Ismailia ( ar, الإسماعيلية ', ) is a city in north-eastern
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. Situated on the west bank 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 ...
, it is the capital of the
Ismailia Governorate
Ismailia Governorate is one of the Canal Zone governorates of Egypt. Located in the northeastern part of the country, its capital is the city of Ismailia. It was named after Ismail Pasha, who as Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt, oversaw the country duri ...
. The city has a population of 1,406,699 (or approximately 750,000, including surrounding rural areas). It is located approximately halfway between
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 ...
to the north and
Suez
Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boun ...
to the south. The Canal widens at that point to include
Lake Timsah
Lake Timsah, also known as Crocodile Lake ( ar, بُحَيْرة التِّمْسَاح); is a lake in Egypt on the Nile delta. It lies in a basin developed along a fault extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez through the Bitte ...
, one of the
Bitter Lakes
The Great Bitter Lake ( ar, البحيرة المرة الكبرى; transliterated: ''al-Buḥayrah al-Murra al-Kubrā'') is a large saltwater lake in Egypt that is part of the Suez Canal. Before the canal was built in 1869, the Great Bitter L ...
linked by the Canal.
History
![ISMAILIA - Office of the Suez Canal Co](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/ISMAILIA_-_Office_of_the_Suez_Canal_Co.png)
Ismailia was founded in 1863, during the construction 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 ...
, by Khedive
Ismail the Magnificent
Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895) was the Khedive of Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt and conqueror of Sudan (region), Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when Tewfik Pasha, he was removed at the behest of Great Brit ...
, after whom the city is named. Following the
Battle of Kafr-el-Dawwar
The Battle of Kafr El Dawwar was a conflict during the Anglo-Egyptian War near Kafr El Dawwar, Egypt. The battle took place between an Egyptian army, headed by Ahmed ‘Urabi, and British forces headed by Sir Archibald Alison. As a result, the ...
in 1882 the British established a base there.
The head office of the
Suez Canal Authority
Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is an Egyptian state-owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the Suez Canal. It was set up by the Egyptian government to replace the Suez Canal Company in the 1950s which resulted in the Suez Crisis. After th ...
is located in Ismailia at the shore of Lake Timsah. It has a large number of buildings dating from British and French involvement with the Canal. Most of these buildings are currently used by Canal employees and officials.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the British had an air base there and the
Battle of Romani
The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town o ...
took place nearby. Ismailia War Cemetery was designed in 1919 by Sir
Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothi ...
marking the casualties of the battle.
In 1973 the
Battle of Ismailia
The Battle of Ismailia took place between the Egyptian Army and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during the last stages of the Yom Kippur War during October 18–22, 1973, south of the city of Ismailia, on the west bank of the Suez Canal in Egy ...
took place in the city.
Government and politics
The
Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
was founded in Ismailia by
Hassan al-Banna
Sheikh Hassan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Muhammed al-Banna ( ar, حسن أحمد عبد الرحمن محمد البنا; 14 October 1906 – 12 February 1949), known as Hassan al-Banna ( ar, حسن البنا), was an Egyptian schoolteacher and imam, b ...
in March 1928. An underground paramilitary wing was established in the 1940s, primarily to contest the
British occupation of Egypt
The history of Egypt under the British lasted from 1882, when it was occupied by British forces during the Anglo-Egyptian War, until 1956 after the Suez Crisis, when the last British forces withdrew in accordance with the Anglo-Egyptian agree ...
. In the early 1950s, Ismailia hosted the British Military HQ and the Civilian Administration Centre of the Canal Zone. An attack on an Egyptian government building and army barracks manned by
auxiliary police
Auxiliary police, also called special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated. The po ...
men by a British Army force on 25 January 1952 was a key event leading to the overthrow of King
Farouk I
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 193 ...
later that year and the Egyptian Revolution that followed. British forces pulled out of Ismailia in 1954.
The Eastern Catholic Eparchy
On 1982.12.17 an Eparchy (
Eastern Catholic
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...
Diocese) of Ismayliah was established on territory split off from the
Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria
The Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria is the Patriarchal and only Metropolitan see of the head of the Eastern ''sui iuris'' Coptic Catholic Church, a particular Church in the Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, which foll ...
(
Alexandrian Rite
Alexandrian rites are liturgical rites employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by their Eastern Catholic count ...
in
Coptic language
Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century AD in Roman Egypt. Coptic ...
