The Suez Canal connects the sea. Suez Canal is. Ismailia city on the Suez Canal
Suez Canal very unique. The water in it is level with the level of the shore, so the canal gives the impression of a gigantic ditch filled to the brim. It seems that the slightest wave - and the water will splash out over the edge onto the coastal sand. It is very interesting to watch large ocean ships passing through the canal: it seems that they are walking straight through the desert...
The idea of digging a cable across the Isthmus of Suez arose in ancient times. Ancient historians, in particular Strabo and Pliny the Elder, report that the Theban pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom era tried to build a canal connecting the right branch of the Nile with the Red Sea. The first reliable historical evidence of the connection of the Mediterranean and Red Seas by a canal dates back to the reign of Pharaoh Necho II (late 7th - early 6th century BC).
The expansion and improvement of the canal was carried out by order of the Persian king Darius I, who conquered Egypt, and subsequently by Ptolemy Philadelphus (first half of the 3rd century BC). However, in 767, the cable system connecting the Nile with the Red Sea was destroyed by order of the Arab caliph al-Mansur. Since then, no work has been carried out to restore this ancient trade route.
The prerequisites for implementing a technically complex and labor-intensive project appeared only in modern times. The construction of the Suez Canal is associated with the name of Ferdinand de Lecceps, the French consul in Alexandria in 1832-1833. and consul in Cairo in 1833-1837. Having conceived this grandiose enterprise, Lesseps established friendly contacts with the Khedive of Egypt, Muhammad Ali. However, Lesseps was never able to convince either Ali or his successor, Khedive Abbas I, of the need to build a canal. However, in the end, Lesseps’s perseverance was rewarded: on November 30, 1854, he received the desired firman from the hands of Abbas I’s successor, Khedive Said ( decree) granting him a concession for the construction of the Suez Canal. At the same time, Lesseps himself was named in the text of the firman with the words “our friend.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Egypt provided the General Company of the Suez Maritime Cable, headed by Lesseps, with the right to build and operate the cable for a period of 99 years. At the same time, 75% of the income from operation went to the General Company, 15% to the Egyptian government, and 10% to the founders of the company. For 10 years the company was completely exempt from paying taxes. and then obliged to pay only 10% of taxes.
The company's initial capital was 200 million francs, divided into 400 thousand shares of 500 francs each. The largest number of shares was acquired by France -207,111. England, Austria. Russia and the United States did not purchase a single share, but they were left with 85,506 shares. In order to support the company, Khedive Said bought the remaining 177,642 shares, thus concentrating almost 44% of all shares in his hands.
French contractors Linnan de Bellefond and Mougel drew up the technical design for the Suez Canal route. Its laying took place on April 25, 1859. On this day, Lesseps and members of the Company Council arrived at the place where the city of Port Said, named after Khedive Said, soon grew. After short speech dedicated to the significant event, Lesseps personally drew the first furrow along the line that marked the contour of the canal.
From 20 to 40 thousand workers were simultaneously employed in the construction of the canal. Lesseps was able to provide construction with labor only by getting Khedive Said to issue a firman on the forced mobilization of peasants. Village elders were ordered to round up residents of nearby villages for construction. Due to unbearable working conditions during the construction of the Suez Canal, according to some estimates, up to 120 thousand Egyptians died.
During the first period of excavation, almost everything was done by hand. The loose soil did not allow soil to be transported in wheelbarrows, and it was often necessary to lift the wheelbarrow and carry it by hand to the unloading site. The difficulties were compounded by the fact that the area chosen for the rope was damp and swampy. Even a shallow trench dug to mark the bed of the future canal was filled with water within an hour. Then the workers lined up in a chain across the constantly deepening riverbed, from one bank to the other. Tem. whoever was in the center, the water reached the waist. Having lifted a lump of earth from the bottom of the trench with a shovel, they passed it along the entire chain. At the edge, the earth was put into canvas bags. Having filled the bag, the worker climbed up the slope and dumped the earth there.
Only at the final stage of construction were steam engines used. The huge volume of excavation work required the improvement of earth-moving equipment. In particular, gigantic dredgers, conveyors, excavators, and cargo longboats with lifting devices were created specifically for the construction of the Suez Canal. In 1863, mechanical repair shops were opened in Port Said.
The final cost of the canal was 560 million francs, i.e. almost tripled the original estimates. At the same time, Egypt assumed more than 60% of the financial costs.
In March 1869, the waters of the Mediterranean Sea poured into the Bitter Lakes lying on the canal route, and six months later, on November 15, the grand opening of the canal took place.
