70. Port Said.
Arrival. The steamers moor alongside the Quai François-Joseph or in the Bassin Ismaïl. If they are not berthed at the quay the fare for landing at the Custom House (Pl. 8) is 1½–2½ piastres (trunk 2, small packages 1 pias.). The North German Lloyd provides a steam-tender in winter, which lands passengers free of charge. Heavy luggage had better be entrusted to one of the hotel-porters, or to an agent of Messrs. Cook (comp. p. [431]) or of the Hamburg-American Line.
Railway Station near Lake Menzaleh (p. [418]), 10 min. to the W. of the Custom House.
Hotels. *Eastern Exchange Hotel (Pl. a), Rue Sultan Osman, pens. from 12s., English house; *Savoy (Pl. d), corner of Quai François-Joseph and Rue el-Tegara, with restaurant and bar, pens. from 62 pias. ; Hôt. Continental (Pl. b), Rue el-Tegara, with bar, pens. 10s. 6d.; Hôt. de la Poste (Pl. c), Rue du Nil.
Cab from the quay to the station 4 (at night 5) pias.
Post Offices. Egyptian (Pl. 14) and French (Pl. 15), Rue du Nil.—Telegraph Offices. Egyptian (Pl. 18), Rue el-Tegara; Eastern Telegraph Co. (Pl. 17), Quai François-Joseph, for Europe.
Consulates at the Quai François-Joseph. British (Pl. 3): consul-general, E. C. Blech; vice-consul, T. D. Dunlop.—United States (Pl. 2): consular agent, H. Broadbent.
Tourist Agents. Thos. Cook & Son, Quai François-Joseph; F. C. Clark, Savoy Hotel; Hamburg-American Line, Rue du Nil.
Steamboat Offices. All the important companies have offices on the quay. L. Saxon & Co. (Società Nazionale) are also Lloyd’s Agents.
Banks. Bank of Egypt and Crédit Lyonnais, Rue du Nil; National Bank of Egypt, Rue Eugénie; Ottoman, Bassin du Commerce.—Money, see p. [431].
Physicians. Dr. Curling, Dr. W. Hayward (Egyptian Government Hospital); Dr. E. Cuffey (Lady Strangford Hospital); Dr. J. H. Wigham.
English Church. Church of the Epiphany (‘Eglise angl.’ on Plan), Rue el-Tegara; services every Sun. at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Port Said (pop. 42,000, incl. 11,300 Europeans) lies at the E. end of the strip of land between Lake Menzaleh (p. [418]) and the open sea, at the N. end of the Suez Canal, to which it owes its foundation. Its trade, chiefly through-traffic, is growing rapidly.
The Harbour of 570 acres has a depth of 26 ft., which is maintained by laborious dredging. It is sheltered by two massive breakwaters, the Jetée Ouest, 2460 yds. long, with a statue of Ferd. de Lesseps (1805–94), the builder of the Suez Canal (1859–69), and the Jetée Est, 1750 yds. long. The former protects it against the mud of the Nile. Between these is the Digue Nouvelle, an inner breakwater 597 yds. long, for shelter against E. winds; on the mainland opposite (to the W.) rises the *Phare, a lighthouse 174 ft. high, visible 23 M. away.
The inner harbour of 220 acres consists of the Bassin Ismaïl (with its three very shallow creeks), the Bassin des Chalands Charbonniers, and the Bassin Abbas Hilmi or Africa Basin, with the quarantine establishment.
The Rue Quai du Nord (tramway) leads to the N.W. to the Quartier Arabe.