), which remains its
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
. Its episcopal see is St. Mark's cathedral.
;Suffragan Eparchs (Bishops of Ismayliah)
* Athanasios Abadir (17 December 1982 – 25 December 1992, his death), previously
Titular Bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of
Appia and
Patriarchal Vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
Alexandria of the Copts
The Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria is the Patriarchal and only Metropolitan see of the head of the Eastern '' sui iuris'' Coptic Catholic Church, a particular Church in the Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, which f ...
(Egypt) (18 May 1976 – 17 December 1982)
* Youhannes Ezzat Zakaria Badir (23 November 1992 – 23 June 1994), later Eparch (Bishop) of
Luqsor of the Copts
Luxor ( ar, الأقصر, al-ʾuqṣur, lit=the palaces) is a modern city in Upper (southern) Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of ''Thebes''.
Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open- ...
(Egypt) (23 June 1994 – 27 December 2015, his death)
* Makarios Tewfik (23 June 1994 – 29 June 2019, resigned)
* Daniel Lotfy Khella (29 June 2019 – present)
Education
Schools
Ismailia has several public and private schools. They face the same educational problems that schools all around Egypt face. Private tutoring is widely accessible and is almost an unofficial requirement for all students. Two international schools,
Manar Language School and Educational Language Complex School (E.L.C) offer
American Diploma
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
IGCSE
The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...
teaching systems.
Universities
Ismailia is the home of the
Suez Canal University
The Suez Canal University is an Egyptian public university serving the Suez Canal region. Its faculties are located in the three governorates of the Suez Canal Region (Port Said, Ismailia & Suez). It was established in 1974. It is well-known for ...
, established in 1976 with the help of the Chinese Government to serve the region of Suez Canal and Sinai. Suez Canal University now is one of the fastest growing educational institutions in Egypt with many students studying abroad.
Culture and recreation
Arts and festivals
![Virgin Mary Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Virgin_Mary_Church.jpg)
Ismailia hosts two important festivals each year. The first is the International Film Festival for Documentaries and Shorts that is held in June. In June 2014, the 17th consecutive festival was organized. The second is the Ismailia International Folklore Arts Festival that is held in September. In this festival folkloric troupes from all around the globe meet in Ismailia, where they perform folkloric dances representing the culture of their countries.
Archaeological Museum
A major attraction is the Ismailia Museum which was built in 1932. Visitors will find a variety of significant archaeological finds especially from sites in the Ismailia governorate such as Tell el-Maskhuta, from North Sinai, and from Upper Egypt.
Tourism
![Fernidan de Lesseps house Ismailia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Fernidan_de_Lesseps_house_Ismailia.JPG)
Ismailia does get tourists from within Egypt, but is not a major tourism destination for international tourists. The city is approximately a ninety-minute automobile drive from
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. From Ismailia it is approximately a four-hour drive to
Sharm el-Sheikh
Sharm El Sheikh ( ar, شرم الشيخ, ), commonly abbreviated to Sharm, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip along the Red Sea. Its population is approximately 53,670 ...
in South
Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
. Driving to the
Taba Border Crossing
The Taba Border Crossing also known as the Menachem Begin Crossing ( ar, معبر طابا, he, מעבר מנחם בגין formerly he, מעבר טאבה) is an international border crossing between Taba (Egypt), Taba, Egypt, and Eilat, Israel
...
at
Taba and the
Rafah Border Crossing
The Rafah Border Crossing ( ar, معبر رفح, Ma`bar Rafaḥ) or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It is located on the Gaza–Egypt border, which was recognized by the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace ...
at
Rafah
Rafah ( ar, رفح, Rafaḥ) is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. It is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate, located south of Gaza City. Rafah's population of 152,950 (2014) is overwhelmingly made up of former Palestinian ...
are both approximately four-hour drives. The city is also infamous for sidewalks painted in yellow and blue after the original kit colour of Ismaily Sports Club, the local sports team of the governorate
Sports
![Ismailia Stadium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Ismailia_Stadium.jpg)
Ismailia is home to the third most successful club in Egypt (in the field of Football,
Ismaily SC
Ismaily Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الإسماعيلي الرياضي) is an Egyptian professional football club, established on 20 March 1921 as El Nahda Sporting Club ( ar, جمعية نهضة الشباب المصري ) ( Egyptian pronunci ...
