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PORT SAID
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See also:PORT SAID , a seaport of See also:Egypt, at the See also:northern entrance of the See also:Suez See also:Canal, in 31° 15' 35" N., 32° 19' 20" E., and 145 M. by See also:rail N.E. of See also:Cairo. Pop. (1907), 49,884. It lies on the western See also:side of the canal on the See also:low, narrow, treeless and desolate See also:strip of See also:land which separates the Mediterranean from See also:Lake Menzala, the land at this point being raised and its See also:area increased by the draining of See also:part of the lake and by the excavation of the inner See also:harbour. The See also:outer harbour is formed by two breakwaters which protect the entrance to the canal; altogether the harbour covers about 570 acres and accommodates See also:ships See also:drawing 28 ft. Originally besides the central See also:basin of the inner harbour there were three docks; between 1903 and 1909 the harbour See also:accommodation was doubled by the construction of new docks on the eastern side of the canal and by enlarging the western docks. The port possesses a floating See also:dock 295 ft. See also:long, 85 ft. broad and 1S it. deep, capable of lifting 3500 tons, and a patent slip taking 300 tons and ships drawing 9 ft. 9 in. of See also:water. On the western See also:breakwater is a See also:colossal statue of See also: Port Said See also:dates from 1859 and its situation was determined by the See also:desire of the See also:engineers of the Suez Canal to start the canal at the point on the Mediterranean See also:coast of the See also:isthmus of Suez nearest to deep water, and off the spot where Port Said now stands there was found a See also:depth of 26 ft. at about 2 m. from the See also:shore. For many years after its See also:foundation it depended entirely upon the See also:traffic of the canal, being the See also:chief coaling station of all ships gassing through and becoming the largest coaling station in theworld. The See also:population was of a very heterogeneous See also:character, but mainly of an undesirable class of Levantines; this with the See also:damp See also:heat and the dirt and See also:noise of the incessant coaling operations gave the town an unenviable reputation. In 1902, however, a new See also:industry was added in the export of See also:cotton from the eastern provinces of the See also:Delta, the cotton being brought from Mataria by ' See also:boat across Lake Menzala. In 1904 the opening of a See also:standard See also:gauge railway to Cairo placed Port Said in a position to compete with See also:Alexandria for the See also:external trade of Egypt generally, besides making it a tourist route to the See also:capital from See also:Europe. The result was to attract to the town a considerable commercial community and to raise its social status. A new suburb was created by re-claiming land on the See also:north See also:foreshore, and another suburb was created on the eastern side of the canal. The See also:average See also:annual value of the trade of the port for the five years 1902–1906 was £2,410,000. This figure includes the value of the See also:coal used by vessels passing through the Suez Canal. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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