Since
its
devastation
by
Israeli
bombardments,
and the
evacuation
of
almost
the
entire
population
between
1967 and
1973,
SUEZ
has
risen
from the
rubble
to
reclaim
its
inheritance.
Unlike
Port
Said and
Ismailiya,
the
city's
history
long
predates
the
canal,
going
back to
Ptolemaic
Klysma.
As
Arabic
Qulzum,
the port
prospered
from the
spice
trade
and
pilgrimages
to Mecca
throughout
medieval
times,
remaining
a walled
city
until
the
eighteenth
century,
when
Eliza
Fay
described
it as
"the
Paradise
of
Thieves".
The
canal
brought
modernization
and
assured
revenues,
later
augmented
by the
discovery
of oil
in the
Gulf of
Suez.
All this
was lost
during
the wars
with
Israel,
requiring
a
massive
reconstruction
programme
financed
by the
Gulf
states.
While
noxious
petrochemical
refineries,
cement
and
fertilizer
plants
ring the
outskirts,
most of
the
city's
300,000
inhabitants
have
been
rehoused
in
prefabricated
estates
or the
patched-up
remnants
of older
quarters.
What
Suez
lacks in
looks is
made up
for to
some
degree
by the
friendliness
of the
local
people.
For the
foreign
visitor
however,
it's
best to
dress
for the
city
wherever
you are,
saving
your
shorts
and
skimpy
tops for
the
beaches
of Sinai.
The lack
of
things
to do in
Suez is
perhaps
most
keenly
felt by
the
city's
young
people,
most of
whom
spend
their
evenings
hanging
out and
smoking
joints -
the
monotony
broken
only by
their
home
team
playing
football
in the
city's
stadium.
Despite
its
important
contribution
to the
Egyptian
economy,
Suez has
yet to
see
significant
investment
in its
infrastructure.
Its
residents
seem to
feel
they
have
been
largely
forgotten
by their
government
The
City
Should
you
decide
to stay
(or
simply
pass a
few
hours
between
buses),
Suez
City is
readily
accessible
from the
Arba'in
terminal
- just
follow
the
alley
past
some
motor
dealers
to reach
Sharia
el-Geish
(Army
Street),
a two-kilometre-long
swathe
where
cruising
minibuses
drop and
collect
passengers
along
the way
to Port
Tewfiq.
Dusty
palms
and
decrepit
colonial-era
buildings
(including
several
churches)
are
followed
by a
strip of
hotels,
restaurants
and
currency
exchanges.
The
stadium
on Tariq
el-Horriya
in the
south of
the city,
is home
to Suez
FC,
enthusiastically
supported
by the
local
residents.
The
backstreets
to the
south of
El-Geish
harbour
cheap
cafés,
while
Sharia
Sa'ad
Zaghloul
runs
past
consulates
and a
fun park
towards
the
Governorate.
North of
El-Geish,
a tawdry
souk
overflows
Sharia
Haleem
,
presaging
a
quarter
of
workshops
and
chandlers,
crumbling
century-old
apartments
with
wooden
balconies
interspersed
by
modern
low-rises.
There's
a better
bazaar
to the
northwest
of the
Arba'in
bus
station.
Along
the Bay
of Suez
promenade
and the
main
corniche
around
PORT
TEWFIQ
's
northeastern
corner
stand
four US-made
tanks
captured
from
Israel
in the
1973 War.
Should
you
happen
to be
here in
spring,
migratory
birds
of prey
provide
a more
arresting
sight.
Griffon
vultures
and
Imperial
and
Steppe
eagles
overfly
Suez to
avoid
crossing
the Red
Sea,
which
lacks
the
rising
thermals
on which
they
depend
for
flight.
A more
permanent
resident
is the
Indian
House
crow -
recognizable
by its
ear-splitting
caaarrrr
- which
is
thought
to have
arrived
from
India on
ships
during
the
course
of last
century.
