Suez

For ither uises, see Suez (disambiguation).

Suez السويس (in Arabic)
Banner
Satellite view o the port an ceety that are the soothren terminus o the Suez Canal that transits throu Egyp an debouches intae the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said. (Up is north-east).
Suez Location in Egyp
Coordinates: 29°58′N 32°33′E
Kintra	Egyp
Govrenorate	Suez
Foondit	1859
Govrenment
• Govrenor	Samir Aglan
Area
• Total	250.4 km2 (96.7 sq mi)
Elevation	5 m (16 ft)
Population  (2012)
• Total	565,716
• Density	2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EST)

Suez ([السويس As Suwais] ) is a seaport toun (population ca. 497,000) in north-eastren Egyp, locatit on the north coast o the Gulf o Suez, near the soothren terminus o the Suez Canal, haein the same bundaries as Suez govrenorate. It haes twa harbors, Port Ibrahim an Port Tawfiq, an extensive port facilities. Thegither they form a metropolitan aurie. Railway lines an hieways connect the ceety wi Cairo, Port Said an Ismailia. Suez haes a petrochemical plant, an its oil refineries hae pipelines carryin the finished product tae Cairo.

Suez is a wey station for Muslim pilgrims travellin tae an frae Mecca.

History

In the 7t century a toun (kent as Clysma or Kolzum) near the site o present-day Suez wis the eastren terminus o a canal linkin the Nile River an the Red Sea. In the 16t century Suez wis a Turkish naval station.

Its importance as a port increased efter the Suez Canal opened in 1869. The ceety wis virtually destroyed durin battles in the late 1960s an early 1970s atween Egyptian an Israeli forces occupyin the Sinai Peninsula. The toun wis desertit follaein the Third Arab-Israeli War in 1967. Reconstruction o Suez began suin efter Egyp reopened the Suez Canal, follaein the October 1973 war wi Israel.

Suez Canal

Main airticle: Suez Canal

Northmaist pairt o Gulf o Suez wi toun Suez on map o 1856

There wis a canal frae the Nile delta tae the Gulf o Suez in auncient times, when the gulf extendit further north than it does the day. This fell inae disuise, an the present canal wis built in the nineteent century.

El Salam Carducci 82 ship docked at Suez port, Mairch 2006

The Suez Canal affers a significantly shorter passage for ships than passin roond the Cape o Guid Howp. The construction o the Suez Canal wis favoured bi the natural conditions o the region: the comparatively short distance atween the Mediterranean an the Red Sea, the occurrence o a line o lakes or depressions which became lakes (Lake Manzala in the north, an depressions, Timsah an the Bitter Lakes, pairt way alang the route), an the generally flat terrain. The construction of the canal wis proposed bi the ingineer an French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, who acquired frae Said Pasha the richts o constructin an operatin the canal for a period o 99 years. The Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez wis formed. Construction teuk 11 years, an the canal opened on 17 November 1869. The canal haed an immediate an dramatic effect on warld trade.

In 1956 Egyptian preses Gamal Abdel Nasser naitionalised the canal, provokin the Suez Crisis. Follaein the Arab-Israeli war o 1967, the canal wis closed, an reopened in 1975.

The day, the canal is a vital link in warld trade, an contributes significantly tae the Egyptian economy; in 2009 the income generatit frae the canal accoontit for 3.7% o Egyp's GDP.

Internaitional relations

Relatit page: Leet o twin touns an sister ceeties in Egyp

Twin touns — Sister ceeties

Suez is twinned with:

• Skopje, Macedonie