1 · POSITION
Port Said was founded in 1859, while the Suez Canal was being dug, on the western side of the canal’s northern mouth, and named after Said, the ruler of Egypt who gave Ferdinand de Lesseps the concession. It was the fuelling station for the ships that passed through. The register holds it as the canal city — the first and last stop of every voyage east. [1]
2 · A COSMOPOLITAN CITY
Its early residents came from many nations and faiths, Swiss hoteliers among them, and lived together as a cosmopolitan community. A town built for passing ships was a town built to receive passengers. [1]
3 · WHAT STANDS
The lighthouse is the only original building still standing; the city also holds the headquarters of the Suez Canal Authority. [1]
4 · WITH THE CANAL
The register holds the canal itself, opened in November 1869, under its own code, and Port Said as the city it made. [1, 2]
5 · ⚑ CANDOUR
⚑ Checked on 22 October 2026. The coaling stop is confirmed: the 1911 Britannica calls Port Said the chief coaling station of all ships through the canal and the largest coaling station in the world, with 49,884 people in 1907. The shops and hotels of the passengers’ era are not described by the sources read. [1–3]
Sources & Further Reading
Sources checked 22 October 2026.