Al-Isma’lliyyah created in 1861 as the depot of the canal builders and named after the Khedive lsma91, is the most populous city on the Canal and has the status of a province. Situated at the E end of the Wadi Tumaylat, with the creation of the Isma9lyyah Canal its importance grew. Station and Bus Station.
Hotels. ETAP lsmailia, Firsan Island (4″); Nefertari, 41 She. Sultan Husayn (2″). Museum with exhibits from excavation in the area including the stele of Darius
describing his conquest of Egypt and the digging of the canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea

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al-Qantirah al-Gharbiyyah The two roads continue N. At 10km the H44 crosses the H6 and runs on to (18km) the town of al-Qantirah al-Gharbiyyah. 15km NW is Tell Dafanah (ancient Daphnae), a late 7C BC town. Remains of a fortress (450m x 200m) have been found, destroyed by Cambyses in
the Persian invasion of 525 BC. Beyond Qantarah the H6 continues due N through (10km) al-Kab, al-Tinnah, Ra’s al-clsh and (34km) Port Sa9d. The lesser road passes through al-Firdan (12km) and al-Balla} J. (10km) into al-Qantirah al-Gharblyyah and E of the railway line to Port Sa9:d.

Port Said at the entrance to the Suez Canal, is now a free port with seven customs gates. Visitors from inland should show passports at the gate and, if staying, they should inform the Passport Office (She. 23 Yiilyii) within 48 hours. If visitors:from· ships wish to visit the rest of Egypt they should possess a passport, landing card and a pass issued by the Passport Office; individuals should be prepared to change some money into local currency. Ministry of Tourism information and Tourist Police: She. Filastin. Post Office: She. al-Gumhuriyyah. Telephone and Telegraph Office: She. Filastin. · This city, now with the status of a province, was founded in 1859 with the start of the Suez Canal· excavations and named in honour of the viceroy Sa9d Pasha. ln the 1860s the· French sculptor Bartholdi floated an idea for a 75m bronze statue (which would also have doubled as a lighthouse) called ‘Egypt Carrying Light into Asia’ to be set at the harbour entrance. However, he could not raise the capital and after several years in limbo the idea was revived and finally realised in the Statue of Liberty, which so beautifully graces the
mouth of the Hudson River, New York. Port Sa9d is a very important maritime city but suffered greatly in the Egyptian-Israeli conflicts, although much of the damage has been repaired. One of its most famous buildings, known to· many sea travellers, is the Suez Canal Building, on the She. Filastin. Its
gleaming white two-storey colonnade is crowned with three brilliant green domes. Other places of interest are the Military Museum (She.
23 YillyO.) and the Maydan al-Shuhada with a re-erected obelisk.

Port Fuad on the E side of the Suez Canal is the modern town of Port Fuad (Bili Fii’ad), see below. The H66 runs parallel to the E bank of the canal opposite Port Tawfiq and continues round the coast of the Sinai Peninsula (Rte 51) but to the Nit passes through a series of station settlements. Several roads go E across Northern Sinai with the HJ leaving opposite al-Isma°iliyyah (80km).