Port Said

The city was established in 1859 during the building of the Suez Canal. There are numerous old houses with grand balconies on all floors, giving the city a distinctive look. Port Said's twin city is Port Fuad, which lies on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal. The two cities coexist, to the extent that there is hardly any town centre in Port Fuad. The cities are connected by free ferries running all through the day, and together they form a metropolitan area with over a million residents that extends both on the African and the Asian sides of the Suez Canal.

Port Said has acted as a global city since its establishment, flourishing particularly during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. It was inhabited by various nationalities and religions, mostly from Mediterranean countries, and they coexisted in tolerance, forming a cosmopolitan community.