The Suez Canal is a 118 mile maritime canal in Egypt between Suez on the Red Sea and Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea. The canal allows two-way north-south water transport without circumnavigating Africa. Passage through the canal is operated on a convoy system which is timed so that the convoys in each direction pass each other at the Great Bitter Lake. Unlike the Panama Canal there are no locks so the convoy will be continuous. Ships are charged according to size, purpose, and weight. The average fee is in the neighborhood of US$205,600. Average ships per day is only 50.
The Suez was closed during the 6-Day War of 1967 when several vessels were sunk to block shipping lanes. It didn’t reopen until June 1975. Many military vehicles have been left to rust on the sandy beaches.
The view from our veranda is the dry sandy desert side. There are cities that could be seen on the other side of the canal.
The picture above is a World War II Memorial.
This is called the “Friendship Bridge”. Egypt and Japan built it. Japan paid 60% and Egypt 40% of the cost to build it.
I counted about thirty trucks and cars waiting for their turn to go on the ferry.
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