SUEZ CANAL
SUEZ CANAL
waterway of international importance. Length - 161 km from Port Said (Mediterranean Sea) to Suez (Red Sea). Includes the canal itself and several lakes. Built in 1869, width 120-318 m, depth on the fairway - 18 m, no locks. The volume of transportation is 80 million tons, mainly oil and oil products, ferrous and non-ferrous ores. It is considered a conditional geogr. border between Africa and Asia.
Concise geographical dictionary. EdwART. 2008.
Suez Canal
(Suez Canal), a navigable, lockless canal in Egypt, connects Red sea at Mr. Suez with Mediterranean Sea at Mr. Port Said , crossing Isthmus of Suez . Opened in 1869 (construction lasted 11 years). The authors of the project are French and Italian engineers (Linan, Mougel, Negrelli). Nationalized in 1956, before that it belonged to the Anglo-French General Suez Canal Company. As a result of the Arab-Israeli military conflicts, shipping through the canal was interrupted twice - in 1956–57 and 1967–75. It is laid along the Isthmus of Suez and crosses a number of lakes: Manzala, Timsah and Bol. Gorky. To supply the canal zone with river water from the Nile, the Ismailia canal was dug. The canal route is considered conditional geographical boundary between Asia and Africa. Length 161 km (173 km including sea approaches). After reconstruction, the width is 120–318 m, the depth is 16.2 m. On average, it passes per day. up to 55 ships: two caravans in the south and one in the north. Medium. channel travel time – approx. 14 hours. In 1981, the first stage of the canal reconstruction project was completed, which made it possible to carry through it tankers with a deadweight of up to 150 thousand tons (on completion of the second stage - up to 250 thousand tons) and cargo ships with a deadweight of up to 370 thousand tons. For Egypt, the operation of the S. k. is the second most important source of income for the country.
Dictionary of modern geographical names. - Ekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of academician. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .
Suez Canal
a lock-free shipping canal in Egypt, on the border between Asia and Africa, connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. The shortest waterway between the ports of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Opened in 1869 (construction lasted 11 years). Nationalized in 1956, before that it belonged to the Anglo-French General Suez Canal Company. It is laid along the deserted Suez Isthmus and crosses a number of lakes, including the Big Gorky. To supply the canal zone with river water from the Nile, the Ismailia canal was dug. Dl. Suez Canal 161 km (173 km including sea approaches), width. (after reconstruction) 120–318 m, depth. 16.2 m. Per day passes on Wed. up to 55 ships - two caravans in the south, one in the north. The average time for passing the canal is approx. 14 hours.
Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Edited by prof. A. P. Gorkina. 2006 .
one of the world's most important man-made waterways; crosses the Isthmus of Suez, stretching from Port Said (on the Mediterranean Sea) to the Gulf of Suez (on the Red Sea). The length of the canal, the main channel of which runs almost straight from north to south and separates the main part of the territory of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, is 168 km (including the 6 km length of the approach canals to its ports); The width of the water surface of the canal in some places reaches 169 m, and its depth is such that ships with a draft of more than 16 m can pass through it.
Canal route. The canal crosses a low-lying area of sandy desert where the laying of its channel was favored by lakes Manzala, Timsakh, Bolshoye Gorkoye and Maloe Gorkoye. The water surface of both Bitter Lakes lies below sea level, but they had to be dredged because their depths were shallower than required for the canal. On the 38 km section from Port Said to El Kantara, the route passes through Lake Manzala, which is essentially a shallow lagoon Mediterranean Sea. The nature of the soil in the Suez Canal area made it easy and quick to carry out excavation work, and thanks to the flat terrain here - unlike, for example, the Isthmus of Panama - there was no need to build locks. Drinking water in the Isthmus of Suez region is supplied from the Nile through the Ismailia freshwater canal, which begins just north of Cairo. The Suez Canal Zone is connected to Cairo and the Nile Valley by a network of railways originating from the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Port Tawfik.
The first canals on the Isthmus of Suez. The ancient Egyptians built a shipping canal from the Nile to the Red Sea ca. 1300 BC, during the reigns of Pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II. This canal, which was first dug as a channel for the flow of fresh water from the Nile to the area of Lake Timsah, began to be extended to Suez under Pharaoh Necho II ca. 600 BC and brought it to the Red Sea a century later. During the construction of the modern Suez Canal, part of this old channel was used to build the Ismailia freshwater canal. Under the Ptolemies, the old canal was maintained in working order, during the period of Byzantine rule it was abandoned, and then restored again under Amr, who conquered Egypt during the reign of Caliph Omar. Amr decided to connect the Nile to the Red Sea to supply Arabia with wheat and other food products from the Nile Valley. However, the canal, the construction of which Amr undertook, calling it “Khalij Amir al-mu"minin” (“canal of the Commander of the Faithful”), ceased to function after the 8th century AD.
At the end of the 15th century. The Venetians were studying the possibilities of building a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez, but their plans were not put into practice. At the beginning of the 19th century. Europeans mastered the route to India through Egypt: along the Nile to Cairo, and then by camel to Suez. The idea of building a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, which would help significantly reduce the cost of time and money, was then considered unrealistic, based on the conclusions of Leper, an engineer whom Napoleon commissioned to conduct research on the canal project. But Leper’s conclusions were erroneous due to the misconception he accepted on faith about the difference in the water surface levels of the Mediterranean and Red Seas (allegedly in the Mediterranean it was 9 m lower than in the Red).
Modern channel. In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French consul in Egypt, received from Said Pasha, the ruler of Egypt, a concession to create the Universal Suez Canal Company (La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez). It was formed in 1858. Work on the construction of the canal began in April 1859, while at the same time a freshwater canal was being laid from Cairo to Ismailia. According to the original terms of this treaty, the Egyptian government was to receive 15% of the gross profits from shipping on the canal, and 99 years after the canal was commissioned, it was to become Egyptian property. Most of the shares were purchased by the French, the Turks and Said Pasha, who bought almost half of all shares. In 1875, Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain, bought 176,602 shares of the Company from Khedive Ismail for £4 million, giving Great Britain a 44% stake.
The opening of navigation along the canal took place on November 17, 1869. 29,725 thousand pounds sterling were spent on its construction. The initial depth of the fairway was 7.94 m, and its width along the bottom was 21 m; later, the canal was deepened so much that ships with a draft of up to 10.3 m began to pass through it. After the nationalization of the canal by Egypt (in 1956), work was carried out to further improve it, and in 1981 ships with a draft of up to 16.1 m began to pass through it.
The role of the channel in world trade. Thanks to the Suez Canal, the length of the waterway between Western Europe and India was reduced by almost 8,000 km. In the northern direction, it transports mainly oil and petroleum products for Western Europe. Industrial products for the countries of Africa and Asia are transported in the southern direction.
