Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast

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 ...

extending about along the coast of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth 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 ...

. The city is the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of the

Port Said governorate Port Said () is a governorate located at the northeast end of the Nile Delta, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal in north-eastern Egypt. It is wholly urban, comprising the original Port Said city on ...

and it forms the majority of the governorate, where its seven districts comprise seven of the governorate's eight regions. At the beginning of 2023 it had a population of 680,375 people. The city was established in 1859 during the building of the Suez Canal. There are numerous old houses with grand balconies on all floors, giving the city a distinctive look. Port Said's twin city is

Port Fuad Port Fuad or Port Fouad ( ', ) is a city in Port Said Governorate, Egypt. Port Fuad is located in northeastern Egypt at the northwesternmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Asian side of the Suez Canal, across from the city of Port Said. Port ...

, which lies on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal. The two cities coexist, to the extent that there is hardly any town centre in Port Fuad. The cities are connected by free

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

running all through the day, and together they form a

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

with over a million residents that extends both on the

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 ...

n and the

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 ...

n sides of the Suez Canal. Port Said acted as a

global city A global city (also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center) is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that glo ...

since its establishment and flourished particularly during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century when it was inhabited by various nationalities and religions. Most of them were from Mediterranean countries, and they coexisted in tolerance, forming a

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

community. Referring to this fact,

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

once said, "If you truly wish to find someone you have known and who travels, there are two points on the globe you have but to sit and wait, sooner or later your man will come there: the docks of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Port Said".Port-Saïd : Architectures XIXe-XXe siècles Port Said is an important city in Egypt for trade and business, due to its location on the coastal region.

Name

The name of Port Said first appeared in 1855. It was chosen by an international committee composed of

the UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. It is a compound name which composed of two parts: the French word

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

(marine harbour) and

Said Said can refer to: * Speech, or the act of speaking * Saʽid, a male Arabic given name * Said (honorific), a honorific in Islamic culture * Said, Iran (disambiguation), multiple places in Iran * Port Said, a city in Egypt * Saïd Business School ...

(the name of the ruler of Egypt at that time), who granted

Ferdinand de Lesseps Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps (; 19 November 1805 – 7 December 1894) was a French Orientalist diplomat and owner of Main Idea of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distan ...

the concession to dig the Suez Canal. Urbanized residents pronounce the name or , while unurbanized residents pronounce it . In

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

, the city was called ().

History

Founding (1859)

Port Said was founded by

Sa'id of Egypt Mohamed Sa'id Pasha (, , March 17, 1822 – January 17, 1863) was the Wāli of Egypt Eyalet, Egypt and Turco-Egyptian Sudan, Sudan from 1854 until 1863, officially owing fealty to the Ottoman Sultan but in practice exercising virtual independence ...

on Easter Monday, April 25, 1859, when

gave the first symbolic swing of the pickaxe to signal the beginning of construction. The first problem encountered was the difficulty for ships to drop anchor nearby. Luckily, a single rocky outcrop flush with the shoreline was discovered a few hundred meters away. Equipped with a wooden wharf, it served as a mooring berth for the boats. Soon after, a wooden

jetty A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater (structure), breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French la ...

was built, connecting the departure islet, as it quickly became known, to the beach. This rock could be considered the heart of the developing city, and it was on this highly symbolic site, forty years later, that a monument to de Lesseps was erected. There were no local resources here. Everything Port Said needed had to be imported: wood, stone, supplies, machinery, equipment, housing, food and even water. Giant water storage containers were erected to supply fresh water until the

