Port Said was built in 1859 on a narrow sandspit between Lake Manzala and the Mediterranean Sea, its foundations buttressed partly with material dredged from the canal, then being dug. It was named for Said Pasha, the khedive of Egypt at the time.
From 1899 untill 1921 stamps were issued from French P.O.'s in this Egyptian port.
Port Said, a port city in northeastern Egypt, is located on the Mediterranean seacoast at the northern entrance to the SUEZ CANAL, about 175 km (110 mi) northeast of Cairo.