Ezbet El Borg

Ezbet El Borg ("Village of the Tower," named for a defensive tower that once stood here) is a coastal city of roughly 70,000 people in Damietta Governorate, about 15 km northeast of Damietta city at the mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile, facing Ras El Bar across the water. It is the base of Egypt's largest fishing fleet — home to around 10,000 fishermen, roughly 1% of the country's total, and reportedly some 60% of Egypt's fishing boats, including traditional feluccas — as well as a major shipbuilding and yacht-building yard. Fishing is the town's dominant livelihood and its main point of interest for visitors.

By Plane

There is no airport in Ezbet El Borg; travellers fly into Cairo and continue overland via Damietta.

By Train

The nearest rail connections are via Damietta.

By Car / Road

Ezbet El Borg is reached by road from Damietta city, 15 km to the southwest.

The town is compact and largely walkable, centred on its harbour and fish market.

The town's fishing harbour is the main sight — one of Egypt's busiest, with its fleet of feluccas and larger trawlers, and one of the country's largest shipbuilding and yacht-building yards. Across the water sits Ras El Bar, the Damietta branch's resort town.

Visit the pre-dawn fish market, which runs daily from after dawn prayer until around 8am and draws traders from across the governorate and beyond — one of the most famous fish markets in Damietta Governorate.

Fresh fish, straight from the harbour market, is the town's main product.

Cairo or the nearest major city.