Sweet Water Canal Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

could be completed. One of the most pressing problems was the lack of stone. Early buildings were often imported in kit form and made great use of wood. A newly developed technique was used to construct the jetties called conglomerate concrete or "Beton Coignet", which was named after its inventor François Coignet. Blocks of concrete were sunk into the sea to be the foundations of the jetties. Still more innovative was the use of the same concrete for the lighthouse of Port Said, the only original building still standing in Port Said. In 1859 the first 150 laborers camped in tents around a wooden shed. A year later, the number of inhabitants had risen to 2000 — with the European contingent housed in wooden bungalows imported from northern Europe. By 1869, when the canal opened, the permanent population had reached 10,000. The European district, clustered around the waterfront, was separated from the Arab district, Gemalia, to the west, by a wide strip of sandy beach where a tongue of

Lake Manzala Lake Manzala ( ''baḥīrat manzala''), also Manzaleh, is a brackish lake, sometimes called a lagoon, in northeastern Egypt on the Nile Delta near Port Said and a few miles from the ancient ruins at Tanis.Dinar, p.51 It is the largest of the nort ...

reached towards the sea. This inlet soon dried out and was replaced by buildings; over time there was no division between the European and Arab quarters. Since its establishment, Port Said played a significant role in Egyptian history. The British entered Egypt through the city in 1882, starting their occupation of Egypt.

Thriving international port and city (1902–1945)

At the start of the twentieth century, two things happened to change Port Said: in 1902, Egyptian cotton from Mataria started to be exported via Port Said; and in 1904 a standard gauge railway opened to

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 ...

. The result was to attract a large commercial community and to raise its social status. In particular a sizable Greek community grew up. In 1907, the quickly growing city had about 50,000 inhabitants, among whom were 11,000 Europeans "of all nations". During the First World War, Port Said became home to an important Allied hospital. Due to the strategic location of Port Said intersecting Europe, Africa and Asia, thousands of men were sent to this hospital. This included soldiers wounded as a result from the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. Following the end of the

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 ...

, the directors of the Suez Canal Company decided to create a new city on the Asian bank, building 300 houses for its labourers and functionaries. Port Fouad was designed by the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The houses follow the French model. The new city was founded in December 1926. Since its foundation people of all nationalities and religions had been moving to the city and each community brought in its own customs, cuisine, religion and architecture. By the late 1920s the population numbered over 100,000 people. In the 1930s for example there were elegant public buildings designed by Italian architects. The old Arab Quarter was swallowed up into the thriving city. Port Said by now was a thriving, bustling international port with a multi-national population: Jewish merchants, Egyptian shopkeepers, Greek photographers, Italian architects, Swiss hoteliers, Maltese administrators, Scottish engineers, French bankers and diplomats from all around the world. All lived and worked alongside the large local Egyptian community. And always passing through were international travelers to and from Africa, India and the Far East. Intermarriage between French, Italian and Maltese was particularly common, resulting in a local Latin and Catholic community like those of Alexandria and Cairo. French was the common language of the European and non-Arab population, and often the first language of children born to parents from different communities. Italian was also widely spoken and was the mother tongue of part of the Maltese community, since the ancestors of the latter had come to Egypt before the Anglicization of Malta in the 1920s. Multilingualism was a characteristic of the foreign population of Port Said, with most people continuing to speak community languages as well as the common French. In 1936 a treaty was signed between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Egypt called the

Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 (officially, ''The Treaty of Alliance Between His Majesty, in Respect of the United Kingdom, and His Majesty, the King of Egypt'') was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Egypt. The ...

. It stipulated the British pledge to withdraw all their troops from Egypt, except those necessary to protect the Suez Canal and its surroundings.

Revolution, end of British occupation (1946–present)

Following

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 ...

