Unlike Port Said and Ismailiya, SUEZ (Es-Suweis in Arabic) has a history long predating the Canal, going back to Ptolemaic Klysma. As Arabic Qulzum, the port prospered from the spice trade and pilgrimages to Mecca throughout medieval times, remaining a walled city until the eighteenth century. The Canal brought modernization and revenues, later augmented by the discovery of oil in the Gulf of Suez, though the city was later devastated during the wars with Israel. Today most of Suez’s 490,000 inhabitants live in prefabricated estates or the patched-up remnants of older quarters, while noxious petrochemical refineries, cement and fertiliser plants ring the outskirts. The city is mainly used by travellers as an interchange between Cairo, the Sinai Peninsula and Hurghada. There is a distinct lack of things to do in Suez, and although local people are friendly, modest dress is advised.
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Al Corniche and the port
Al Corniche and the port
An imposing statue of the pharaoh Tuthmosis III stands at the western end of Al Corniche street, which overlooks the Bay of Suez; meanwhile, on either side of the road at the eastern entrance, you’ll see statues of two tigers growling and crouching as if ready to pounce. Signifying strength, they were built to guide ships through the canal. Similar tiger statues, destroyed by the Israelis in the 1967 war, originally stood on either side of the Canal’s entrance.
The premier Suez activity is, of course, to take a trip to the port area to look at the enormous freighters and supertankers on the Canal. Don’t be tempted to take photographs, however; it’s illegal, and there are security officers stationed in the area. In the spring, migratory birds of prey (including Griffon vultures and eagles) make an arresting sight.
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Suez Canal facts and figures
Suez Canal facts and figures
The 163km long Suez Canal, the world’s third longest, generally handles up to fifty ships a day (though its full capacity is 75) with an average transit time of fifteen hours. During its closure in the early 1970s, supertankers were built to travel around Africa – and proved too large to pass through Suez once it reopened. The Canal was subsequently widened in places, but is still not wide enough for continuous two-way traffic. In 2008–2009, the canal earned a record $5.11 billion, but the subsequent fall in global trade means this may not be matched for some time to come. For more information, visit w suezcanal.gov.eg.
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Crossing the canal
Crossing the canal
Heading from the Canal Zone to the southern part of the Sinai you’ll cross the Canal via either the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel (12km north of Suez) or the car ferry (7km north of Ismailiya), which runs almost non-stop during the day. Destinations in the northern Sinai, which is very unsettled at the moment, are served by the passenger ferry at Qantara (Arabic for “bridge”), 44km from Ismailiya and 80km from Port Said, and the nearby 4.1km Ferdan Suspension Bridge.
A couple of kilometres to the south is the Ferdan Railway Bridge, built on the site of an old track constructed to transport army troops to Gaza during World War I, but dismantled by the Israelis in 1968. The world’s largest retractable bridge, with a span of 340m, it was devised in the late 1990s, when a rail network running the Orient Express was planned, linking Egypt to Turkey and Europe via Palestine, Israel and Lebanon. This has since been put on hold, but you can still see the bridge – which sits alongside the Canal when not in use – in operation daily (9–11am & 9pm–1am) to allow trains and cars to cross the Canal.
