Today I was up and out before 6 a.m. to see us enter the Suez Canal. It is now 2:15 and we are still cruising through.
It is a 163 kilometer canal which passes through Egypt joining Suez on the Red Sea and Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea. Since there is no sea level difference between these two bodies of water there are no locks. The banks are very close together and for the most part there is one way traffic. There are only two places where it is sufficiently wide for ships to pass each other – Great Bitter Lake and another man made location. On the west side of the canal, is the continent of Africa and on the east is Asia. The west coast is more populated and there is a lot of agriculture going on. The east is more desert-like and barren for the most part.
Some 25,000ships pass through each year. No private ships are allowed. We were docked just south of the canal overnight awaiting our turn to pass through. Because of our speed, we were the first to go this morning. At one point at Great bitter Lake, I counted 30 ships awaiting their turn to pass through.
Along the banks on both sides, at regular and short intervals, there were soldiers with rifles standing guard.
Sorry I don’t have better pictures !
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