This Hotel in Egypt’s Ismailia Is Where the Suez Canal Was Dreamt Up

When people forget, places hold memories. What is not meticulously recorded in the archive of history, and what is purposefully omitted, often finds a home in the unsuspecting walls of the site of its happening. These are profound facts that, in the naivety of our younger years, we overlooked, resulting in a lack of appreciation for the places that bore witness to what came before. Thankfully, these historical locations that have been rendered significant by the often complicated stories etched into their walls, are finally taking their rightful place at the top of the hospitality totem pole.

In the downtown area of Egypt’s Suez Canal-facing city of Ismailia, a quaint white-and-brown villa stands out with its distinct European architecture. From the outside, it might seem simple enough. But upon closer inspection (or inquiry), you come to find out that it’s actually more than just a random building, it’s actually the house that held the early beginnings of the idea for a canal to connect the Red Sea and the Mediterranean in the 1860s—the villa of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. Today, it has transformed into the boutique hotel ‘Maison Maxim de Lesseps’.

In a renovation that sought more to preserve the home than to actually modernise it, the villa kept the entirety of its 19th-century European architectural charm intact, so it still feels like you’re trespassing into forbidden ground when you visit the hotel. Originally built to house the diplomat throughout the construction process of the Suez Canal, after which he seemingly left in a hurry, leaving many of his belongings behind, Maison Maxim de Lesseps can honestly tell a story in objects.

Across 27 historical rooms, the air is heavy with stories that never made their way out, and, if you listen closely enough, you can hear their echoes bouncing off the hotel’s classic, minimalistic furniture and the home’s high ceilings.

Beyond the rooms, the identity of the home and Ferdinand de Lesseps himself are preserved in the courtyard, where you can take an afternoon stroll past the diplomat’s carriages and fountains.

Once you’re ready to wash off the nostalgia of the day, you can take a quick dip in the hotel’s pool, head up to your room, and admire the history that took place right where you’ll be laying your head.