International importance of the channel. The importance of the canal was recognized by the leading powers of the world in the Constantinople Convention of 1888, which guaranteed the passage of ships of all countries through it in conditions of peace and war. The Turks allowed Italian ships to pass through the canal even during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911 (during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878 the canal was closed to Russian ships). Serious problems on these issues did not arise during both world wars. However, after the establishment of the State of Israel (1948), Egypt detained ships traveling through the canal to or from Israel and confiscated their cargo. There were no military fortifications in the canal zone, but British troops had been in Egypt since 1882. Before the nationalization of the canal, its administration consisted mainly of the British and French. Then the Egyptians began to control the canal.
LITERATURE
Perminov P.V. Sphinx smile. M., 1985
Encyclopedia Around the World. 2008 .
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is located in Egypt (cm. Egypt), laid across the Isthmus of Suez, connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. In ancient times, there was a connecting route from the Mediterranean Sea along the Nile and several canals to the Red Sea. According to ancient chronicles, the Suez Canal was built by King Darius. This is also confirmed by the inscriptions of Darius on the stones, which stand 20 km north of Suez. Darius's route ran along the western bank of the modern canal.
The canal was in decline after the 2nd century. BC BC, restored by the Roman Emperor Trajan. For 2 centuries, Roman ships sailed along it to the shores of Arabia and India. After the conquest of Egypt by Byzantium, the canal did not operate from the mid-9th century until the mid-19th century. During new history The idea of digging a canal across the isthmus was repeatedly expressed, but all attempts ended in failure, since the difference in water levels in the two seas was too large (9.9 m). Only Ferdinand de Lesseps, an engineer and French consul in Egypt, managed to begin construction of the canal in 1859. It was supposed to go from Suez, inspect its harbor, and then go to Pelusay. In the final version of the project, it was decided to move the northern mouth of the canal to where the Port Said harbor subsequently appeared in honor of the Khedive of Egypt.
Construction was successfully completed by 1869, and the Suez Canal opened on October 4, 1869. F. de Lesseps organized an unprecedented ceremony for 6 thousand guests. Composer Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned to perform an opera for the grand opening of the canal and the new Italian theater in Cairo. This is how the immortal “Aida” was created. The next day, 48 flag-decorated ships set sail through the canal in a pre-arranged order. The French Empress Eugenie, as an honored guest, sailed on the first ship. Many crowned heads of Europe and other continents took part in the celebrations. And then the efficient travel agent Thomas Cook organized tourist trip via a new channel. So, with fireworks, dancing, music, the Suez Canal was transferred to public use.
Thanks to the Suez Canal, the long and dangerous journey around Africa for ships traveling from Europe to the East was significantly shortened. Important economically and strategically, the canal from the very beginning fell into the sphere of interests of the great powers, especially Great Britain and France. In 1875, the government of the English Prime Minister B. Disraeli acquired shares of the Suez Canal Company from the Egyptian Khedive. Since 1880, the management of the Suez Canal was carried out by the Anglo-French “General Suez Canal Company”. Nasser's nationalization of the company that owned the Suez Canal caused a crisis in 1956. Nasser responded to Israel's occupation of the Sinai Peninsula with a blockade of the canal, which was lifted only in 1975. This route today handles 14% of all world trade traffic. The length of the canal is 162.5 km, and its channel has been expanded and deepened several times. About 50 ships pass through the canal every day. This takes 14-16 hours. In the Port Said area, as in three other places, the canal bifurcates to allow two-way traffic for ships.
Encyclopedia of tourism Cyril and Methodius. 2008 .
See what the "SUET CANAL" is in other dictionaries:
Suez Canal- - a navigable lockless sea canal in the northeast of Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The Suez Canal is the shortest waterway between the ports of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans (8-15 thousand kilometers less than the route around Africa) ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers
Suez Canal- Suez Canal. The SUEZ CANAL, in Egypt, is laid across the Isthmus of Suez, connecting the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. Opened in 1869. Length 161 km, depth 16.2 m, width 120,318 m, without locks. Suez Canal... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
In Egypt, laid across the Suez Isthmus, it connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. Opened in 1869. Since 1880, the management of the Suez Canal was carried out by the Anglo-French Universal Suez Canal Company. Nationalized in... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Suez Canal- (Suez Canal), a 171 km long shipping canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea at Port Said with the Red Sea. Opened in 1869. Purchased by England in 1875; from 1882 to 1955 the canal zone had the status of English. military bases. In 1956, Egypt nationalized... ... The World History
SUEZ CANAL- a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean and of significant importance for international shipping. The legal regime of the canal is determined by the Constantinople Convention of 1888, which provides that in both military and peaceful... ... Legal encyclopedia
There is a large industrial center - the city of Ismailia.
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On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser nationalized the channel. This led to the invasion of British, French and Israeli troops and the start of the week-long Suez War of 1956. The canal was partially destroyed, some ships were sunk, and as a result, shipping was closed until April 24, 1957, until the canal was cleared with the help of the UN. UN peacekeeping forces were introduced to maintain the status of the Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal as neutral territories.
Present tense
The Suez Canal is one of Egypt's main sources of income, along with oil production, tourism and agriculture.
In December 2011, Egyptian authorities announced that tariffs for cargo transit, which have not changed over the past three years, will increase by three percent from March 2012.
According to 2009 data, about 10% of the world's maritime traffic passes through the canal. The passage through the canal takes about 14 hours. On average, 48 ships pass through the canal per day.
Second channel
Construction of a 72-kilometer parallel canal began in August 2014 to allow two-way traffic for ships. Trial operation of the second stage of the canal began on July 25, 2015. The country's army actively participated in the construction. The population of Egypt participated in the financing.
On August 6, 2015, the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal took place. The ceremony was attended, in particular, by Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, who arrived at the event site on board the Al-Mahrousa yacht. This yacht gained fame as the first ship to pass through the old Suez Canal in 1869.
The vessel is currently part of the Egyptian Navy, being the country's oldest active naval vessel, and is sometimes used as a presidential yacht. The ship goes to sea about three times a year, but usually only for one day. The yacht was built in 1865.
"New Suez" runs parallel to the old shipping route, built 145 years ago and is the shortest water route between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The new channel, like the old one, will be state property.
Construction was financed from internal sources. The Egyptian government issued bonds with a yield of 12% per annum, and investors snapped them up within just eight days. Construction work was carried out around the clock with the large-scale participation of engineering units of the Egyptian army.
The Suez backup took only one year to build (although it was estimated that it should have been built in three years). The project cost Egypt $8.5 billion. The New Suez Canal project consisted of widening, deepening the current tract and creating a parallel tract. The new channel should increase the channel's capacity.
The goal of the project is to ensure two-way traffic of vessels. In the future, from south to north they will follow the old channel, and from north to south along the new channel. Thus, the average waiting time for ships during passage through the canal should decrease by four times, while its throughput will increase from 49 to 97 ships per day.
