The older name of the town was Bura (Arabic: بوره), which comes from a Coptic name for grey mullet (Coptic: ⲫⲟⲣⲓ, romanized: phori).[2][3]
The city was an important fishing town and got a new name when its production changed to watermelons in the Ottoman times. Yaqut mentions, aside from the fish, turbans as its other claim to fame. Bura was for a short time captured by the Crusaders in 1213.[3]
^Timm, Stefan. Das christlich-koptische Agypten in arabischer Zeit. p. 448.
^ abAl-Maqrīzī. Book of Exhortations and Useful Lessons in Dealing with Topography and Historical Remains. Translated by Stowasser, Karl. Hans A. Stowasser. p. 223.