, Egypt denounced the

, leading to skirmishes with British troops guarding the

in 1951. The

Egyptian Revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

occurred. Then on 26 July 1956, President

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

nationalised the Suez Canal Company. The nationalisation escalated tensions with Britain and France, who colluded with Israel to invade Egypt, the invasion known in Egypt as the tripartite aggression or the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

. On 6 November 1956, British troops violently landed in Port Said while firing on the Egyptian military. Port Said next was bombed by the British, to terrorise the civilians, of whom hundreds died. There was also heavy fighting in the streets with again many civilian casualties, and the resulting fires destroyed much of the city. The withdrawal of the last soldier of foreign troops was on 23 December 1956. Since then, this day was chosen as Port Said's national day. It is widely celebrated annually in Port Said. The French-speaking European community had begun to emigrate to Europe, Australia, South Africa and elsewhere in 1946 and most of the remainder left Egypt in the wake of the Suez Crisis, paralleling the contemporary exodus of French-speaking Europeans from Tunisia. Most of the Greek community was also expelled or left the town under the rule of Gamal Abdel Nasser. After the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, also called the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, the Suez Canal was closed by an Egyptian blockade until 5 June 1975, and the residents of Port Said were evacuated by the Egyptian government to prepare for the

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 ...

(1973). The city was re-inhabited after the war and the reopening of the Canal. In 1976, Port Said was declared a duty-free port, attracting people from all over Egypt. Now the population of the city is 794,720.

Economy

Port Said has been ranked the second among the Egyptian cities according to the

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

in 2009 and 2010; the economic base of the city is

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and industries, like

chemicals A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

ultra-processed food An ultra-processed food (UPF) is a grouping of processed food characterized by relatively involved methods of production. There is no simple definition of UPF, but they are generally understood to be an industrial creation derived from natural ...

, and

cigarettes A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

. Port Said is also an important harbour for exports of Egyptian products like

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

and

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, and additionally a fueling station for ships that pass through the Suez Canal. It thrives on being a

duty-free A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

port, as well as a tourist resort especially during summer. It is home to the Lighthouse of Port Said (the first building in the world built from

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

). Due to its excellent geographic location, Port Said is designed to attract logistics start ups along with import and export businesses. In 2019, the city witnessed the construction of the New Suez Canal, led by the Egyptian President

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...

East Port Said Industrial Zone

The government provides a number of incentives to investors in the scheme including zero tax and duties on tools, machines and raw materials related to the production of goods for export.

Geography

Climate

Port Said has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(BWh) according to

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, but blowing winds from the

greatly moderates the temperatures, typical to the

northern coast of Egypt The Northern Coast of Egypt (, , . ''"The Northern Egyptian Coast"'' extends for about along the Mediterranean Sea, it covers entirely the northern territory of Egypt. It is one of the longest Mediterranean coastlines, and is popularly known o ...

, making its summers moderately hot and humid while its winters mild and moderately wet when sleet and

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

are also common, yet less common than in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

because Port Said is drier. January and February are the coolest months while the hottest are July and August. The highest record temperature was , recorded on June 20, 1988, while the lowest record temperature was , recorded on December 25, 1979. Port Said, Kosseir,

Ras El Bar Ras Elbarr ( ', ), which is translated to "Cape of the Land", is a resort city in the Governorate of Damietta, Egypt. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea at the mouth of the Damietta Nile branch. There are approximately 25,000 permanent res ...

Baltim Baltim ( ) is a city in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, in the north coast of Egypt. History The second part of the town's name preserves "end, furthest part (of Egypt)". Baltim was the beneficiary of a tax reduction under the reign o ...

Damietta Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...

and Alexandria have the least temperature variation in

, additionally,

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh (), also transliterated as Marsa Matruh ( Standard Arabic ''Marsā Maṭrūḥ'', ), is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway from the Nile ...

and Port Said have the coolest summer days of any other cities or resorts, although not significantly cooler than other northern coastal places.