In addition, the backup is expected to increase Egypt's income from operating the waterway by 2.5 times by 2023, to $13.2 billion from the current $5.3 billion. The Suez Canal provides 7% of the world's maritime cargo turnover, plays a key role in supplying Europe with Middle Eastern oil, and for Egypt it is the second source of foreign exchange earnings after tourism. In the future, it is planned to create a large logistics center and an industrial zone near the canal. A number of experts consider these forecasts to be overly optimistic.
Control
Main article: Suez Canal Authority
The Suez Canal was managed until 1956 by the Suez Canal Company, which was annexed to the Suez Canal Authority by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser.
The chairmen of the SCA were:
- Bahgat Helmi Badawi (July 26, 1956 – July 9, 1957)
- Mahmoud Younis (July 10, 1957 – October 10, 1965)
- Mashhour Ahmed Mashhour (October 14, 1965 – December 31, 1983)
- Mohamed Adel Ezzat (1 January 1984 – December 1995)
- Ahmed Ali Fadel (22 January 1996 – August 2012)
- Mohab Mamish (August 2012 – present)
Connection between banks
Since 1981, a road tunnel has been operating near the city of Suez, passing under the bottom of the Suez Canal, connecting Sinai and continental Africa. In addition to the technical excellence that made it possible to create such a complex engineering project, this tunnel attracts with its monumentality, is of great strategic importance and is rightfully considered a landmark of Egypt.
In 1998, a power transmission line was built over the canal in Suez. The line supports, standing on both banks, have a height of 221 meters and are located 152 meters from each other.
On October 9, 2001, a new bridge named after was opened in Egypt. Hosni Mubarak on the highway connecting the cities of Port Said and Ismailia. The opening ceremony of the bridge was attended by then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Before the opening of the Millau Viaduct, this structure was the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world. The height of the bridge is 70 meters. Construction lasted 4 years, one Japanese and two Egyptian construction companies took part in it.
In 2001, traffic was opened on the El Ferdan railway bridge, 20 km north of the city of Ismailia. This is the longest swing bridge in the world; its two swing sections have a total length of 340 meters. The previous bridge was destroyed in
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Later, the construction and restoration of the canal was carried out by the powerful Egyptian pharaohs Ramses II and Necho II.
Herodotus (II. 158) writes that Necho II (610-595 BC) began to build a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, but did not finish it.
The canal was completed around 500 BC by King Darius the First, the Persian conqueror of Egypt. In memory of this event, Darius erected granite steles on the banks of the Nile, including one near Carbet, 130 kilometers from Pie.
In the 3rd century BC. e. The canal was made navigable by Ptolemy II Philadelphia (285-247). He is mentioned by Diodorus (I. 33. 11 -12) and Strabo (XVII. 1. 25), and is mentioned in the inscription on the stele from Pythos (16th year of the reign of Ptolemy). It began slightly higher up the Nile than the previous canal, in the area of Facussa. It is possible, however, that under Ptolemy the old canal that supplied the lands of Wadi Tumilat was cleared, deepened and extended to the sea fresh water. The fairway was wide enough - two triremes could easily separate in it.
In 1841, British officers who carried out surveys on the isthmus proved the fallacy of Leper's calculations regarding the water level in the two seas - calculations that Laplace and the mathematician Fourier had previously protested against, based on theoretical considerations. In 1846, partly under the patronage of Metternich, the international “Société d’etudes du canal de Suez” was formed, in which the most prominent figures were the Frenchman Talabo, the Englishman Stephenson and the Austrian of Genoese origin Negrelli. Luigi Negrelli (English) Russian based on new, independent research, he developed a new project: the channel was supposed to become “ artificial Bosphorus"directly connecting the two seas, sufficient for the passage of the deepest ships. The French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps supported, in general terms, Negrelli's project.
In 1855, Ferdinand de Lesseps received concessions from Said Pasha, the Viceroy of Egypt, whom de Lesseps had met as a French diplomat in the 1830s. Said Pasha approved the creation of a company for the purpose of constructing a sea canal open to ships of all countries.
In the same 1855, Lesseps achieved the approval of the firman from the Turkish Sultan, but only in 1859 was he able to found a company in Paris. In the same year, construction of the canal began, led by the General Suez Canal Company created by Lesseps. The Egyptian government received 44% of all shares, France - 53% and 3% were acquired by other countries. Under the terms of the concession, shareholders were entitled to 74% of profits, Egypt - 15%, and the founders of the company - 10%.
Its fixed capital was equal to 200 million francs (in this amount Lesseps calculated all the costs of the enterprise), divided into 400 thousand shares of 500 francs each; Said Pasha signed up for a significant part of them. The British government, headed by Palmerston, fearing that the Suez Canal would lead to the liberation of Egypt from the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the weakening or loss of England's dominance over India, put all sorts of obstacles in the way of the enterprise, but was forced to retreat in the face of energy Lesseps, especially since his enterprise was patronized by Napoleon III and Said Pasha, and then (since 1863) his heir, Wali Ismail Pasha.
The technical difficulties facing the canal builders were enormous. I had to work under the scorching sun, in a sandy desert completely devoid of fresh water. At first, the company had to use up to 1,600 camels just to deliver water to workers; but by 1863 she had completed a small freshwater canal from the Nile, which ran approximately in the same direction as the ancient canals (the remains of which were used in some places), and was intended not for navigation, but solely for the delivery of fresh water - first to workers, then and the settlements that were to arise along the canal. This freshwater canal runs from Zakazik on the Nile east to Ismailia, and from there southeast, along the sea canal, to Suez; channel width 17 m on the surface, 8 m on the bottom; its depth on average is only 2¼ m, in some places even much less. Its discovery made the work easier, but still the mortality rate among workers was high. Workers were provided by the Egyptian government, but European workers also had to be used (in total, from 20 to 40 thousand people worked on construction).
In 1866, Ismail Pasha sent his trusted Nubar Bey to Constantinople to formalize in the proper manner with the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul Aziz, the fact of his accession by Ismail to the rights of the wali of Egypt; and also - confirmed the Egyptian concession for the gasket Suez Canal, designed to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Nubar managed to convince the Sultan of the need to allocate a fabulous sum for the construction of the canal.
Satisfied with the results of the visit of the Armenian Nubar Bey to the Sultan, Ismail Pasha instructed him (non-foreigner Christians were rarely trusted with this) to take into his own hands the completion of work on the Suez Canal. The technical difficulties facing the canal builders were enormous... Nubar Bey traveled to Paris to settle disputes between Egypt and the French Canal Company. The issue was submitted to arbitration by Emperor Napoleon III. It cost Egypt £4 million. Upon his return from Paris, Nubar Bey took the chair of minister public works and was awarded the title of pasha. And soon he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt.
The 200 million francs determined according to Lesseps's original project soon ran out, especially due to the enormous expenses on bribery at the courts of Said and Ismail, on widespread advertising in Europe, on the costs of representing Lesseps himself and other bigwigs of the company. It was necessary to make a new bond issue of 166,666,500 francs, then others, so that the total cost of the canal by 1872 reached 475 million (by 1892 - 576 million). In the six-year period in which Lesseps promised to complete the work, it was not possible to build the canal. The excavation work was carried out using forced labor from Egypt's poor (in the first stages) and took 11 years.
