The Suez Canal opened to traffic in November 1869. It was built by Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps using Egyptian forced labour; an estimated 120,000 workers died during construction. The canal stretches 120 miles between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, its narrowest point measuring 984 ft.
The old Suez Stadium marks the entrance of this controversial canal from the Red Sea approach. Montakhab Suez, one of the oldest clubs in Egypt, Monthakab meaning ‘selection’, used to play their home matches here, together with the likes of Asmant Suez. Today, the stadium is still in use as the training ground by Monthakhab and by Ghazl Cement, staging their second division matches here.
Suez Old Stadium Main Stand
This old lady stems from the Nasser decades, an era during which each Egyptian governorate was provided with a municipal sports complex by default, as a result of the issue of a presidential decree. This theme primarily accounts for the Egyptian ground scene with similar and almost identical grounds dotting the football landscape.
The old Suez theatre, holding approximately 16,000 in its heydays, was hit by a miniscule earthquake at the start of the previous nineties. As a result, half of the stadium had to be dismantled, the remnants being the multi-roofed main stand, together with the untouched neighbouring uncovered stands meandering halfway down both ends.
Suez Old Stadium Side Stand
