Suez (sōĕzˈ) [key], city (1996 pop. 417,610), NE Egypt, at the
northern end of the Gulf of Suez and at the southern terminus of
the Suez Canal. An important port with extensive facilities, it
is also a refueling station, a holding area for ships entering
the canal, and a center for the storage and refining of oil.
Petroleum products, paper, and fertilizers are major
manufactures. Suez is linked by rail with Ismailia and Cairo;
oil is conveyed by pipelines to Cairo and Alexandria. The city
is also a departure point for pilgrims on their way to Mecca.
Although the site of the city was occupied in antiquity, Suez
was little more than a small village throughout most of its
history. In the 16th cent. it became a naval and trading station
under the Ottoman Turks. After the completion (1869) of the Suez
Canal the city became a major port. Its economy suffered during
the periods that the canal was closed following the Arab-Iraeli
Wars. Suez became a tax-free industrial zone after the canal
permanently reopened in 197