with the Ottoman Empire. A water pipeline was constructed along the same route by the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
under the command of Brigadier General
Everard Blair.
[Lewis P (2014) ''For Kent and Country'', pp.104–107. Brighton: Reveille Press.]
The
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery and Memorial is located outside of town. It was begun in February, 1916 and remained in use until late 1920. After the war, it was doubled in size to accommodate the remains of soldiers from makeshift cemeteries and desert battlefields, notably in
Qatia,
Rumani,
Magdhaba,
El Arish and
Rafa
Rafa is a masculine given name, mostly as a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Rafael. It may refer to:
People
* Rafael Nadal (born 1986), Spanish tennis player
* Rafa (footballer, born 1985), Spanish footballer Rafael López Gómez
* Rafael Ben ...
. Formally designed in 1919 by Sir
Robert Lorimer,
[Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer] the cemetery contains 1,562 Commonwealth burials from World War I and 110 from World War II. There are also 341 war graves of other nationalities. The Kantara Memorial bears the names of 16 New Zealand World War I servicemen presumed killed in action at Rafa and Rumani. In 1961, panels bearing the names of 283 World War I Indian servicemen, interred in the now inaccessible Kantara Indian Cemetery, were affixed to the wall behind the Stone of Remembrance, forming the Kantara Indian Cemetery Memorial.
The town's importance as a hospital centre was renewed during
World War II when General Hospital No. 1 was located there from July 1941 to December 1945, and General Hospitals Nos. 41 and 92 at different periods. No. 8 Polish General Hospital was constructed adjoining the war cemetery.
During the
1967 Six Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 J ...
,
Israel captured the town. Egypt recaptured it at the start of the 1973
Yom Kippur War during
The Crossing, and held it until the ceasefire was negotiated. Egypt regained formal control over the town in 1974.
See also
*
List of cities and towns in Egypt
References
{{Reflist
Populated places in Ismailia Governorate
Suez Canal
Transcontinental cities