The northern section through the swamp and Lake Manzala was completed first, then the flat section to Lake Timsah. From here the excavation went to two huge depressions - the long-dried Gorky Lakes, the bottom of which was 9 meters below sea level. After filling the lakes, the builders moved to the end southern section.
The total length of the canal was about 173 km, including the length of the canal itself across the Isthmus of Suez 161 km, the sea canal along the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea - 9.2 km and the Gulf of Suez - about 3 km. The width of the channel along the water surface is 120-150 m, along the bottom - 45-60 m. The depth along the fairway was initially 12-13 m, then it was deepened to 20 m.
The canal officially opened for navigation on November 17, 1869. The opening of the Suez Canal was attended by the Empress of France Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III), the Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph I with the Minister-President of the Hungarian government Andrássy, a Dutch prince and princess, and a Prussian prince. Never before has Egypt known such celebrations and received so many distinguished European guests. The celebration lasted seven days and nights and cost Khedive Ismail 28 million gold francs. And only one point of the celebration program was not fulfilled: the famous Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi did not have time to finish the opera “Aida” commissioned for this occasion, the premiere of which was supposed to enrich the opening ceremony of the channel. Instead of the premiere, a large gala ball was held in Port Said.
The content of the article
SUEZ CANAL, one of the world's most important man-made waterways; crosses the Isthmus of Suez, stretching from Port Said (on the Mediterranean Sea) to the Gulf of Suez (on the Red Sea). The length of the canal, the main channel of which runs almost straight from north to south and separates the main part of the territory of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, is 168 km (including the 6 km length of the approach canals to its ports); The width of the water surface of the canal in some places reaches 169 m, and its depth is such that ships with a draft of more than 16 m can pass through it.
Canal route.
The canal crosses a low-lying area of sandy desert where the laying of its channel was favored by lakes Manzala, Timsakh, Bolshoye Gorkoye and Maloe Gorkoye. The water surface of both Bitter Lakes lies below sea level, but they had to be dredged because their depths were shallower than required for the canal. On the 38 km section from Port Said to El Kantara, the route passes through Lake Manzala, which is essentially a shallow lagoon of the Mediterranean Sea. The nature of the soil in the Suez Canal area made it easy and quick to carry out excavation work, and thanks to the flat terrain here - unlike, for example, the Isthmus of Panama - there was no need to build locks. Drinking water in the Isthmus of Suez region is supplied from the Nile through the Ismailia freshwater canal, which begins just north of Cairo. The Suez Canal Zone is connected to Cairo and the Nile Valley by a network of railways originating from the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Port Tawfik.
The first canals on the Isthmus of Suez.
The ancient Egyptians built a shipping canal from the Nile to the Red Sea ca. 1300 BC, during the reigns of Pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II. This canal, which was first dug as a channel for the flow of fresh water from the Nile to the area of Lake Timsah, began to be extended to Suez under Pharaoh Necho II ca. 600 BC and brought it to the Red Sea a century later. During the construction of the modern Suez Canal, part of this old channel was used to build the Ismailia freshwater canal. Under the Ptolemies, the old canal was maintained in working order, during the period of Byzantine rule it was abandoned, and then restored again under Amr, who conquered Egypt during the reign of Caliph Omar. Amr decided to connect the Nile to the Red Sea to supply Arabia with wheat and other food products from the Nile Valley. However, the canal, the construction of which Amr undertook, calling it “Khalij Amir al-mu"minin” (“canal of the Commander of the Faithful”), ceased to function after the 8th century AD.
At the end of the 15th century. The Venetians were studying the possibilities of building a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez, but their plans were not put into practice. At the beginning of the 19th century. Europeans mastered the route to India through Egypt: along the Nile to Cairo, and then by camel to Suez. The idea of building a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, which would help significantly reduce the cost of time and money, was then considered unrealistic, based on the conclusions of Leper, an engineer whom Napoleon commissioned to conduct research on the canal project. But Leper’s conclusions were erroneous due to the misconception he accepted on faith about the difference in the water surface levels of the Mediterranean and Red Seas (allegedly in the Mediterranean it was 9 m lower than in the Red).
Modern channel.
In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French consul in Egypt, received from Said Pasha, the ruler of Egypt, a concession to create the Universal Suez Canal Company (La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez). It was formed in 1858. Work on the construction of the canal began in April 1859, while at the same time a freshwater canal was being laid from Cairo to Ismailia. According to the original terms of this treaty, the Egyptian government was to receive 15% of the gross profits from shipping on the canal, and 99 years after the canal was commissioned, it was to become Egyptian property. Most of the shares were purchased by the French, the Turks and Said Pasha, who bought almost half of all shares. In 1875, Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain, bought 176,602 shares of the Company from Khedive Ismail for £4 million, giving Great Britain a 44% stake.
The opening of navigation along the canal took place on November 17, 1869. 29,725 thousand pounds sterling were spent on its construction. The initial depth of the fairway was 7.94 m, and its width along the bottom was 21 m; later, the canal was deepened so much that ships with a draft of up to 10.3 m began to pass through it. After the nationalization of the canal by Egypt (in 1956), work was carried out to further improve it, and in 1981 ships with a draft of up to 16.1 m began to pass through it.
The role of the channel in world trade.
Thanks to the Suez Canal, the length of the waterway between Western Europe and India was reduced by almost 8,000 km. In the northern direction, it transports mainly oil and petroleum products for Western Europe. Industrial products for the countries of Africa and Asia are transported in the southern direction.
International importance of the channel.
The importance of the canal was recognized by the leading powers of the world in the Constantinople Convention of 1888, which guaranteed the passage of ships of all countries through it in conditions of peace and war. The Turks allowed Italian ships to pass through the canal even during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911 (during the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878 the canal was closed to Russian ships). Serious problems on these issues did not arise during both world wars. However, after the establishment of the State of Israel (1948), Egypt detained ships traveling through the canal to or from Israel and confiscated their cargo. There were no military fortifications in the canal zone, but British troops had been in Egypt since 1882. Before the nationalization of the canal, its administration consisted mainly of the British and French. Then the Egyptians began to control the canal.
Look at the news I read this morning: Egyptian military foils terrorist attack on Suez Canal
Egyptian authorities reported that they managed to prevent a terrorist attack on the Suez Canal. The criminals were planning to attack the Panamanian container ship Cosco Asia to stop traffic along the waterway, Reuters reports.
The ship did not receive any damage; the military personnel sorted out the situation.
Officials did not say what type of attack the criminals were planning, but agency sources said they heard two explosions as the container ship passed through the canal.
