Travel Guide Ismaïlia

It is under another name that the region between Port Said and Ismailia was known in the Bible: the Sea of Reeds, crossed by Moses at the head of the Hebrew people freed from slavery by Pharaoh, who then wanted to pursue them in order to bring them back or exterminate them. The Hebrews camped by the sea, says the sacred text, without saying that it was the Red Sea. Exegetes are able to demonstrate today that the miracle that saved the fugitive people certainly took place in this Sea of Reeds, composed of the lakes Menzalah, Balah, Timsah and Amers; that is to say, very close to present-day Ismailia. The city dedicated to the Khedive Ismail, Said's successor, was founded in 1861 by Ferdinand de Lesseps to serve as a residence for French expatriates attached to the construction of the canal. Its location was chosen because of its proximity to Lake Timsah, whose natural width still allows ships to stop today.It is a pretty town that presents itself as an immense garden with trees, parks, vast esplanades criss-crossed by wide avenues lined with carefully maintained pavements. Remnants of this period of splendour and luxury, magnificent panelled houses follow one another in the shade of tamarisk and eucalyptus trees. In terms of illustrious men, Ismailia saw the birth of Claude François, whose father worked for the canal company, and Hassan el-Banna (the grandfather of Tariq Ramadan), founder of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in 1928.