A Historic Gem

The Ismailia Museum on Mohammed Ali Quay Street offers insight on life before the canal, with more than 4,000 objects from Pharaonic and Greco-Roman eras, alongside displays covering the area’s modern history. Doors open at 8am, admission costs LE 6.

South of the railway station, another interesting place to visit is the villa of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the nineteenth-century French diplomat commissioned to head up the Suez Canal Company. The building is still owned by the SCC and is closed except by invitation, however, you can admire the villa’s attractive façade and gardens.

As the Suez Canal’s midpoint city, Ismailia played a strategic role in the wars of the twentieth century. During the first and second world wars, the British had military bases there to protect the canal. Two Commonwealth cemeteries, one on Gomhouria Street and the other along Masr–Ismailia Desert Road, shelter the remains of soldiers who died while stationed in Ismailia. The Unknown Soldier Memorial on Jebel Mariam, seven kilometers south of Ismailia, is also a tribute to those who died during the First World War.

The October 1973 War Memorial on the canal’s east bank honors the Egyptian military’s dramatic crossing of the Bar Lev Line, a 25-meter-high sand rampart built by Israeli forces during their occupation of the Sinai. Also on the east bank about 10 kilometers north of the city is Tebbet Al-Shagara, a fortified Israeli command bunker captured by Egyptian soldiers during the 1973 War. The bunker is now a museum with displays of military equipment and vehicles. The best way to get there is to catch a service taxi to the ferry that will take you across the canal.

The 1930s-era Catholic Church and the Cultural Theater are also must-sees, while Mallaha Park’s 500 acres of exotic flora offer a refreshing stroll. After your dose of greenery, head to the Corniche where kiosks and cafés line the street amid summer chalets. You can also rent a rowboat (LE 20 for 30 minutes), a serene and beautiful way to take in the city’s atmosphere.

Finally, you can’t visit Ismailia without trying the seafood; there are several seafood restaurants along the Corniche serving fish fresh out of the lake. Prime among them are Fish Land (Abdel Moneim Emara Street), Al-Gandool (6 Amr Ibn El-Aas and El-Guish St.), Nefertari’s (41 Sultan Hussein St.) and King Edward restaurant (171 Tahrir St.). After your meal, head to George’s  (11 Thawra St.), a British pub tucked between quaint shop fronts.

If you don’t feel like going back to the overly urban world of Cairo after a long day of roaming around Ismailia, stay overnight at either the Mercure Forsan Island with its lake-side locale or at the Crocodile Inn (at the intersection of Thawra Street and Saad Saghloul Street), an ideal location for exploring the old European quarters of Ismailia.