Let's find out more about this object and why it attracts terrorists:
SUEZ CANAL, one of the world's most important man-made waterways; crosses the Isthmus of Suez, stretching from Port Said (on the Mediterranean Sea) to the Gulf of Suez (on the Red Sea). The length of this lockless canal, the main channel of which runs almost straight from north to south and separates the main part of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, is 168 km (including the 6 km length of the approach canals to its ports); The width of the water surface of the canal in some places reaches 169 m, and its depth is such that ships with a draft of more than 16 m can pass through it.
Canal route.
The Suez Canal Zone is considered a conditional border between two continents: Asia and Africa. The main ports of entry are Port Said from the Mediterranean Sea and Suez from the Red Sea. The Suez Canal runs along the Isthmus of Suez in its lowest and narrowest part, crossing a series of lakes and the Menzala Lagoon.
The canal crosses a low-lying area of sandy desert where the laying of its channel was favored by lakes Manzala, Timsakh, Bolshoye Gorkoye and Maloe Gorkoye. The water surface of both Bitter Lakes lies below sea level, but they had to be dredged because their depths were shallower than required for the canal. On the 38 km section from Port Said to El Kantara, the route passes through Lake Manzala, which is essentially a shallow lagoon of the Mediterranean Sea. The nature of the soil in the Suez Canal area made it easy and quick to carry out excavation work, and thanks to the flat terrain here - unlike, for example, the Isthmus of Panama - there was no need to build locks. Drinking water in the Isthmus of Suez region is supplied from the Nile through the Ismailia freshwater canal, which begins just north of Cairo. The Suez Canal Zone is connected to Cairo and the Nile Valley by a network of railways originating from the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Port Tawfik.
Port Said
The first canals on the Isthmus of Suez.
The idea of digging a canal across the Isthmus of Suez arose in ancient times. Ancient historians report that the Theban pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom era tried to build a canal connecting the right branch of the Nile with the Red Sea.
The ancient Egyptians built a shipping canal from the Nile to the Red Sea ca. 1300 BC, during the reigns of Pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II. This canal, which was first dug as a channel for the flow of fresh water from the Nile to the area of Lake Timsah, began to be extended to Suez under Pharaoh Necho II ca. 600 BC and brought it to the Red Sea a century later.
The expansion and improvement of the canal was carried out by order of the Persian king Darius I, who conquered Egypt, and subsequently by Ptolemy Philadelphus (first half of the 3rd century BC). At the end of the era of the pharaohs in Egypt, the canal fell into a state of decline. However, after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the canal was restored again in 642, but was filled in in 776 to channel trade through the main areas of the caliphate.
Drawing of the Suez Canal (1881)
Plans for the restoration of the canal, developed later (in 1569 by order of the vizier of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed Sokollu and by the French during Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition in 1798–1801), were not implemented.
During the construction of the modern Suez Canal, part of this old channel was used to build the Ismailia freshwater canal. Under the Ptolemies, the old canal was maintained in working order, during the period of Byzantine rule it was abandoned, and then restored again under Amr, who conquered Egypt during the reign of Caliph Omar. Amr decided to connect the Nile to the Red Sea to supply Arabia with wheat and other food products from the Nile Valley. However, the canal, the construction of which was undertaken by Amr, calling it “Khalij Amir al-mu’minin” (“canal of the Commander of the Faithful”), ceased to function after the 8th century. AD
At the end of the 15th century. The Venetians were studying the possibilities of building a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez, but their plans were not put into practice. At the beginning of the 19th century. Europeans mastered the route to India through Egypt: along the Nile to Cairo, and then by camel to Suez. The idea of building a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, which would help significantly reduce the cost of time and money.
Napoleon Bonaparte, while in Egypt on a military mission, also visited the site of the former majestic structure. The ardent nature of the Corsican was fired up with the idea of reviving such a grandiose object, but his army engineer Jacques Leper cooled the commander’s ardor with his calculations - they say the level of the Red Sea is 9.9 meters higher than the Mediterranean and if they are combined, it will flood the entire Nile Delta with Alexandria, Venice and Genoa. It was not possible to build a canal with locks at that time. The idea was considered not feasible. In addition, the political situation soon changed and Napoleon had no time to build a canal in the sands of Egypt. As it later turned out, the French engineer was incorrect in his calculations.
The idea of building the Suez Canal arose again in the second half of the 19th century. The world during this period was experiencing the era of colonial division. North Africa, the part of the continent closest to Europe, attracted the attention of the leading colonial powers - France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Egypt was the subject of rivalry between Britain and France.
The main opponent of the construction of the canal was Britain. At that time, she had the most powerful fleet in the world and controlled the sea route to India through the Cape Good Hope. And if the canal was opened, France, Spain, Holland and Germany could send their small-tonnage vessels through it, which would seriously compete with England in maritime trade.
Modern channel.
In the second half of the 19th century, another Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps, was able to organize the construction of the Suez Canal. The success of this venture lay in the personal connections, irrepressible energy, and adventurism of the French diplomat and entrepreneur. In 1833, while working as the French consul in Egypt, Lesseps met Bartholémy Enfantin, who infected him with the idea of building the Suez Canal. However, the then Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali reacted coolly to the grandiose undertaking. Lesseps continues his career in Egypt and becomes a mentor to the ruler's son. Between Ali Said (that was the name of the son of the Egyptian pasha) and the mentor, friendly and trusting relationships began, which in the future would play a primary role in the implementation of the grandiose plan.
Ferdinand de Lesseps
The plague epidemic forced the French diplomat to leave Egypt for a while and move to Europe, where he continued to work in the diplomatic field, and in 1837 he got married. In 1849, at the age of 44, Lesseps resigns, disillusioned with politics and his diplomatic career, and settles to live on his estate in Chene. After 4 years, two tragic events occur in the Frenchman’s life - one of his sons and his wife die. Staying in his estate becomes unbearable torment for Lesseps. And suddenly fate gives him another chance to return to active work. In 1854, his old friend Ali Said became the Khedive of Egypt, who called Ferdinand to his place. All the Frenchman’s thoughts and aspirations are now occupied only with the canal. Said Pasha, without much delay, gives the go-ahead for the construction of the canal and promises to help with cheap labor. All that remains is to find money to finance construction, draw up a project and resolve some diplomatic delays with the nominal ruler of Egypt - the Turkish Sultan.
Returning to his homeland, Ferdinand Lesseps contacts his old acquaintance Anfontaine, who all these many years with his like-minded people has been working on the project and estimate of the Suez Canal. The former diplomat manages to convince them to pass on their work, promising to include Enfontaine and his comrades among the founders of the channel in the future. Ferdinand never kept his promise.
