Sights in Suez Canal
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A
De Lesseps' House
The residence of the one-time French consul to Egypt used to be open to the public. These days, however, you can see the interior only if you're a VIP of some sort, as the building currently serves as a private guesthouse for visitors of the Suez Canal Authority.
If you're not a privileged guest, you might be interested to know that de Lesseps' bedroom looks as if it has hardly been touched in over a century - old photos, books and various utensils are scattered around the desk by his bed and on the floor. Inside the grounds is also de Lesseps' private carriage, which has been encased in glass and remains in impeccable condition.
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Ismailia Museum
More than 4000 objects from Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman times are housed at the small but interesting Ismailia Museum. The collection includes statues, scarabs, stelae and records of the first canal, built between the Bitter Lakes and Bubastis by the Persian ruler Darius. The highlight of the museum is a 4th-century-AD mosaic depicting characters from Greek and Roman mythology. At the top Phaedra is sending a love letter to her stepson Hippolytus, while below Dionysus is riding a chariot driven by Eros. The bottom section recounts the virtues of Hercules.
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Garden of the Stelae
Garden of the Stelae is a garden containing a rather forlorn little sphinx from the time of Ramses II. You need permission from the museum to visit the garden, but you are able to see the unremarkable statue from the street. The attractive grounds of the majestic residence between the garden and the museum belong to the head of the Suez Canal Authority and are off limits to the public.
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B
Stone Plinth
This large stone plinth once held a statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps, until it was torn down in 1956 with the nationalisation of the Suez Canal. Although the statue was restored at the expense of the French government in the early 1990s, it has yet to be re-erected.
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C
Military Museum
This compact museum houses relics from the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel, such as a few captured US tanks with the Star of David painted on them, as well as an odd collection of UXOs (unexploded ordnance).
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D
Suez Canal House
If you've ever seen a picture of Port Said, it was probably of the striking green domes of the Suez Canal House, which was built in time for the inauguration of the canal in 1869. Unfortunately, the building is off-limits to visitors.
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Italian Consulate Building
Erected in the 1930s and adorned with an engraved piece of the propaganda of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini: 'Rome - once again at the heart of an empire'.
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E
Churches
An impressive collection of churches, including the Coptic Orthodox church of St Bishoi of the Virgin and the Franciscan compound.
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