In the country whose age is estimated at thousands of years, the city founded just a couple of centuries ago, can be characterized as young and growing. However, the history of the Egyptian port city of Port Said is so rich in historic events that it feels as though it had existed for more than a thousand years. Numerous mazes of narrow streets, shabby wooden houses of the colonial times, a museum, dedicated to wars and fights on its territory, an ancient Coptic church, and many other monuments. But the true glory came to the city with the events of 1956, when the residents of a small but courageous town put up a resistance to two world powers, Great Britain and France. The point of disagreement was the strategically important Suez Canal, eventually kept by the Egyptian government.

Nowadays, the Suez Canal performs not only its primary function; it is also considered one of the main landmarks of Port Said. The canal was built together with the city in the 19th century and its length is more than 160 kilometers. Every day, you can witness an impressive scene – more than 50 vessels slowly floating along its smooth surface like a camel caravan walking through the sand of the African desert. Being the main waterway in that area, it connects The Red and The Mediterranean seas, and, splitting off, allows the vessels to overtake one another.

The picturesque embankment of the canal is a favorite place both for residents and for tourists where they can enjoy an evening walk. Thousands of lights belonging to the giant cruise ships together with the glare reflected off the anchored cargo ships illuminate the paved footpaths. At the beginning of the embankment, you can find a huge plinth. An impressive statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the head developer of the canal construction, had stood there until 1952. After the revolution, the monument was torn down, but the plinth is still standing there as a shadow reminder of the dark event of the past.

To apprehend the whole power of the Suez canal, you should take a short ferry cruise or combine it with a dinner onboard of a floating restaurant “Nora’s”.