Port Said

This port sits at the intersection of the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. The city was founded in 1859 as the canal was being constructed and it grew up as the ‘gateway to Asia’, a crossroads for travelers and sailors alike.

This was the proposed site for ‘The Light of Asia’, the giant statue that became the Statue of Liberty in New York’s harbor after the original proposal was turned down as too expensive.

Modern air travel and war damage during the middle of the 20th century have caused most modern tourism to pass Port Said by, but it offers easy daytrip access to Alexandria, Cairo, and the monasteries of Wadi Natrun, as well as more minor archeological sites in the Delta at Tanis and Rosetta.