Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a man-made waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. It enables a more direct route for shipping between Europe and Asia, effectively allowing for passage from the North Atlantic to the Indian Ocean without having to circumnavigate the African continent. The waterway is vital for international trade and, as a result, has been at the center of conflict since it opened in 1869.

The Suez Canal stretches 120 miles from Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt southward to the city of Suez (located on the northern shores of the Gulf of Suez). The canal separates the bulk of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula. It took 10 years to build, and was officially opened on November 17, 1869.

Owned and operated by the Suez Canal Authority, the Suez Canal’s use is intended to be open to ships of all countries, be it for purposes of commerce or war—though that hasn’t always been the case.

Interest in a marine route connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea dates back to ancient times. A series of small canals connecting the Nile River (and, thus, by extension, the Mediterranean) to the Red Sea were in use as early as 2000 B.C.

However, a direct connection between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea was considered impossible over concerns that they sat at distinct levels of altitude.

Therefore, various overland routes—using horse-drawn vehicles and, later, trains—were employed, most notably by Great Britain, which conducted significant trade with its colonies in present-day India and Pakistan. The idea of a large canal providing a direct route between the two bodies of water was first discussed in the 1830s, thanks to the work of French explorer and engineer Linant de Bellefonds, who specialized in Egypt.

Bellefonds performed a survey of the Isthmus of Suez and confirmed that the Mediterranean and Red seas were, contrary to popular belief, at the same level of altitude. This meant a canal without locks could be built, making construction significantly easier.

By the 1850s, seeing an opportunity for Egypt and the Ottoman Empire, which governed the country at the time, Khedive Said Pasha (who oversaw Egypt and the Sudan for the Ottomans) had granted French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps permission to create a company to construct a canal. That company eventually became known as the Suez Canal Company, and it was given a 99-year lease over the waterway and surrounding area.

Lesseps’ first action was to create the Commission Internationale pour le percement de l’isthme des Suez—or International Commission for the Piercing of the Isthmus of Suez. The commission was made up of 13 experts from seven countries, including, most notably, Alois Negrelli, a leading civil engineer.

Negrelli effectively built upon the work of Bellefonds and his original survey of the region and took a leading role in developing the architectural plans for the Suez Canal. The commission’s final report was completed in 1856; two years later, the Suez Canal Company was formally established.

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