The canal project is in his pocket and Ferdinand Lesseps rushes in search of money - the first thing he does is visit England. But on Foggy Albion They reacted coolly to this idea - the mistress of the seas was already receiving huge profits from trade with India and she did not need competitors in this matter. USA and others European countries They also did not support the French adventure. And then Ferdinand Lesseps takes a risky step - he begins the free sale of shares of the Suez Canal Company at 500 francs per security. A wide advertising campaign is being carried out in Europe; its organizer is also trying to play on the patriotism of the French, calling for them to beat England. But the financial tycoons did not dare to get involved in such a dubious undertaking. In England, Prussia and Austria, a ban on the sale of company shares was generally introduced. The UK is conducting anti-PR for the French adventurous project, calling it a soap bubble.
Suddenly, the French middle class - lawyers, officials, teachers, officers, merchants and moneylenders - believed in the success of this risky enterprise. The shares began to sell like hot cakes. A total of 400 thousand shares were sold, of which 52% were bought in France, and 44% were purchased by an old friend Said Pasha. In total, the company's share capital amounted to 200 million francs, or in terms of 3 billion modern dollars. The Suez Canal Company received huge benefits - the right to build and operate the canal for 99 years, tax exemption for 10 years, 75% of future profits. The remaining 15% of the profits went to Egypt, 10% went to the founders.
In 1854, the French diplomat and businessman Ferdinand Marie Lesseps, taking advantage of the growing influence of France in Egypt and personal connections, received a concession from the Egyptian ruler to build the Suez Canal on preferential terms. The construction of the canal was led by the Universal Suez Canal Company (La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez), created by Lesseps.
The company began financing the construction of the canal. Only the British, who benefited most from the fastest route to India, did not buy a single share, although the canal shortened the distance between London and Bombay by 7343 km. The British government did everything to prevent this project. It condemned it as physically impossible, too expensive and unprofitable, believing that the water would immediately be absorbed by the hot sands of the desert, and in Lesseps’ calculations there was a gross geodetic error, because the level of the Red Sea is 9 meters higher than the level of the Mediterranean, and the civilization of Europe will perish under water . Then this opinion changed to the idea that the channel would turn into a stinking puddle. Meanwhile, the British quickly laid the rails of the railway right next to the future canal.
The British extended the rails from Cairo to Suez in 1859.
Construction of the canal began in April 1859 and lasted more than 10 years and cost the lives of 120 thousand workers.
The main work on the Suez Canal was carried out by Egyptians, who were forcibly recruited at a rate of 60 thousand people per month. Many of them died from overwork and epidemics. It was only when labor-intensive operations were mechanized that workers from Europe began to arrive here. However, the work took place in difficult desert conditions, and drinking water was delivered many kilometers away on camels and donkeys.
Each person’s daily norm was two cubic meters of earth, which was pulled out from the bed of the future canal in gunny bags or baskets. The only thing that the advanced science of Europe gave the workers was the first version of the excavator, which the Europeans themselves looked at as if it were a miracle. On the Mediterranean Sea, where the canal began, Port Said literally arose out of nowhere. It is built on a pier that protects the canal from silt. The length of the pier is 7 km (this is the longest pier in the world). From there, 25,000 workers traveled south to work sites until a special fresh water canal was built by 1863, finally allowing camps to be set up along the entire route. The length of the finished canal was 163 km. A reserve bay was dug every 10 km.
Until a canal with drinking water was dug along the future route, the canal was laid from north to south, and only with the improvement of working conditions did it become possible to continue work in both directions. Although 25 thousand people were simultaneously working on this construction site, the work went on for many years, and all this time Lesseps personally supervised each site.
At the same time, a freshwater canal was being laid from Cairo to Ismailia.
Construction continued continuously for three years until Britain intervened. London put pressure on Istanbul, and the Turkish Sultan put pressure on Said Pasha. Everything stopped and the company was threatened with complete collapse.
And here personal connections again played a role. Lesseps's cousin Eugenie was married to the French emperor. Ferdinand Lesseps had previously wanted to enlist the support of Napoleon III, but he was not particularly willing to help. For the time being. But since the shareholders of the Suez Canal Company included thousands of French citizens, its collapse would lead to social upheaval in France. But this was not in the interests of the French emperor and he forced the Egyptian pasha to change his decision.
By 1863, the company built an auxiliary canal from the Nile to the city of Ismailia to supply fresh water. In the same 1863, Said Pasha dies and Ismail Pasha comes to power in Egypt, demanding that the terms of cooperation be reconsidered. In July 1864, an arbitration tribunal under the leadership of Napoleon III considered the case and decided that Egypt should pay compensation to the Suez Canal Company - 38 million was due for the abolition of forced labor of Egyptian fellahs, 16 million for the construction of a fresh water canal and 30 million for the seizure lands granted to the Suez Canal Company by the former ruler Said Pasha.
To further finance construction, several bond issues had to be issued. The total cost of the canal rose from 200 million francs at the start of construction to 475 million by 1872, reaching 576 million francs in 1892. It should be noted that the then French franc was backed by 0.29 grams of gold. At current gold prices (about $1,600 per troy ounce), a 19th-century French franc is equal to 15 21st-century American dollars. 
The opening of the Suez Canal took place on November 17, 1869 in Ismailia and was of international importance.
The canal has become a symbol of Egypt's intentions to take its rightful place in the world, a symbol modern country, located on the border between East and West. Ismail Pasha, who became the Khedive of Egypt after the death of Muhammad Said, invited all the crowned heads of the civilized world, artists and scientists to celebrate the event that changed the map of the world. Among the guests were the French Empress Eugenie, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, the Dutch prince and princess, the Prussian prince, writers Emile Zola, Théophile Gautier, Henrik Ibsen. Russia also did not remain indifferent to this important event. The celebrations were attended by Count Nikolai Ignatiev, Ambassador to Turkey, writer Vladimir Sollogub, artist Aivazovsky and other famous compatriots. For 6,000 guests, 500 cooks and 1,000 footmen were invited. 48 flag-decorated ships arrived at Port Said, and then this powerful flotilla moved through the canal. Lots of people from different countries crowded on the shore of Lake Timsah. At half past five a ship appeared under the French flag. From aboard the ship, the French Empress Eugenie and Ferdinand de Lesseps greeted the people who met them. "Eagle" is the first ship to sail through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
29,725 thousand pounds sterling were spent on its construction. The initial depth of the fairway was 7.94 m, and its width along the bottom was 21 m; later, the canal was deepened so much that ships with a draft of up to 10.3 m began to pass through it. After the nationalization of the canal by Egypt (in 1956), work was carried out to further improve it, and in 1981 ships with a draft of up to 16.1 m began to pass through it.
The enormous costs of constructing the canal complicated Egypt's economic situation.
According to the original terms of this treaty, the Egyptian government was to receive 15% of the gross profits from shipping on the canal, and 99 years after the canal was commissioned, it was to become Egyptian property. Most of the shares were purchased by the French, the Turks and Said Pasha, who bought almost half of all shares. In 1875, Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain, bought 176,602 shares of the Company from Khedive Ismail for £4 million, giving Great Britain a 44% stake.
