April 20, 2018 – Suez, Canal

The Suez Canal was completed in 1869 after ten years of construction. It is an artificial sea-level waterway running north to south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea for a length of 101 miles. The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is one of the world's most heavily used shipping lanes. ​​ The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world.

It is a sea level Canal and the height of water level differs slightly and the extreme tidal range is 65 cm in the north and 1.9 m in the south. The banks of the Canal are protected against the wash and waves, generated by the transit of ships, by revetments of hard stones and steel sheet piles corresponding to the nature of soil in every area. 

 In August 2014, construction was launched to expand and widen the Ballah Bypass for 35 km (22 mi) to speed the canal's transit time. The expansion was planned to double the capacity of the Suez Canal from 49 to 97 ships a day. At a cost of $8.4 billion, this project was funded with interest-bearing investment certificates issued exclusively to Egyptian entities and individuals. The "New Suez Canal", as the expansion was dubbed, was opened with great fanfare in a ceremony on August 6, 2015.

We had been through the Suez in early 2015 when it was still one way, but during the night. These photos were taken in the canal at the southern end where it is not two ways. The green things sticking out from shore are floating platforms that they can use transport things across the canal, like tanks.

 And these are pictures of where there are two canals running side by side. Really not a lot going on as we went up it. The disappointing thing is that we had no commentary from the ship that would have told us what we were seeing.