Ismailia, City center at Lake Timsah, Egypt
Ismailia sits on the western bank of the Suez Canal and stretches along Lake Timsah, where a grid of streets connects wide avenues with squares, parks and gardens. The city remains an administrative center for canal operations and displays European-style architecture from the founding era.
Ferdinand de Lesseps founded the city in 1863 as an operations base during construction of the Suez Canal. The settlement was named after Khedive Ismail Pasha and grew into the administrative seat of the canal authority.
The name honors Khedive Ismail Pasha, the Egyptian ruler who supported the canal project in the nineteenth century. Visitors today see palms, green spaces and residential neighborhoods stretching between the wide streets along the shore of Lake Timsah.
The center sits along the lake shore with public parks within walking distance and shade under the trees. The city is flat and compact, so visitors can orient themselves easily.
The museum from 1932 displays archaeological collections from northern Sinai and Upper Egypt in a colonial-era building. The display cases present finds from several millennia and offer insight into regional past.
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