Port Said

Founded in 1859 at the start of construction on the Suez Canal, Port Said sits at the northern mouth of that waterway where it meets the Mediterranean — a position that made it one of the great cosmopolitan port cities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rudyard Kipling counted it alongside London as one of two places on earth where, if you waited long enough, you would eventually encounter anyone you knew. The city retains rows of older buildings with grand multi-storey balconies, and its museums cover the canal's history, ancient Egyptian artefacts, and modern Egyptian art. A free ferry connects Port Said to its twin city, Port Fuad, on the opposite bank of the canal in Sinai.

• Population780,515
• Nearest water from center 1.3 km0.8 mi
• Nearest mountain from center 17 km10 mi