Article originally published at www.egyptianstreets.com
Named after Khedive Said who approved the project in question, Port Said witnessed one of history’s most groundbreaking moments, the digging of the Suez Canal. Believed to have been inspired by unfinished construction plans by Napoleon 1st, and even before him by possible initial diggings during Ancient Egyptian times, it was Ferdinand De Lesseps who led to its realisation.
The aspiration behind it was always that of the construction of a canal connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, cutting out the long journey it used to take to navigate around Africa to reach Europe, or Asia. De Lesseps was the organizer of the political and financial backbone behind the project which started its construction in April 1859, until the official opening of the Suez Canal in November 1869, with Port Said on one side of the canal and Port Fouad on the other.
A Historical City
Memorials and tombs of martyrs and soldiers are scattered around the city. Port Said in its very short lifetime faced 4 different wars: the 1956 Suez War with France, England & Israel; the 1967 Six-Day War with Israel; the War of Attrition with Israel between 1987 and 1973 and finally the Arab-Israeli War of 1973.
