Port Said Revisited

Rating:
Summary: Recovery of a distant childhood
Review: Long before I finished Port Said Revisited I was near to weeping for what the town was--a unique, orderly, warm, and cosmopolitan microcosm--and what it is now.

I gave my copy to my dear friend, sixty year old Eid Dib Eid, who grew up in Port Said. He became a joyous, six year old school boy as he recognized places in the photos, many now gone. He said that, when the statue of de Lesseps was blown up, five thousand Egyptians watched and applauded, but he stood, with arms folded, and asked, "Why? De Lesseps was a great man. He made the Canal."

Thank you, Professor Modelski.

Four stars instead of five? Not enough photos!

Rating:
Summary: A very fine book about Port Said
Review: Sylvia Modelski describes how her family came to settle in Port Said, her school life, her vacations, her family life, the town of Port Said itself, the main ethnic groups and nationalities that lived in Port Said, her contact with Egyptians, and life in the Jewish community. Enhancing the book is a review of events leading to the construction of the Suez Canal and various historical details about developments of the Suez Canal and Port Said. Sylvia also presents briefly some of the contributions that the region close to Port Said has made over the years. These include the path of the major early migrations from Africa, the world's earliest multi-cultural mega cities, the first world-class land/sea battle, major Biblical events and the world's only known major highway in uninterrupted use since the dawn of time. The book is very informative, clearly written and is a pleasure to read.