The Suez Canal is one of the most
important waterways in the world. The 101-mile waterway connects
the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The Suez Canal is often called
the "crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia" because the
route is used to transport goods to and from all three continents.
The idea of connecting the Mediterranean
Sea to the Red Sea is as old as the pharaohs. The first canal in
the region seems to have been dug about 1850 BC, but many attempts
to complete the task failed. Desert winds blew into the canal and
clogged it. About 150 years ago, Great Britain had a thriving trade
with India, but without a canal, British ships had to make a long
journey around the entire continent of Africa. A canal through the
Isthmus of Suez would cut the journey by 6,000 miles. An isthmus
is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger pieces of land.
A French company led by Ferdinand
deLesseps made a deal with Egypt to build the Suez Canal. After
ten years of work, the canal opened in 1869. The Egyptian ruler,
Ismail, celebrated by building a huge palace in Cairo. Ismail treated
royalty from around the world to a celebration in honor of the new
canal. The heavy spending for the celebration came at a time when
the price of Egyptian cotton plunged. Egypt had gone into debt to
pay for the Suez Canal. Ismail took out loans from European banks,
but he was unable to repay them. Egypt was forced to sell the canal
to Great Britain. Soon after, the British sent soldiers into Egypt,
saying they were concerned for their property. For many years, the
English controlled the Suez Canal.
In 1956, Egyptian president Gamal
Abdel Nasser seized the canal and declared it to be the property
of the Egyptian people. Egypt fought three bitter wars with Israel
during this period, and denied Israel the use of the waterway. Egypt
and Israel agreed to a peace treaty in 1979, and since then the
Suez Canal has been open to every nation.
yptian cotton plunged. Egypt had gone into debt to pay for the
Suez Canal. Ismail took out loans from European banks, but he was
unable to repay
them. Egypt was forced to sell the canal to Great Britain. The British
sent soldiers into Egypt in 1882, saying they were concerned for
their property.
In 1956, Egyptian president Gamal
Abdel Nasser seized the canal and declared it to be the property
of the Egyptian people. Britain France, and Isreal invaded Egypt,
but the United Nations ord
ered
them to leave and decreed the Suez Canal to be the property of Egypt.
The canal closed for eight years
in 1967 after Egypt lost a disastrous six-day war with Israel. After
the war, Israel controlled the Sinai penisula, which includes the
east bank of the canal. The canal reopened in 1975 after tensions
cooled. Egypt and Israel agreed to a peace treaty in four years
later. Today the Suez Canal is open to every nation.
The
Suez Canal 