In 1880, the Egyptian government was forced to sell its right to 15% of the profits from the Suez Canal. Egypt was excluded from managing the canal and sharing in the profits. After the occupation of Egypt by British troops in 1882, the canal became the main British military base in the Middle East. In 1888, a contract was concluded in Istanbul international convention on ensuring freedom of navigation through the Suez Canal.
The English light cruiser Euryalus passes the Sued Canal
The opening of the Suez Canal sharply escalated the Anglo-French struggle for Egypt, and the enormous costs of constructing the Suez Canal complicated the economic situation in Egypt.
Taking advantage of this, and the weakening of France after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, which forced it to cede a leading role in Egyptian affairs to Great Britain, the British government bought a controlling stake in the canal in 1875.
In 1876, joint Anglo-French control of Egyptian finances was established. However, during the Egyptian crisis of 1881–1882, caused by the rise of the patriotic movement in Egypt (the Arabi Pasha movement), Great Britain managed to push France into the background.
As a result of a military expedition in July–September 1882, Egypt found itself occupied by the British and became the main British military-strategic base in the Middle East.
Six years later, an international convention was concluded in Istanbul to ensure freedom of navigation along the Suez Canal, which is still the main document regulating navigation along the canal.
Great Britain established a protectorate over Egypt in 1914. In 1919–1921, the protectorate was abolished and Egypt was declared an independent kingdom.
However, the economy, foreign and domestic policies were controlled by Great Britain, and British troops were stationed in the country.
The July Revolution of 1952, organized by the Free Officers group led by Gamil Abdel Nasser, expelled the royal dynasty from the country. In 1953, Egypt was declared a republic. In 1956, British troops were withdrawn from Egypt and the Suez Canal was nationalized.
The nationalization of the canal served as a pretext for the Anglo-Franco-Israeli aggression against Egypt at the end of October 1956. The Suez Canal suffered significant damage, traffic along it was interrupted and resumed only on April 24, 1957, after the completion of the canal cleaning work.
As a result of the Arab-Israeli "Six Day War" of 1967, navigation through the Suez Canal was again interrupted, as the canal zone actually turned into a front line separating Egyptian and Israeli troops, and during the October 1973 war, into an area of active military operations.
The annual damage caused by inaction to the Suez Canal was estimated at 4-5 billion dollars.
In 1974, after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Suez Canal zone, Egypt began clearing, restoring and reconstructing the canal. On June 5, 1975, the Suez Canal was reopened to navigation.
In 1981, the first stage of the canal reconstruction project was completed, which made it possible to carry through it tankers with a deadweight of up to 150 thousand tons (on completion of the second stage - up to 250 thousand tons) and cargo ships with a deadweight of up to 370 thousand tons.
In 2005, a new reconstruction of the Suez Canal began. The reconstruction plan includes deepening the channel, which will allow more than 90% of the existing international merchant fleet to pass through the canal. Since 2010, supertankers with a displacement of up to 360 thousand tons will be able to navigate the canal. Today, the length of the canal itself is 162.25 km, with sea approaches from Port Said to Port Taufiq - 190.25 km. Width at a depth of 11 meters is 200–210 m. Depth along the fairway is 22.5 m.
Currently about 10% of all world maritime transport carried out through the Suez Canal. On average, 48 ships pass through the Suez Canal per day, and the average transit time through the canal is about 14 hours.
According to existing rules, ships from all countries that are not at war with Egypt can pass through Suez. Operating rules prohibit the appearance of only ships with nuclear power plants.
Today, the Suez Canal is the main budget-generating project in Egypt. According to a number of experts, the canal provides the country with more funds than oil production, and much more than the rapidly developing tourism infrastructure allows today.
The monthly volume of fees for passage through the canal is $372 million.
In the 2007–2008 fiscal year, the Suez Canal brought Egypt more than $5 billion, which was a record figure in the history of the canal.
In the 2008–2009 fiscal year, shipping traffic on the Suez Canal fell by 8.2%, and Egypt's revenue from operating the canal fell by 7.2%. Experts explain this by the consequences of the global financial crisis, as well as by the actions of pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The role of the channel in world trade.
Thanks to the Suez Canal, the length of the waterway between Western Europe and India was reduced by almost 8,000 km. In the northern direction, it transports mainly oil and petroleum products for Western Europe. Industrial products for the countries of Africa and Asia are transported in the southern direction.
The Gulf of Suez separates the Sinai Peninsula from Africa, the Suez Canal opens the shortest route from Europe to the countries of Asia and East Africa.
The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world. This waterway begins in Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, passes through the Suez Canal and goes to the Indian Ocean, to the countries of Asia and Africa. The canal runs between dry and sparsely populated Sinai Peninsula and the Eastern Desert, its largest ports are and.
The Gulf of Suez of the Red Sea has an elongated shape and is one of three branches formed as a result of the movement of the earth's crust 20 million years ago, when the Arabian Peninsula broke away from Africa. The other branches are the Gulf itself and the Gulf of Aqaba, located to the east.
The climate here is very hot, there are no permanent rivers, and only dry wadi beds abut the bay, not bringing a drop of water for years. Therefore, evaporation in the bay is very high, and salinity is higher than in many other marine areas of the World Ocean. On the other hand, all year round the water in the bay is very warm and unusually clear (visibility reaches 200 m), which has created conditions for the development of coral reefs.
Story
Throughout the history of human civilization, the Gulf of Suez area was the most important center of world trade, for the possession of which the greatest empires of antiquity fought.
People inhabited the coast of the bay 30 thousand years ago. 6 thousand years ago the great Egyptian culture was born here. A thousand years ago, the entire territory was occupied by Arab tribes. For some time, the Turks established the Ottoman Empire here, but then left, leaving these lands to the Arabs.
In the 20th century small coastal fishing villages turned into centers of thriving resorts, where millions of tourists poured in, appreciating the beauty and climate of the Gulf of Suez.
Tourism is not the only wealth of the bay: at the entrance to it, in the Gems area, on the western shore, there are rich deposits of oil and natural gas.
In the middle of the Gulf of Suez and along the Isthmus of Suez there is a conventional border between Africa and Asia.
In the northern part of the Gulf is the Egyptian city of Suez, where the navigable Suez Canal begins, connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.
The Suez Canal (Qana al-Suwais in Arabic) has significantly shortened the route for ships that previously had to go around the whole of Africa to get to the Indian Ocean. The canal crosses the Isthmus of Suez at its lowest and narrowest part, passing several lakes along the way.
The main difference between the Suez Canal and similar ones is that there is a flat terrain and there are no locks on the canal, and sea water moves freely on it.
Attempts to build a canal between the Mediterranean and Red Seas were made in ancient times. Around 1300 BC. BC, during the reign of pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II, the Pharaonic Canal was built in Ancient Egypt, connecting the Nile River and the Red Sea.
As it declines Ancient Egypt the channel was destroyed. In the 3rd century. BC e., under the Egyptian king Ptolemy II, the canal was restored, and during Ancient Rome was called "Trajan's River" - in honor of the Roman emperor.
