SUEZ

Arabic As-suways, Egyptian port at the head of the Gulf of Suez and at the southern terminal of the Suez Canal. Together with its two harbours, Port Ibrahim and Port Tawfiq (Tewfik), and a large portion of the Eastern Desert, Suez constitutes the As-Suways muhafazah, an urban governorate covering an area of 6,888 square miles (17,840 square km). An ancient trading site, Suez was the location of the Greek town of Clysma, which became the Muslim Kolsum in the 7th century AD. After the Ottoman conquest Suez developed as a naval station. The port later declined until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Modern Suez remains a naval and trade centre, linked to Cairo, 80 miles (130 km) east, by road and rail. Mainly a transit port, it has petroleum refineries (connected to Cairo by pipeline), canal workshops, and an artificial fertilizer plant. Suez is also a departure point for pilgrimages to Mecca. The closing of the canal after the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 and the Israeli assault on the city in 1973 dealt a severe blow to its economy. With the reopening of the canal in 1975 and the resettlement of refugees, the city returned to prosperity. It became a tax-free industrial zone in 1975 and now has textile and pharmaceutical plants. Pop. (1991 est.) 376,000.