. The club's performance is considered a major political issue, and can tend to dictate the city's mood. The team enjoys brief stints of competition for local and international competition, but its financial situation prevents these stints from extending beyond a few years. The team has won the
Egyptian League
The Egyptian Premier League ( ar, الدوري المصري الممتاز), also known as WE Egyptian Premier League (WE EPL) after the addition of title sponsor WE, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of th ...
three times (1967, 1991, 2002), the
Egyptian Cup
The Egypt Cup (also known as Egyptian FA Cup, formerly King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt.
List of finals
The following table provides a summary of seasons:
Notes:
* The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Eg ...
twice (1997, 2000), and the
African Cup of Champions Clubs
The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...
once in 1969 as the first Egyptian and Arab Club team to have won this league.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as
hot desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...
(BWh).
The hottest recorded temperature was on 14 June 1944 while the coldest recorded temperature was in January.
Notable people
*
Louis Chedid
Louis Chedid (born 1 January 1948, in Ismaïlia) is a French singer-songwriter of Lebanese and Egyptian origin.
Biography
Louis Chedid is the son of the writer Andrée Chedid and the father of Matthieu Chedid (better known as -M-).
As a child ...
, French singer and songwriter, son of writer
Andrée Chedid
Andrée Chedid ( ar, أندريه شديد) (20 March 1920 – 6 February 2011), born Andrée Saab Khoury, was an Egyptian-French poet and novelist of Syrian/Lebanese descent. She is the recipient of numerous literary ...
and father of
Matthieu Chedid
Matthieu Chedid (born 21 December 1971), better known by his stage name -M-, is a French rock singer-songwriter and guitar player. Since 2018, he has been the most awarded artist at the Victoires de la Musique Awards with 13 awards, tied with A ...
was born in Ismailia on 1 January 1948
*
Claude François
Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude" (c ...
, French pop singer and songwriter, born in Ismailia on 1 February 1939
*
Ali Gabr, footballer
*
Ragaa Al Geddawy
Ragaa Al Geddawy ( ar, رجاء الجداوي; 6 September 1934 – 5 July 2020) was an Egyptian actress and model. She was one of the most beloved actresses and one of the most prominent in the Middle East with a fruitful six-decade career.
Ea ...
(1934–2020), film actress, model and niece of Taheyya Kariokka
*
Ahmed Hegazy, footballer
*
Aura Herzog
Aura Herzog (Hebrew: אורה הרצוג) ( Ambache, 24 December 1924 – 10 January 2022) was an Israeli social and environmental activist, who served as the First Lady of Israel from 1983 to 1993; she was the wife of Chaim Herzog, the sixth P ...
, First Lady of Israel, wife of former Israeli President
Chaim Herzog
Major-General Chaim Herzog ( he, חיים הרצוג; 17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997) was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and ...
and mother of current Israeli President
Isaac Herzog
Isaac "Bougie" Herzog ( he, יצחק "בוז׳י" הרצוג, Yitskhak "Buzhi" Hertsog; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving as the 11th president of Israel since 2021. He is the first president to be born in ...
born in Ismailia on 24 December 1924.
*
Taheyya Kariokka
Taheyya Kariokka ( ar, تحية كاريوكا) also Tahiya Carioca (born Badaweya Mohamed Kareem Ali Elnedany), (February 22, 1915 – September 20, 1999) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress.
Early life
Born in the Egyptia ...
, Egyptian
belly dancer
Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...
and film actress, born in Ismailia on 22 February 1919
*
Osman Ahmed Osman
Osman Ahmed Osman ( ar, عثمان أحمد عثمان) (April 6, 1917 – May 1, 1999) was an Egyptian engineer, contractor, entrepreneur, and politician. Known commonly as el-mo'alim ("the boss"), Osman founded the Arab Contractors (th ...
, influential Egyptian engineer,
contractor
A contractor is a person or company that performs work on a contract basis. The term may refer to:
Business roles
* Defense contractor, arms industry which provides weapons or military goods to a government
* General contractor, an individual o ...
, entrepreneur, and politician, born in Ismailia on 6 April 1917
See also
*
List of cities and towns in Egypt
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
*
External links
*
Diocese of Ismailia*
Short animation festival in Ismailia
{{Authority control
Governorate capitals in Egypt
Populated places in Ismailia Governorate
Metropolitan areas of Egypt
Suez Canal
Populated places established in 1863
Cities in Egypt
1863 establishments in Egypt