Municipal divisions and demographics

Modern Port Said is divided into seven districts: * South District * Flowers Distric * El-Dawahi District: * East District * El-Manakh District * El-Arab District * West District Port Said's districts are further subdivided in to eight ''qism'' (police ward) which had a total estimated population as of January 2023 of 680,375 people:

Squares

*Manshiyya square, in East district *Martyrs square, in East district *Governorate Square, in East district *Stadium square, in El-Manakh district *

Volgograd Volgograd,. formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population ...

square, in El-Manakh district *

Bizerte Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the List of northernmost items, northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under Fr ...

square, in Flowers district *Flowers square, in Flowers district *Liberty square, in

Port Fouad Port Fuad or Port Fouad ( ', ) is a city in Port Said Governorate, Egypt. Port Fuad is located in northeastern Egypt at the northwesternmost tip of the Sinai Peninsula on the Asian side of the Suez Canal, across from the city of Port Said. Port F ...

city

Recreational

*Ferial garden *Liberty garden *Montaza garden *Hope garden *El-Farma garden *Liberty garden *

Saad Zaghloul Saad Zaghloul Pasha ( / ; also ''Sa'd Zaghloul Pasha ibn Ibrahim'') (July 1857 – 23 August 1927) was an Egyptian revolutionary and statesman. He was the leader of Egypt's nationalist Wafd Party, and served as the first Honorary President of ...

garden *Restaurants complex

Education

Colleges and universities

Port Said has a number of higher education institutions.

Port Said University Port Said University () is a university in Port Said, Egypt. It was established in 2010, after the decision of the Egyptian president to establish this university to transfer Suez Canal branch in Port Said to an independent university. The histo ...

is a public university that follows the Egyptian system of higher education. The most notable faculties of the university are the faculty of engineering and the faculty of science. In addition, the

Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport The Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT) or (AAST) () is a regional university operated by the Arab League, which runs programs in marine transportation, business, and engineering. AASTMT started as a notion in the ...

is a semi-private educational institution that offers courses for high school, undergraduate level students, postgraduate.

Sadat Academy for Management Sciences Sadat Academy for Management Sciences (SAMS) (Arabic:أكاديمية السادات للعلوم الإدارية ''ʼAkādemyāt ʼal-sādāt lil-ʿoloom al ʼedāriāh'') is an Egyptian Public Academy under the authorization of the Ministry o ...

is an Egyptian Public Academy under the authorization of the Ministry of higher education.

Schools

Port Said contains about 349 schools in all different educational stages between governmental, experimental, private language schools beside French historical schools.

Transport

Port

The

of Port Said is the 28th-busiest

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

for

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

transport, the second-busiest in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

(narrowly behind the port of

Salalah Salalah () is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani Governorates of Oman, governorate of Dhofar Governorate, Dhofar. It has a population close to 331,949. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

), and the busiest container seaport in Egypt, with 3,470,000 TEU transported in 2009. The port is part of the

Maritime Silk Road The Maritime Silk Road or Maritime Silk Route is the maritime section of the historic Silk Road that connected Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula, eastern Africa, and Europe. It began by the 2nd century BCE ...

. It is divided into: *Port Said Port *East Port Said Port The port is bordered, seaward, by an imaginary line from the western breakwater boundary till the eastern breakwater end. And from the Suez Canal area, it is bordered by an imaginary line extending transversely from the southern bank of the Canal connected to Manzala Lake, and the railways arcade livestock.

Navigation channels

; Main channel *Length: *Depth: ; East verge channel *Length: *Depth:

Approach area

Two breakwaters protect the port entrance channel: the western breakwater is about long, and the eastern breakwater is approximately .

Dwelling area

The Suez Canal Dwelling Area is situated between latitudes 31° 21' N and 31° 25' N and longitudes 32° 16.2°' E and 32° 20.6' E. where vessels awaiting to accede Port Said port stay whether to join the North convoy to transit the Suez Canal to carry out stevedoring operations or to be supplied with provisions and bunkers. The dwelling area is divided into two sections: The Northern Area is allocated for vessels with deep drafts. The Southern Area is for all vessel types.

Airports

Port Said is served by

Port Said Airport Port Said Airport serves the city of Port Said, Egypt, at the north end of the Suez Canal. In 2011, the airport served 36,962 passengers (-5.5% vs. 2010). History The airport was previously RAF El Gamil a Royal Air Force station operational duri ...

located about away from city centre. The airport was reopened in February 2011 after being modernised to be fit for international flights. Scheduled flights from the airport ceased in 1996.

