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