10 Things to Do in Suez City

10 Things to Do in Suez City

Updated On: November 27, 2023 by   Ciaran ConnollyCiaran Connolly

Suez City is located in the eastern region of Egypt and bordered in the north by the city of Ismalia, and in the east by the Gulf of Suez. To the south is the Red Sea Governorate. Suez, in the past, was well-known by many different names.

In the Pharaonic era, it was called Sykot, and in the Greek period, it was called Heropolis. Since then, Suez City is located on the southern end of the Suez Canal, and it has enjoyed being an important commercial port since the 7th century.

The city has gained religious, commercial, industrial, and touristic importance due to its geographical location and it has been a tourist attraction for many years and that is because of its beautiful nature such as lakes and mountains. In the Muhammad Ali Pasha era, the city was important, where it was a navigational route between East and West and that participated in increasing the exports from Britain to India through Egypt.

Districts in Suez City

Suez is a popular Egyptian summer destination. Suez city is divided into five main districts, which are:

1. Suez City District

It is the oldest district in the city, which is the center of the city and it includes many of the government buildings, as well as the port of Suez.

2. Al Janain District

This district is well known for its rustic character, where it contains many agricultural lands, and there is also the tunnel of the martyr Ahmed Hamdy which is a famous tunnel that connects Egypt with Sinai.

3. Al Arbaeen District

Al Arbaeen District is the most populated district in the city of Suez and many areas have recently been built in this district such as Kuwait, Sadat, Obour, and 24 October districts.

4. Faisal District:

The district is well known for its modernity and development and it is considered as a new residential area.

5. Ataka District:

It is the city expansion and the natural extension of the Suez City. It includes several new residential areas, also there is the Adabiya port for loading and unloading shipments, the Ataka port for fishing and marine creatures, and also the district contains many industrial companies.

This was short information about the beautiful city of Suez, now it is time to know more about its famous attractions so pack your bags and let us go for a wonderful journey in Suez City.

Things to do in Suez City

10 Things to Do in Suez City
Suez City is near the famous canal of the same name. Image credit:
Samuel Hanna vis Unsplash.

1. Suez National Museum

The museum includes 3 halls containing archaeological treasures related to the Suez Canal and its history, from the first attempt to dig the canal during the reign of Senusret III, until the canal that was dug during the reign of Khedive Said Pasha.

It is a great place to learn about Egyptian history.

When you visit the museum and enter the first hall, you will find a gray map that explains the seven branches of the Nile, including the Delusian branch, where the first idea came to dig the canal linking the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and called it the Senzotris Canal, which was dug during the reign of Senusret III in 1883 BC. Also, there are paintings and artworks from the temple of the god Hapi, the god of the Nile, that were found in the area of Awlad Musa, which is located northeast of Suez.

The second hall is named the Navigation and Trade Hall, and it includes many models of boats from ancient times, showing how the ancient Egyptian dealt with seafaring, sailing, and daily life on boats. You will see artifacts including pots in which grains, oils, and goods were stored on the boats. The third hall is the Mining Hall which includes a model of the furnaces used by the ancient Egyptians to smelt metals and the molds that they carved to pour the molten metal into it to get the desired shape.

In this hall, you will find some bronze monuments that were made by the ancient Egyptians for various deities, including the gods Osiris, Amun, and the god Ptah. In another hall called Al-Qalzam Hall, you’ll find the last covering of the Kaaba that was sent from Egypt to the Hijaz, and the caravan that it was carried on, as well as artifacts that were excavated in Suez, which varied between weapons, swords of Muslim military leaders, and coins that were used at that time.

2. Ataqa Mountain

It is one of the famous mountains in Egypt, located between Suez and the governorate of the Red Sea and it overlooks the West Bank where you can see the Suez Gulf arm in the Red Sea and the southern end of the Suez Canal navigation course. 

Ataqa Mountain rises 800 meters above sea level. Besides seeing the Red Sea, it also overlooks factories that use the resources of the mountain and snow falls on this mountain in winter as many mountains in Egypt. The mountain consists of limestone layers with a few layers of dolomite.

3. Muhammad Ali Palace

The palace of Muhammad Ali Pasha is located near the old Corniche in Suez and it was built in 1812 directly on the sea. The palace consists of two floors and a high dome in the most luxurious style in Turkish design. It was built there, so it can be the home of the Muhammed Ali Pasha family to supervise the establishment of the first naval arsenal in Egypt.

The palace was the headquarters of Ibrahim Pasha, son of Muhammad Ali, in order to plan the Egyptian campaigns in Sudan and the Hijaz, and he supervised the travel of the campaign soldiers.

Khedive Ibrahim allocated part of the palace to establish the second oldest Sharia court in Egypt during the Ottoman rule, which was inaugurated in 1868, and the marble plaque still bears the date of the opening of the court, and it hangs on top of the palace building until now. The palace was turned into the general office of the governorate until 1952 and after the establishment of the republic, the palace became the headquarters of the general office of the Suez Governorate in 1958.