Motor highways

There are three main highways that connect Port Said to other cities in Egypt: *International Coastal Road – a east–west highway that connects Port Said to

along the

Mediterranean coast The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eu ...

. *Desert Road – a north–south route via Al Ismaileya – Port Saeed and Masr – Al Ismaileya Desert Road from Port Said to

. *International Coastal Road – a east–west highway from Port Said –

Train

The Port Said railway station is on Mustafa Kamal Street and was built around 1893 when the Egyptian Railway Authority extended service in the region. There are frequent train services from Cairo, Alexandria and other main Egyptian cities to Port Said. The travel time between Cairo and Port Said is about four hours while the Alexandria – Port Said route can be covered in about six hours. Intercity passenger service is operated by

Egyptian National Railways Egyptian National Railways (ENR; ) is the national railway of Egypt and managed by the parastatal Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA; ). History 1833–1877 In 1833, Muhammad Ali Pasha considered building a railway between Suez and Cairo to impr ...

. Tickets can be reserved online using the Egyptian National Railways website.

Ferry

Port Said is linked by

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

to its twin city

which is considered the Asian part of this Afro-Asian governorate "Port Said" on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal, the ferry is used to cross the canal between the two cities, holding both people and cars as well (for free). The time between the two cities across the canal by using the ferry does not exceed 10 minutes.

Other means of public transport

Public

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es are operated by Port Said Governorate's Agency for Public Passenger Transport. Private Transport also are available referred to as Micro Buses (14 seat

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

). White and blue

saloon car A sedan (American English) or saloon (British English) is a automobile, passenger car in a three-box styling, three-box configuration with separate compartments for an engine, passengers, and cargo. The first recorded use of ''sedan'' in refer ...

taxicabs A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

are comfortable, asking reasonable prices. Earlier

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es existed in city.

Culture

Libraries

The Port Said Library at the time of its inauguration reached about 14,000 books and was supplied by encyclopedias and modern references.

Theaters

Port Said has about 11 theatres. * Port Said Opera House was inaugurated on 28 December 2016; here Arabic music, classical music, opera and ballet are performed.

Museums

*Port Said National Museum is located on Palestine Street in front of the tourist jetty, near the centre of the city. It contains about 9,000 artifacts that narrate the story of Port Said and

. *Port Said Military Museum was inaugurated in 1964. It is located in 23 July Street. It narrates the story of the Egyptian resistance in Port Said for the tripartite aggression during the

in 1956, and the wars of 1967 and 1973. It also contains a hall that narrates the genesis of the city and the Suez Canal. *

Museum of Modern Art in Egypt Museum of Modern Art—Port Said is a modern and contemporary art museum, located in Shohada Square, in Port Said, Egypt. The town of Port Said has an international history of being a cultural crossroads and cosmopolitan community, located at the ...

is a modern and contemporary art museum, located in Shohada Square, in Port Said, beneath the Obelisk of Martyrs. *Museum of the Authority of the Suez Canal was inaugurated in August 2015. It narrates the story of the

since its establishment.

Parks

Port Said has 23 parks, which include the Ferial Park (21,904

square meters The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter (American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square w ...

), the Farma Park (12,469 square meters), the Khazanat Park (2,000 square meters), and the Aldawlia Park (8 hektars).

Sports

The main sport that interests Port Saidis is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, as is the case in the rest of Egypt and Africa, and Port Saidis are known for their enthusiasm in supporting the local team

Al Masry SC Al Masry Sporting Club () is an Egyptian sports club based in Port Said, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team that competes in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest tier of the Egyptian football league system. ...

. Al Masry Club Stadium is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

in Port Said. Built in 1954, it currently seats 17,988 and is used mostly for football matches, including the

1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the seventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Cairo, Ismailia, Alexandria, and Port Said in Egypt from 4 to 21 September 1997. Players born after 1 January 1980 could participate in this t ...