In 642, the Arabs conquered Egypt and hastened to restore the strategically important canal, calling it "Khalij Amir El-Mu'minin", or the canal of the Commander of the Faithful. However, in 776 the Arabs themselves filled it up in order to direct trade through the main regions of the Arab Caliphate. There were plans to restore the canal at the end of the 15th century. Venetians, in the middle of the 16th century. under the Turks, in the Ottoman Empire, and also at the end of the 18th century. during the Egyptian expedition of French troops under the command of Napoleon, but these plans were not destined to come true.
It was possible to build the canal only in the second half of the 19th century.
In 1854, the French diplomat and businessman Ferdinand de Lesseps managed - with incredible efforts - to obtain from the Egyptian ruler Said Pasha a concession to build a canal between the Gulf of Suez of the Red Sea and the Pelusian Gulf of the Mediterranean Sea for a period of 99 years from the date the canal began operating. After this period, the canal was to become the property of Egypt.
Construction of the canal began on April 25, 1859. A huge amount of work was done. The construction of the canal was facilitated by the dry lakes located along its route; they were below sea level, which made construction easier. Despite this, a colossal amount of soil had to be removed. The work was carried out by hand, under the rays of the sun, in a waterless desert. Egyptian fellahs worked on the construction, whom local authorities brought here at a rate of 60 thousand people a month, with a population of only 4 million people in Egypt. It is not surprising that about 120 thousand people died from hard work and epidemics.
Lesseps failed to meet the six-year deadline, as stipulated in the contract: the work took 11 years.
The grand opening of the Suez Canal took place on November 17, 1869. For this event, as well as for the opening of the new theater in Cairo, the Italian composer G. Verdi, commissioned by the Egyptian khedive, wrote the opera “Aida”.
The initial depth of the canal fairway was 7.94 m, width - 21 m.
In 1875, under pressure from international debts, the Egyptian government was forced to cede its share of the canal to the British. Egypt lost control of the canal and profits. England became the owner of the channel. During the First and Second World Wars, Great Britain controlled all shipping through the canal. Egyptian ships paid the same fees as foreign ships to navigate the canal and could not use the canal for domestic communications.
On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the channel. Great Britain, France and the United States first tried to "internationalize" the channel. When these attempts failed, British, French and Israeli troops began the so-called Suez War of 1956, which lasted a week. The canal was partially destroyed, but was subsequently restored by Egypt with the help of its allies.
After the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War of 1967, the canal was closed again. This happened again during the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. After the end of the war, the canal had to be cleared of mines for a long time by the USSR navy.
Egypt is constantly working to deepen the canal. Now the canal allows the passage of loaded ships with a draft of up to 20.1 m, a displacement of up to 240 thousand tons, a height of up to 68 m and a width of up to 77.5 m.
The Suez Canal has only one fairway, but to facilitate the passage of ships through it, there are several sections where ships disperse. Currently, about 8% of the world's shipping traffic passes through the canal. On average, 48 ships pass through the canal per day, and traffic along the canal is one-way.
The operation of the Suez Canal is Egypt's second largest source of income after tourism.
There are major Egyptian cities along the canal route: Port Said (with Port Fuad) on the Mediterranean Sea, Ismailia - approximately in the middle, and Suez (with Port Tawfik) on the Red Sea.
The attractions of the Suez Canal are the Ahmed Hamdi road tunnel crossing it under the bottom of the canal, the cable-stayed road bridge "Shohada 25 January", a unique power line with masts 221 m high and the El Ferdan railway bridge.
general information
Gulf of Suez
Location: northwestern section of the Red Sea, between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula (Asia).
Countries facing the Gulf: Arab Republic of Egypt.
Language: Arabic.
Currency unit: Egyptian pound.
The most important port: Suez. 478,553 people (2004).
Suez poop Location: between Africa and the Sinai Peninsula (Asia).
Pools: Indian and Atlantic oceans.
The most important ports (population, cargo turnover): Suez (300 million tons), Port Said (603,787 people/over 1 million tons, 2010), Ismailia (750,000 people, 2010), Port Fuad (560,000 people, 2003) .
Largest lakes: Great Bitter Lake, Little Bitter Lake, Manzala, Timsah (Crocodile), Bala.
Numbers
Gulf of Suez
Length: 314 km.
Maximum width: 32 km.
Average depth: 40 m.
Maximum depth: 70 m.
Tides: semidiurnal, height - 1.8 m.
Salinity: 40-42%o.
Average annual water temperature: up to 30°C.
Difference in water level during currents: from 0.5 m to 1 m.
Suez Canal (status as of 2010).
Length: 193.25 km.
Depth: 24 m.
Width: 205 m.
Approach areas: northern - 22 km, the canal itself - 162.25 km. southern - 9 km.
Channel travel time: around 2 p.m.
Vessel speed depending on tonnage and category: 11-16 km/h.
Economy
Minerals (Gulf of Suez): oil and natural gas.
Operation of poop:$5.2 billion (2011).
■ Ahmed Hamdi Road Tunnel.
■ Road bridge “Shohada 25 January”.
■ Power line.
■ El Ferdan Railway Bridge.
■ Coral reefs of the Gulf of Suez.
Curious facts
■ During the construction of the modern Suez Canal, part of the old bed of the Pharaonic Canal was used to construct the Ismailia freshwater canal.■ In the XVIII-XIX centuries. the idea of building a canal across the Isthmus of Suez was considered impossible for political and technical reasons. The French engineer Jacques Leper, who worked on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte, argued that the water level in the Mediterranean Sea was 9.9 m lower than in the Red Sea, and in those days they did not yet know how to build large locks. In addition, Emperor Napoleon had already abandoned his plans to conquer Egypt.
■ Because there are no locks on the Suez Canal, seawater north of the Great Bitter Lake flows north in the winter and south in the summer.
■ On the 38-kilometer stretch from Port Said to El Kantara, the canal route passes through Lake Manzala, which is actually a shallow lagoon of the Mediterranean Sea.
■ Design work in the canal zone was carried out by French and Italian specialists, and the canal was built by the General Suez Canal Company, which belonged to Lesseps, although legally it was considered Egyptian. The Egyptian government got 44% of the shares, France - 53%, and other participants - 3%.
■ In 1863, the Egyptian Khedive (ruler) Ismail Pasha banned the use of forced labor in the construction of the Suez Canal. But Ferdinand de Lesseps managed to get Egypt to pay penalties in the huge amount of 84 million francs as reimbursement of costs.
■ The Suez Canal significantly reduced the duration of sea voyages: if the route from Marseille (France) to Bombay (India) around Africa was 16.7 thousand km, then through the Suez Canal it was 7.3 thousand km, and from Odessa to Vladivostok - instead 25.6 thousand km total 14.8 thousand km.
■ The construction of the Suez Canal used 1,600 camels to carry water to workers until a freshwater canal from the Nile was built in 1863.
