During the past three days, we enjoyed a 3 day weekend traveling to Port Said. Along the way, we stopped off at Ar-Rashid (Rosetta). Ar-Rashid is where the western branch of the Nile empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Rosetta (the English name) is best known as the site of the discovery of the famous Rosetta Stone – the key for deciphering hieroglyphics. The original stone is now located in the British Museum in London. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Rosetta was Egypt’s most vital port. With the continued growth of Alexandria, Rosetta has become primarily a fishing community. In about 6 weeks, President Mubarek is scheduled to visit so the city is undergoing a major facelift. We visited the citadel where the actual stone was found in the early 1800’s and then toured a couple of restored merchant homes. These homes feature intricate “mashrabiyyas” wooded screens that serve as windows. These allow the occupants to look out but those on the outside cannot look in. Throughout the city, we saw several old 56 Fords – all in running condition. At one time Fords must have been big in this area.
As we left Rosetta, we were accompanied the rest of the trip both to Port Said and back to Alexandria by a security detail. We traveled by a private van with a security vehicle leading the way – most times there were 3 to 4 armed officers in the lead vehicle. They would take us for 20 to 30 miles and then “hand us off” to a new crew. We asked our driver why this was happening and he told us that the government wants to make sure that Americans are safe when they travel outside of the major cities (Alex and Cairo). This is especially true when traveling to the Suez area which could be considered a prime target for sabotage. Part of the way, we also had a vehicle with armed officers behind us as well.
Port Said is a quiet city located where the Mediterranean Sea is joined to the Red Sea by the Suez Canal. The actual idea of a canal connecting the two seas began in 600 BC but it wasn’t until 1869 that the canal was actually finished by the French. The Egyptians took over control of the canal in 1956. Port Said is home to some great fish restaurants and a large “duty-free” shopping area. We enjoy walking along the canal and taking a ferry from Port Said to Port Fuad across the canal. Ships that sail through this area are quite large and the fees they pay to the government have become a major source of income for Egypt. The pace of life at Port Said is much slower than Alexandria. It was actually fairly safe crossing the streets!