2006 African Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt, from 20 January to 10 February. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split in ...

, and

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confede ...

. The 2012

Port Said Stadium riot The Port Said Stadium riot was a riot which occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt on 1 February 2012, following an Egyptian Premier League football match between Al Masry and Al Ahly. Seventy-four people were killed and more than ...

took place there. The second most popular sport in Port Said is

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

. The city is known for their local handball team Port Said SC that won three

Egyptian Handball League The Egyptian Handball League is the premier professional handball league in Egypt. It was founded in 1958. The league, which is played under CAHB rules, currently consists of 18 teams, including famous ones like Zamalek SC, Al Ahly SC, Sport ...

titles and also was the champion of the

African Handball Champions League African Handball Champions League is an annual international club Team handball, handball competition run by the African Handball Confederation. The top club sides from Africa's handball leagues are invited to participate in the tournament, whic ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Port Said Hall Port Said Indoor Hall () is an Olympic-standard, multi-use indoor sporting arena located in Al-Zohour district in Port Said, Egypt. The capacity of the arena is 5,000 spectators. Hosts competitions of Handball, Basketball and Volleyball. It was b ...

is an indoor hall located in the Sports City in Port Said. It hosts competitions of handball, basketball, and volleyball, and was used for the

1999 World Men's Handball Championship The 1999 World Men's Handball Championship was the 16th edition of the World Championship in team handball. It was held in Egypt, from 1 to 15 June, in the cities of Cairo, Ismailia and Port Said. Sweden men's national handball team, Sweden won ...

. It holds 5000 people.

Hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

, swimming, and other sports are also practiced on a lower scale.

Language

Among speakers of

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian, or simply as Masri, is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic variety in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. The esti ...

, the Port Saidi accent is unique.

Tourism

Port Said is a main summer resort and

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

, due to its public and private beaches, cosmopolitan heritage,

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

s, and

port, beside the other landmarks like

Port Said Lighthouse Port Said Lighthouse () is one of the most important architectural and tourist landmarks in the city of Port Said in Egypt. Considered a unique example for the evolution of architecture during the nineteenth century in the city, the lighthouse was ...

Port Said Martyrs Memorial Port Said Martyrs Memorial is a monument in Al-Sharq District, Port Said. It was constructed in the form of Pharaonic obelisk covered with grey granite imitating the Egyptian ancestors – the pharaohs – who left obelisks in the sites of their ...

that has the shape of the

Pharaonic ''Pharaonic'' is an action role-playing game developed and published by Milkstone Studios. It was first released on April 28, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, and later for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, macOS, and Nintendo Switch. Plot The game ...

ancient

obelisks An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' rotisserie, spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called Obelisk (hieroglyph), ...

, and the building 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 ...

headquarters in Port Said. Also,

Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

island situated in lake Manzaleh is a destination that attracts tourists to enjoy visiting this ancient Islamic city which was demolished during the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

. Ashtoum el-Gamil is a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

which is located 7 km west of Port Said on the Port Said-Damietta coastal road. It is also where Lake Manzalah connects with the Mediterranean Sea. (In front of the mouth of the Lake is Tanees Island. The entire area is a very important place for birds.) Its area is 180 km² and was established in 1988. Its main objective is to conserve the migratory birds. It is managed by the

Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years ...

. Nearby to El Gameel area, there will be a real estate mixed use project named Downtown Portsaid. The project will cater to both residents and tourists as well as investors in the area, and is anticipated to be an attraction hotspot.

Notable people

Abdulrahman Fawzi Abdelrahman Fawzy () (August 11, 1909 – October 16, 1988) was an Egyptian professional football player and manager, who played as a centre forward. He played for Al-Masry SC and Zamalek SC (where he spent most of his career) as well as the Egy ...

