Port Said Revisited [Paperback]

Sylvia Modelski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2000

A panoramic view of Port Said emerges from the blending of a childhood memoir of the 1930s with an appreciation of this well-known but ill-understood global city at the north head of the Suez Canal. The author revisits her birthplace and reflects on the changes she observes, and on a rich past of which most people are unaware.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Every year, thousands if not hundreds of thousand of people travel to Egypt and pass through Port Said. This is a book that would give them a better feel, and a finer background, for that interesting location.

From the Author

The peoples of the world insist upon differentiating themselves from one another, be it by color, religion, race, nationality, region, language, class, costume etc. Yet they still all have one thing in common: the discovery years each child has to traverse before identifying with this or that group. It is this "generic" aspect of my early days which has interested me most and which I try to communicate in "Port Said Revisited". As for the background historical elements, they illustrate how a cumulative global learning experience is seen by those on the ground who live through it.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Faros Two Thousand; 1 edition (January 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967623006
• ISBN-13: 978-0967623009
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,424,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recovery of a distant childhood, December 18, 2000

By 

Donald W. Gregg (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Port Said Revisited (Paperback)

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very fine book about Port Said, May 7, 2000

By 

m.h.hamza (Calgary, Canada May 7, 2000) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Port Said Revisited (Paperback)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bur Said, August 26, 2008

By 

Nadia Azumi - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Port Said Revisited (Paperback)

Some of my childhood years were spent in Port Said,and I can recall very well the time that Ms. Modelski describes in this book.It is a very well written book on Port Said,and she does indeed bring back memories to those who have lived there.We all lost our friends,our childhood in having to run away like lost souls.
Overnight I lost my childhood friends and what Port Said and Egypt itself used to be.It seems like the old generation is not allowed to have a past.But because of what the old generation did is what Egypt is what it is today.
The villas,are all gone.The green that once existed is no longer there.A friend of mine told me that one night he heard sounds in his garden.He went out and found thieves trying to steel a huge magnolia tree.They wanted to uproot the tree and sell it as the trees are so scarce now.
The cleanliness of past days are gone.People do not care about others,and the elegance that once was is gone for ever.New rich have arrived without any education or cultural background.The very few that remain stick together like glue.
In reading books such as this one,one goes back in time,and reminisce the past that will never come back.
I wish there were more pictures.It would have increased the beauty of the book.
The mixed words of Spanish,Arabic and French that are no longer heard, brought memories back to me.The days when I strolled with my parents,greeted neighbors,walked on the jetty and seesawed on the Lesseps chains,with the sea breeze on my face.Those days are gone.However they will remain in our hearts for ever.
I found a great book on Port-Said in French called Architectures XIXe-XXe siecles.Published by the Institut Francais d'archeologie orientale.This book has all pictures of Port Said,Port Tewfik.It is written in French and Arabic.The pictures are incredible.