The future of the 19th-century Port Said lighthouse is under the spotlight, says Osama Kamal The city of Port Said was originally built on a strip of land 50 metres wide wedged between Lake Manzala and the Mediterranean. In stormy weather, the whole town was often flooded, and in some respects the city resembles ancient Alexandria, also built on a thin strip of land between Lake Mariout and the Mediterranean and close to the old fishing village of Rhakotis. Like Alexandria, Port Said also has a famous lighthouse. The ancient Alexandria lighthouse was built by the Greek architect Sostratos in 280 BCE during the reign of Ptolemy II on the island of Pharos. Standing 120 metres high with three floors of white marble, it was topped by a statue of Helios, the ancient Greek sun god. The lighthouse was testimony to Alexandria's status as one of the world's great seaports, and this is also true of its modern descendant in Port Said. When Ferdinand de Lesseps started work on building the Suez Canal on 24 April 1859, the harbour was at first lit by a temporary wooden lighthouse that was visible 10 miles away to seafarers. Later, in early 1869, Port Said got a proper lighthouse in the form of an octagonal tower painted with black and white strips to increase its visibility by day. The lighthouse's two-per-minute flashes were visible for 20 nautical miles. This lighthouse may not have been an architectural miracle like the ancient lighthouse at Alexandria, but it was nevertheless a historic landmark. It is thought to be the first structure of its kind in the world to be built in reinforced concrete, and the 56-metre-high structure was reinforced with iron rods at one-foot intervals making it highly resistant to erosion. The Port Said lighthouse was also part of a bigger plan. Between 1868 and 1877, the Khedive Ismail built lighthouses at Burullus, Rosetta, Damietta and Al-Qabbari, thereby making most of Egypt's Mediterranean coast friendly to shipping. In 1955, the Port Said lighthouse switched from using gas to electricity, and it continued to serve vessels passing through the Suez Canal without fail, except for an eight-year hiatus following the 1967 War. However, by the early 1980s, the Port Said lighthouse had become surrounded by buildings on all sides, making it less useful for its purpose. As a result, city officials planned to build another lighthouse close to the Port Said stadium and at a distance from the buildings. The lighthouse, some feared, was about to be demolished, and recently it has been turned into government offices. Today, historians and conservationists are worried about the lighthouse's future, and in an effort to banish the prospect of the demolishing ball, a French delegation met with former Port Said governor Mustafa Kamel, giving him a book on Port Said and a CD containing nearly 3,000 pictures of the city's historic architecture. According to lawyer Sayed Zard, historic monuments of the Port Said lighthouse's importance are protected under Egyptian law. Article 2 of the 2010 monuments protection law states that: "a monument is any building or object produced by successive civilisations or created... since prehistoric times until 100 years ago... whether [it is] produced or created on the land of Egypt or having a historic rapport with it. [A monument could also be] the remains of human species or other life forms." The 140-year-old Port Said lighthouse therefore clearly qualifies for protection under Egyptian law, though this has not stopped many living on the Suez Canal and in the Sinai from worrying about its future. During a recent meeting between writers and artists from Port Said and elsewhere in the region, calls were made for Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni to turn the Port Said lighthouse into a museum of maritime transport, which would guarantee the lighthouse's survival. According to photographer Walid Montasser, who has been documenting Port Said for many years and held an exhibition of his photographs of the city in 2006, the Port Said lighthouse is an integral part of the city's history and must be protected. Historian William Qusa agrees with this assessment, saying that "we have to preserve the city's old buildings and prevent them from disappearing. Port Said has many historic buildings, such as the Suez Canal Authority building with its famous dome, the Port Said Maritime Arsenal, the Clock House, the house of Eugenie, the Tawfik Mosque, the Mosque of Lotfi Shobara, the Abbasid Mosque, the Catholic churches, and the two statues of de Lesseps and King Fouad." The latter two statues are currently held inside the Suez Canal Authority. Port Said may not be the hub of international commerce it once was, and it may not boast the same kind of cosmopolitan mix it had 60 years or so ago. However, the city is a treasure trove of relatively well-preserved architecture from the turn of the century, some of it now under threat. For many, the Port Said lighthouse will be a test of the seriousness of conservation efforts in the city. If the lighthouse is successfully conserved, this will be a sign that the wheels of preservation are in motion. If on the other hand the lighthouse is allowed to disappear, this may mark the beginning of the end for some of the city's loveliest historic buildings.
