Ismailia Travel Information and Travel Guide - Egypt

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Introducing Ismailia

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Ismailia was founded by and named after Pasha Ismail, who was khedive of Egypt in the 1860s while the Suez Canal was being built. The city was also the temporary home of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the director of the Suez Canal Company, who lived here until the canal was completed. Not surprisingly, Ismailia grew in the image of the French masters who had ensconced themselves in Egypt during the colonial era. Today, Ismailia’s historic town centre, with its elegant colonial streets, expansive lawns and late-19th-century villas, is one of the most peaceful and picturesque neighbourhoods in the country.