Port Said Museum - Egyptology

Port Said Museum - Egyptology

About Port said:

The city of Port said is one of the three cities located on the Suez Canal together with the two cities of Ismailia and Suez. Port said was established in the year 1860 and it was called in the beginning; “The General City of the Canal”.

The history of Port said was always associated with the history of the whole nation and the people of the city were always reacting towards the national events. 

 This fact is clearly reflected in the tripartite aggression of France, Britain, and Israel on the city of Port said and how the inhabitants of the city protected it bravely against the armies and the forces of these countries.

In the beginning of 1976 Ports aid was declared to become a free tax zone and this attracted a lot of tourists to visit the city as many large touristic ships visit Port said to spend a day in the city before going on with their journey to the ports of the Mediterranean Sea.

The location of Port said

The city of Port said is located in the Northern edge of the Suez Canal with Mediterranean Sea to its North, the governorate of Ismailia to its South, the area of North Sinai to the East, and the governorate of Damietta to its West.

The geographical location of Port said has always played a major role in the history of the city and the whole region as it is located in the intersection of the trading routs between the East and the West.  

The Surface Area and the Climate of Port said

The surface area of Port said is estimated to be 1350 square kilometers and the city consists mainly of five large neighborhoods; Port Fouad, El Shareq, El Arab, El Dawahy, and El Zohour which was established lately in the year 2000.

The climate of Port said, the same as many cities and ports situated on the Mediterranean Sea, is moderate all year long but it might get a little cold and rainy in the winter.

The Old Lighthouse of Port said

The Old Lighthouse of Port said is considered to be among the most important attractions of the city as it was among the first buildings to be constructed with concrete in the whole world.

The lighthouse was constructed in 1869 in the reign of Khedive Ismail to guide the ships passing through the Suez Canal which was opened in the same year.

The Old Lighthouse of Port said has an octagonal shape and a height of 56 meters. The lighthouse has a large ball at its top that was used to determine the power and the direction of the wind.

The Military Museum of Port said

The Port said Museum was opened for public in the year 1964, 8 years after the victory the people of Port said had in the 23rd of December 1956 against the armies of three great countries ; France, Britain, and Israeli.

The surface area of the Port said Museum is 7500 square meters and it is located about 300 meters away from the Shohada’ or the Martyrs Square and the building of the governorate of Port Said.

The Port Said National Museum consists of a one floor building and it hosts some of the spoils the Egyptian forces were able to gather from the Israelis in the War of the 6th of October.

The Portsaid Museum also hosts a large collection of military tools, equipments, Israeli tanks, canons, guns, and some parts and sections of military aircrafts.

The Museum is divided into three halls. The first hall is called the “All Time” hall and it includes different types and forms of weapons and military equipments that date back to ancient Egypt and the Pharaonic times.

The item that catches the eyes of the visitor as soon as he enters the second hall of the Port said which is specified for the displays of the Tripartite Aggression on Port said after the former Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser declared the nationalization of the Suez Canal.

The first item the guests view in the hall of the Tripartite Aggression on Port said is the front page of Al Ahram newspaper number 25437 dated the 27th of July 1956.

The headline of the front page reads “the president announces, in the name of the nation, that we have regained our money and rights”.

The Rest of the front page of Al Ahram covers the news of the nationalization of the Suez Canal and the forming of the Board of Directors of the Authority of the Suez Canal.

The next item located in this hall is a plate announcing the presidential decree of nationalizing the Suez Canal and other plates from France and Britain to the Egyptian and Israeli forces in order to stop their fighting and clashes together

On the right hand side of the hall, there is a diorama of the battles of resistance of the people of Port said in the area of Al Gamil.  There is a model of the speech of the president Mohamed Abdel Nasser in El Azhar Mosque, some colored portrays of some scenes of the battle, and then at the end some of the belongings of the British officer Meir House like his pistol, cap, camera, watch, and pipe.  

Above this collection of Meir House, there is a portrait representing the scene of how Meir House was kidnapped, then some weapons and equipments, and a photo of the former governor of Portsaid as he was one of the champions of this battle.

In the middle of this hall, there is a small model of El Borlos naval battle and the photos of some martyrs who died in the battle. There are also some examples of the publications that were spread to encourage the people to revolt against the British occupation.

The National Museum of Port said 

The National Museum of Port said is situated in a distinctive location in the intersection of the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

The Museum hosts more than 9000 displays dating back to the Pharaonic, Greco Roman, Coptic, and Islamic periods of the Egyptian history.

The 23rd of July Street and the Palestine Street, situated in front of the Ferdinand de Lesseps touristic path, were established over a surface area of around 13000 square meters.

The Museum was founded in 1963 and the construction work of the museum was halted from the year 1967 until the year 1973 because of the series of wars Egypt had with Israel as the museum was hit with two military missiles in 1967.  At the very end, the museum was opened for public visits in 1986.

The Museum originally consisted of a large museum garden and a two floors building that display a large number of displays dating back to different periods of the Egyptian history.

Since the opening of the museum in 1986, many people from all over Egypt have visited the museum in its working hours from 9 till 3 in the morning in the winter and from 9 till 10 at night in the summer because of its many remarkable interesting displays.

The Crisis of the National Museum of Port said

The crisis of the National Museum of Port said has started when many cracks and fissures appeared on the walls of the building of the museum which threatened the safety of the valuable displays. 

Although it was restored three times with a budget of 75 million Egyptian pounds, the experts noted that rebuilding the museum from the very beginning would be a better idea. This was why the museum was destroyed in 2009 and the displays were all put in storage rooms and since that date the construction work of the new museum never began.

The officials of the governorate of Port said have denied the rumors that said that the land where the new National Museum of Port said was sold to some investors but until today the building work of the new museum was never started.

The officials of Port said have demanded that the museum should be rebuilt quickly to be added to the few other touristic attractions of the city like the military museum. They have added moreover that the closure of the National Museum of Port said is considered to be a disaster especially with its marvelous location near the port of the city that welcomes thousands of tourists every week.

The Suez Canal Authority Building

The Suez Canal Authority Building is one of the historical buildings of Port said and it was constructed in 1895 as the first construction to be erected on the shores of Port said.

The building was used as the headquarters of the Suez Canal in the city of Port said to monitor the traffic of the ships passing in the canal.

The building was bought by the British authorities during the World War I to become the base of the British army in the Middle East before the British occupation left Egypt in 1956.

HOURS OF OPERATION:

Sat-Thurs: 9AM-4PM

(sometimes closed at lunch)

Fri: 9-11AM, 1-4PM

TICKET COST:

There is 50% reduction for bearers of International Student ID Card!

LOCATION:

Corner of Palestine St. and 23 July St., Port Said

DIRECTIONS:

BY TAXI: ask for "met-haf boor sayyid"

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED.

CONTACT INFO: Phone: (066) 237 419

CONTACT INFO: Phone: (064) 322749

NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED