Day 89 - Suez Canal, Egypt

Saturday April 7th, 2012

Several years ago we took  a cruise through the Panama Canal, and I was disappointed in it.  Cruising through the Suez Canal, on the other hand exceeded our expectations.  Construction was begun in 1869.  Designed by Count Ferdinand Delessups, this canal eliminated 35 days of sailing around Africa which had a huge economic effect for shipping.  There is only 1 meter difference between the two seas it connects: The Mediterranean and the Red Seas.    The length of the canal is about 175 km and it takes a day to transit it.  The construction made use of two natural lakes, that not only made the construction easier, but also is used as holding areas for the ships crossing from the north and south.  An average of 50 ships transit every day.  Our ship led the north bound convoy, and we could see a lot of freighters behind us.  As we reached the first Great Bitter Lake there were  many southbound freighters waiting for our convoy to go through, so they could proceed.  

 Surrounded by desert, the climate is unbelievably hot.  This became very apparent as we passed into the Mediterranean when the air temperature drop suddenly and noticeably.  We had all been sitting on the lower promenade deck all day, and we were driven in all at once by the cold.  We went from the 90's to the 60's in a matter of minutes.  As we went through the canal, you could see the effect of the great Nile river though, whose delta provides fertile plains on the African side and therefore lush vegetation.  Across the canal, it is bleak sand.  One of the main sights was The Suez Canal Bridge, built by the Japanese.  We also passed an under canal tunnel.  Along the way we saw oil rigs, and small boats with men fishing, and a group of men running - not sure who they were.  There was also a war memorial made to simulate an AK47 (pictured below). 

All in all, it was a wonderful adventure to just float leisurely north, passing Egyptian military posts every so often.