El Qantara () is a northeastern

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

on both sides of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, in the Egyptian governorate of

Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...

, northeast of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and south of

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

. The two parts of the city are connected by a high-level fixed road bridge, the Mubarak Peace Bridge. The bridge makes a connection between the division of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, making El Qantara a Border town.

History

El Qantara was built next to the site of the ancient city of Sele (, , ''Tcharou''). During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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

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 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 the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

under the command of Brigadier General Everard Blair. The

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

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. Formally designed in 1919 by Sir Robert Lorimer,Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Robert Lorimer
www.scottisharchitects.org.uk, accessed 2025-01-27 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

captured the town. Egypt recaptured it at the start of the 1973

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

during The Crossing, and held it until the ceasefire was negotiated. Egypt regained formal control over the town in 1974.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Ismailia Governorate Suez Canal Transcontinental cities

History

See also

References