4. The Tunnel of the Martyr Ahmed Hamdi

Opened in 1983, it is the first tunnel to connect the continents of Africa and Asia, and it passes under the Suez Canal. It is located 130 km away from Cairo and it was named after Major General Ahmed Hamdi in honor of the heroic deeds carried out by him in the 1973 war.

The total length of the tunnel and its entrances is 5912 meters, and it includes a tunnel with a length of 1640 meters under the Suez Canal.

5. Al Gazira Al Khadra

It is a small rocky island which is located south of the Suez Canal and 4 km south of Suez City. Al Gazira Al Khadra is a protrusion of coral reefs that was is spread all around the island and that made scientists put a quantity of cement over it so as not to harm the ships transiting the canal.

This island had strategic importance to Britain at that time, where they built a fortress on the island to protect the Suez Canal from air and sea attack in World War ll and the fort is made of reinforced concrete.

The fort is about a building contains a two-story building, which is an upper floor and a basement with a large courtyard and at the end of the island, you will find a bridge over the water towards a five-meter high circular tower supporting the position of an early warning radar.

6. Monastery of Anba Antonios

The monastery of Anba Antonios is located in the mountains of the Red Sea, about 130 km from Suez City and you can enter the monastery through an asphalt pavement with a length of 9 km. It is the first monastery in the world frequented by the Coptic Egyptians and its name is attributed to Anba Antonios, the father of the Egyptian Coptic monks and the founder of the monastic movement in the world.

When you visit the monastery, you will see that it is surrounded by three high walls whose construction dates back to ancient times and there is also a huge well for freshwater that produces about 100 cubic meters of pure water per day. Also, there is a wooden waterwheel and it was built in 1859.

Inside you will see a natural tunnel about ten meters long and has a number of high domes numbering 75 domes, it contains gardens that have many kinds of fruits and palm trees and a library which includes more than 1438 rare historical manuscripts dating back to the 13th century AD.

7. Moses Eyes

The Oasis of Moses Eyes is located 35 km from the city of Suez, it is also away from Cairo by 165 km and it includes 12 oases. It is one of the famous tourist attractions there, where you can visit it when you are on your way to Sharm El-Sheikh, Dahab, and Nuweiba, and when you are there you will see the beauty that surrounds you and the great view overlooking the coast of the Gulf of Suez.

Also, you will see in Moses Eyes palm trees and dense grass, freshwater springs that you can drink from it, and Bedouins who reside in the area sell some Bedouin crafts to tourists.

The eyes of Moses were called by this name, as it is the oasis in which 12 springs of drinking water erupted for the Prophet of God, Moses. There was a fortified point of the Bar-Lev Line located near Moses Eyes Area, which was one of the important sites used by the Israeli Army before the October War of 1973. This defensive line contains bedrooms for soldiers and a line of trenches for movement, and at the top, there are observation points and buildings for the military administration and the medical service.

8. Moses Eyes Military Museum

It is one of the important museums in Suez that tells us the story of a valiant battle fought by the Egyptian army. The museum is located about 20 kilometres from the city of Suez and it is near the historical site of Moses Eyes.

When you visit the site, you will see that the place is surrounded by mountains and desert, and inside, you will see a small trench with corridors that lead to the places of Israeli military operations, where commanders used to meet with soldiers, places for soldiers to sleep, and military tools. When you are at the highest point in the site where the binoculars are located, you will be able to see the northern part of the Gulf of Suez.

9. Suez Canal

This is the famous attraction in Suez City, it is a water canal whose construction work was completed in 1869 and it connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal extends from the northern side at the Egyptian coastal city of Port Said, and from the southern side at the city of Suez and on the border with the lower Nile Delta on the western side, and the upper Sinai Peninsula on the eastern side.

The Suez Canal passes through a number of lakes, which are Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah, the Great Bitter Lake, and the Lesser Bitter Lake. The canal has great economic importance contributing to transportation and shipment of materials, goods, and products between the countries of the Far East, the Middle East, and the African and European continents.

The Suez Canal was constructed in 1869, but before it many canals were dug like in the 19th century BC the pharaoh Senusret III dug canals through the branches of the Nile River and a number of pharaohs and Roman kings later continued the work of opening canals. Then came the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1854, who suggested to the governor of Egypt at that time, Said Pasha to establish the Suez Canal and the Suez Canal Company.

10. Al Ain Al Sukhna

Al-Ain Al Sukhna resort is located 140 km away from Cairo, and 55 km south of Suez. The lovely things there are the beaches of Sokhna stretch for 80 km on the Red Sea coast and it contains more than 50 hotels. Al-Ain Al Sukhna was called by this name because it has hot sulfuric water springs, which are used to heal skin and orthopedic diseases and one of the most famous therapeutic springs is the hot spring located at the foot of Mount Ataka, south of the Gulf of Suez.

It is a famous tourist destination due to its wonderful weather, and the water sports in summer and there are many activities to do like fishing, diving, snorkelling, water skiing, parachute flying, mountain climbing, and golf. You can try the first Egyptian cable car, which allows you to enjoy a panoramic view that combines the sea and the majestic mountains.

Find out more about the best uncovered destinations in Egypt.

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