Fayid is a little town that overlooks the ‘dazzling blue waters’ of the Great Bitter Lake, a marker at the mid-point of the Suez Canal. The cemetery is four kilometres south of the town centre on a connecting road between the lakeshore and the main Ismailia-Suez Road. Getting to the Fayid War Cemetery can be difficult and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission recommends using a private car or taxi.
Coming along the main road from Suez or Ismailia, you’ll see a large fish statue at the junction of the connecting road. You will need to pass the railway line, then the sweet water canal, approximately 1km along the road from the junction.
If you are coming from the road along the Suez Canal and the Great Bitter Lake, you will find the end of the connecting road some 6 kilometres south of the roundabout at a main junction of the road into Fayid town centre. The east end of this connecting road is opposite a red and white police checkpoint and the cemetery is about 200 metres along from the junction on the right hand side.
Fayid War Cemetery was opened as Geneifa New War Cemetery in June 1941 for the burials of those who died in the many military hospitals based in the area. There are 760 Commonwealth graves in Fayid War Cemetery, amongst them are 16 Australians. One hundred and ninety of the graves were originally at the Qassassin African Cemetery, but they were brought to Fayid after the war because these graves could not be guaranteed ongoing care and maintenance in this remote location. The last of the burials at Fayid Cemetery are from 1955 during the Commonwealth forces withdrawal from Egypt.
Image: Fayid War Cemetery.
Creator: Christopher Karykides