PORT SAʿID

Mediterranean port in Egypt.

Port Saʿid (Bur Saʿid), Egypt, situated on a narrow peninsula on the Mediterranean Sea coast, is located on the west side and at the northern end of the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean and Red Sea. Established in conjunction with canal construction in 1859, it was named for Saʿid Pasha, viceroy of Egypt (1854–1863). Built in nineteenth-century European architectural style to accommodate Europeans working on Ferdinand de Lesseps's Suez Canal Project (1859–1869), it is complemented by a twin city, Port Fouad, located on the eastern side of the canal. The harbor became a maritime fueling station with export industries (especially chemical, tobacco, cotton, and food processing) supplementing sardine fishing and the production of salt from evaporated seawater. In 1904 a railroad link was completed between Port Saʿid and Cairo. As a major trade and business center, Port Saʿid thrived through both world wars. In July 1956 Egypt nationalized the canal after it had been an international waterway for nearly eighty-seven years. The port was strategic during the Arab–Israel wars and was attacked by Israeli forces in 1967 and 1973. The harbor was closed from 1967 to 1975, and most inhabitants evacuated the city. Egypt regained Port Saʿid in 1973, instituted major residential and commercial reconstruction, and established a tax-free industrial zone. Tourism was encouraged, and the city became an important summer resort. In 2003 Port Saʿid was the nation's fourth largest city, with 565,000 inhabitants, and second only to Alexandria as a commercial port.

see also saʿid pasha; suez canal.

Bibliography

Modelski, Sylvia. Port Saʿid Revisited. Washington, DC: Faros, 2000.

david waldner
updated by charles c. kolb

Port Said or Bur Said , city (1986 pop. 469,533), NE Egypt, a port on the Mediterranean Sea at the entrance to the Suez Canal. It is a fueling point for ships using the canal and is the site of the main workshops of the canal administration. Salt is produced in Port Said by evaporating seawater, and there is a fishing industry. The construction of Aswan High Dam in the 1960s cut off the flow of nutrients into the Mediterranean Sea from the delta. This resulted in a lack of food for the sardines that were the basis of the Port Said fishing industry, which has since virtually disappeared. The city is a principal port for steamer service on the Nile. Situated on a narrow peninsula between Lake Manzala and the sea, Port Said was founded in 1859 by the builders of the Suez Canal and named for Said Pasha, then khedive of Egypt. In 1904 a railroad to Cairo was completed. In 1956, French and British paratroops landed at Port Said during the Suez campaign. Port Said came under Israeli attack during the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars. Its harbor was closed to shipping from 1967 to 1975. The city was refurbished in the mid-1970s. New housing was built and a tax-free industrial zone was instituted. There are now electric generation plants and computer and technical manufacturing. The railroad was expanded to link Port Said with other important cities.

Port Said (Bur Sa'id) City and seaport in ne Egypt, at the entrance to the Suez Canal. Founded in 1859 with the start of the construction of the Suez Canal, it was a major coal-bunkering station. By the end of the 19th century it was Egypt's chief port after Alexandria. Although its harbour closed to shipping in 1967, after the war with Israel, it remained a fuelling station for ships using the canal. It reopened in 1974. Industries: fishing, tobacco, cotton, textiles. Pop. (1996) 469,533.

Port Said (Būr Sa′īd), Egypt Founded in 1859 as the construction of the Suez Canal began, it is named after Muhammad Sa'īd Pasha (1822–63), Khedive of Egypt (1854–63), who chose the site of the town.