Ismaïlia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ismailia

Ismaïlia (Arabic: الإسماعيلية) is the capital of Al Isma'iliyah Governorate. It has a population (including surrounding rural areas) of approximately 750,000. It is located on the west bank of the Suez Canal, approximately half way between Port Said to the north and Suez to the south. The Canal widens at that point to include Lake Timsah, one of the Bitter Lakes linked by the Canal. It is an administration center for the Suez Canal and still has a large number of Colonial housing dating from British and French involvement with the Canal. Most of these buildings are still used by Canal employees and officials.

1 Education
2 Tourism
3 Sports
4 External links

[edit] Education

Ismailia is the home of Suez Canal University, established in 1976 to serve region of Suez Canal and Sinai. Suez Canal university now is one of the fast growing educational institutes in Egypt with many students studying abroad.

[edit] Tourism

Ismaïlia does get tourists from within Egypt, but is not a major tourism destination for international tourists. The city is approximately a ninety minute automobile drive from Cairo. From Ismaïlia it is approximately a four hour drive to Sharm el Sheikh in South Sinai. Driving to the Taba Border Crossing at Taba and the Rafah Border Crossing at Rafah are both approximately four hour drives.

[edit] Sports

Ismaïlia's Sporting Club's soccer team (Al-Isma'ily) enjoys broad support from within the city and governorate, with fan bases extending to other Egyptian cities. The club's performance is considered a major political issue, and can tend to dictate the city's mood. The team enjoys brief stints of competition for local and international competition, but its financial situation prevents these stints from extending beyond a few years. The team has won the Egyptian League three times (1967, 1991, 2002), the Egyptian Cup twice (1997, 2000), and the African Champions League once (1969).