| Ismailia الإسماعيلية |
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Ismailia
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Governorate | Al Isma'iliyah |
| Population | |
| • Total | 750,000 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC+2) |
| Area code(s) | +69 [1] +64 [2] |
Ismaïlia (Arabic: الإسماعيلية al-ʾIsmāʿīliyyah, IPA: [elʔesmæʕeˈlejjæ]) is a city in north-east Egypt. Known in Egypt as "The City of Beauty and Enchantment" Ismailia is situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city has a population (including surrounding rural areas) of approximately 750,000 inhabitants. It is located approximately half way between Port Said to the north and Suez to the south. The Canal widens at that point to include Lake Timsah, one of the Bitter Lakes linked by the Canal.
Ismailia was founded in 1863, during the construction of the Suez Canal, by Khedive Ismail the Magnificent, after whom the city is named. The head office of the Suez Canal Authority is located in Ismaïlia at the shore of Lake Timsah. It still has a large number of buildings dating from British and French involvement with the Canal. Most of these buildings are still used by Canal employees and officials.
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The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Ismailia by Hassan al-Banna in March 1928. An underground paramilitary wing was established in the 1940s, primarily to fight British occupation forces. In the early 1950s, Ismailia hosted the British Military HQ and the Civilian Administration Centre of the Canal Zone. British suppression of an uprising by rebellious Egyptian police there on 25 January 1952 was a key event leading to the overthrow of King Farouk I later that year and the Egyptian Revolution that followed. British forces pulled out of Ismailia in 1954.
Ismailia has several public and private schools.They face educational problems schools all around Egypt face. Private tutoring is widely accessible and is almost an unofficial requirement for all students. Two international schools, Manar Language School and Educational Language Complex School (E.L.C) offer American Diploma and I.G.C.S. teaching systems.
Ismailia is the home of Suez Canal University, established in 1976 to serve the region of Suez Canal and Sinai. Suez Canal University now is one of the fast growing educational institutes in Egypt with many students studying abroad.
Ismaïlia does get tourists from within Egypt, but is not a major tourism destination for international tourists. The city is approximately a ninety minute automobile drive from Cairo. From Ismaïlia it is approximately a four hour drive to Sharm el-Sheikh in South Sinai. Driving to the Taba Border Crossing at Taba and the Rafah Border Crossing at Rafah are both approximately four hour drives.
Ismaïlia owns the 3rd most successful club in Egypt in the field of Football. Ismaïlia's Sporting Club's football team which is considered one of the best clubs in Africa, Ismaily SC enjoys broad support from within the city and governorate, with fan bases extending to other Egyptian cities. The club's performance is considered a major political issue, and can tend to dictate the city's mood. The team enjoys brief stints of competition for local and international competition, but its financial situation prevents these stints from extending beyond a few years. The team has won the Egyptian League three times (1967, 1991, 2002), the Egyptian Cup twice (1997, 2000), and the African Champions League once (1969).
| Climate data for Ismaïlia | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 19.2 (66.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.3 (73.9) |
28.6 (83.5) |
31.8 (89.2) |
34.8 (94.6) |
35.7 (96.3) |
37.3 (99.1) |
33.1 (91.6) |
30.0 (86.0) |
25.4 (77.7) |
20.9 (69.6) |
28.2 (82.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) |
8.3 (46.9) |
10.3 (50.5) |
14.1 (57.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.3 (70.3) |
21.5 (70.7) |
19.7 (67.5) |
16.6 (61.9) |
12.7 (54.9) |
8.9 (48.0) |
14.7 (58.5) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 7 (0.28) |
6 (0.24) |
7 (0.28) |
2 (0.08) |
2 (0.08) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.08) |
6 (0.24) |
5 (0.2) |
35 (1.38) |
| Source: Climate Charts [3] | |||||||||||||
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