, former Egyptian player in Al Masry and

Zamalek SC Zamalek Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an List of football clubs in Egypt, Egyptian Club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is best known for its professional men's Association football, football team, which plays in the Egy ...

, participated in the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the 2nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, senior men's national teams. It took place in Kin ...

Abdel Rahman Shokry Abdel Rahman Shokry (; 12 October 1886 – 16 December 1958) was an Egyptian poet from the Diwan school of poets. Early life He was born in Port Said and he travelled to England where he got his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sheffield. ...

, Egyptian poet *

Amr Diab Amr Abdel Basset Abdel Azeez Diab (, ; born 11 October 1961) is an Egyptian singer, composer and actor. He has established himself as a globally acclaimed recording artist and author. He is a Guinness World Record holder, the best selling Middle ...

, Egyptian singer and composer and best-selling Arab recording artist * El-Sayed El-Dhizui, former Egyptian player in Al Masry and one of the top scorers in the

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...

* Ahmed El Shenawy, Egyptian football player * George Isaac, Egyptian activist * Hans Dijkstal, Dutch politician, former Deputy Prime Minister * Hoda Al-Ajimi, radio presenter * Ibrahim El Batout, Egyptian director *

Kamal Darwish Kamal Darwish (; born 9 March 1942, in Port Said), the former president of Zamalek SC, took office for the club in the period from 1996 to 2001, and was re-elected for a second term from 2001 to 2005. He is considered one of the symbols of Zamale ...

, former president of

Mohamed Atalla Mohamed M. Atalla (; August 4, 1924 – December 30, 2009) was an Egyptian-American engineer, physicist, cryptographer, inventor and entrepreneur. He was a semiconductor pioneer who made important contributions to modern electronics. He is best ...

, engineer, inventor of MOS transistor, founder of

Atalla Corporation Utimaco Atalla, founded as Atalla Technovation and formerly known as Atalla Corporation or HP Atalla, is a security vendor, active in the market segments of data security and cryptography. Atalla provides government-grade end-to-end products in ...

Mohamed Shawky Mohamed Ali Aboel Yazid Shawky (; born 5 October 1981) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Between 2001 and 2012, he made 65 appearances scoring 5 goals for the Egypt national team. He played every ...

, professional football player with

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

Mohamed Zidan Mohamed Abdallah Mohamed Zidan (; born 11 December 1981) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Early career Mohamed Zidan was born in Port Said to an Egyptian family. His career started as a s ...

, professional football player with

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

* Mosaad Nour, former Egyptian player in

"the historic star of the team") *

Mahmoud Yassin Mahmoud Yassin (; 19 February 1941 – 14 October 2020) was an Egyptian actor. He was an iconic actor in both Egyptian cinema and television, portraying dramatic, psychological and romantic roles. Career Yassin studied law at the Ain Shams Univer ...

, Egyptian actor *

Soheir Ramzi Soheir Ramzi (; born 2 March 1949) is an Egyptian actress. Early life Soheir Mohamed Abdelsalam Ramzi was born on Port Said, Her mother is Dorreya Ahmed who is also an actress. Career Ramzi's first appearance in the cinema when she was ...

, Egyptian actress * Yves F. Barbaza, born in Port Said, French

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

I flying ace, credited with five aerial victories

Twin towns and sister cities

Port Said is twinned with: *

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(1962) *

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

(1977)

References

External links

Port Said Governorate
official website
Egypt state information service – Port Said
*
Port Said Port Authority

Port Said's Free-zone

Port Said history

Port Said Online
{{Authority control 1859 establishments in Africa 1859 establishments in Egypt Archaeological sites in Egypt Cities in Egypt East Port Said Industrial Zone Free ports Governorate capitals in Egypt Mediterranean port cities and towns in Egypt Metropolitan areas of Egypt Nile Delta Populated coastal places in Egypt Populated places established in 1859 Populated places in Port Said Governorate Suez Canal Transcontinental cities