Numerous Turkish, Egyptian, Austrian, French, Russian, Italian, Swedish, Danish, Spanish frigates, yachts, mail and passenger ships lined up in the harbor of Port Said on both sides of the wide four hundred meter canal. The fresh sea breeze fluttered colorful flags and pennants. Music thundered, the air trembled with the roar of fireworks. The opening of the canal was attended by the French Empress Eugenie, Prince Murat, Viceroy of Egypt Khedive Ismail, Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph, Crown Prince of Prussia, Prince Henry of the Netherlands, Prince Ludwig of Hesse, General Banquo - Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate , leader of the Sahrawi Rif Republic Abdel Kader, ambassadors of a number of European powers, including the Russian ambassador in Constantinople N.P. Ignatiev, who arrived in Port Said on the Yakhont clipper. Among the guests of honor invited to the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal were the directors of the Russian Society of Shipping and Trade (ROPiT) N.M. Chikhachev and N.N. Sushchev, as well as the artist I.K. Aivazovsky and writer V.A. Sollogub.
There were legends about the pomp with which the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal was arranged. Composer Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned especially for the festivities to perform an opera on an Egyptian theme, “Aida.” However, Verdi did not have time to finish the opera (he completed work on it only in 1871), and in the Cairo Opera House, the construction of which was also dedicated to this occasion, Il Trovatore was staged instead.
At 3 o'clock in the afternoon on November 16, all the invitees gathered on the shore. Behind the flower-decorated triumphal arch, there was a view of three luxurious pavilions built on a sandbank. The middle one was intended for guests of honor; on the left there was a blue pavilion for Christian services, on the right there was a green pavilion for Muslim services. After the ceremonial speeches, a parade of Khedive Ismail's guards took place, and in the evening a large fireworks display was arranged. The people rejoiced. Only the main hero of the occasion, Lesseps, was tearing his hair out of despair: they had just brought him an emergency telegram: “Everything is lost - the steamer, making a test passage along the canal, ran aground.”
The meeting went on all night. It turned out that in a terrible hurry they did not have time to complete the work on deepening the main channel of the canal, and instead of the envisaged 8 m depth in many places it turned out to be much less. This jeopardized the passage of ships with deep draft. Most of the meeting participants were inclined to postpone the opening ceremony. And at this critical moment, only Lesseps was able to keep his cool. At his insistence, a strong-willed decision was made: to open the rope and let some ships of small displacement through.
At 8:15 a.m. on November 17, the yacht of the French Empress “Aigle” moved across the rope. Behind it is the frigate of the British ambassador, and then a string of various ships. The fairway was marked with red buoys. At about 8 o'clock in the evening, not far from Ismailia, the caravan had to anchor: the steamship Pelusium ran aground and blocked the path for the rest of the ships. Then new complications arose: it turned out that in several places the rope was almost twice as small as the planned 8 m. Nevertheless, the first 48 ships passed through the Suez Canal.
Within a few years after the opening of the canal, it became clear that its construction had revolutionized international shipping. Exceptionally profitable geographical position The canal led to a significant reduction in the distance between Europe and the eastern countries. In particular, the route from Trieste to Bombay is 37 days shorter, from Genoa - by 32, from Marseille - by 31, from Bordeaux, London or Hamburg - by 24. Compared to the roundabout route around Africa, the Suez Canal provides fuel savings of 25 to 50%. Today, 15% of world trade is carried through the cable, 97% of all dry cargo ships in the world and 27% of all oil tankers pass through it. Thanks to the cable, the eastern Mediterranean became one of the busiest areas of international trade.
The eight-year inactivity of the rope (1967-1975) caused damage to world trade estimated at approximately 12-15 billion dollars. Navigation along the Suez Cable resumed on June 5, 1975. This was preceded by a lengthy clearing of mines from the canal.
Currently, three caravans of 60-80 ships pass along the Suez cable every day. Revenues from the operation of the canal constitute one of the main profitable items in the Egyptian national budget. The number of ships passing along the rope is constantly growing, since this sea route continues to be cheaper than the route around the Cape of Good Hope.
In 1978-1985. the rope has been modernized. Its width was increased by 1.5 times and the fairway was deepened by approximately 45%. Currently, the rope can accommodate ships with a draft of up to 53 feet and a displacement of up to 150 thousand tons, constituting about 50% of the world's merchant fleet, as well as tankers with a displacement of up to 270 thousand tons with a full load.
On October 25, 1980, traffic was opened along the road tunnel running under the Suez Cable. Ahmed Hamdi, named after the Egyptian general who died during the 1973 war. This tunnel is located 17 km north of Suez. Its length is 1640 m.
Look at the news I read this morning: Egyptian military foils terrorist attack on Suez Canal
Egyptian authorities reported that they managed to prevent a terrorist attack on the Suez Canal. The criminals were planning to attack the Panamanian container ship Cosco Asia to stop traffic along the waterway, Reuters reports.
The ship did not receive any damage; the military personnel sorted out the situation.
Officials did not say what type of attack the criminals were planning, but agency sources said they heard two explosions as the container ship passed through the canal.
Let's find out more about this object and why it attracts terrorists:
SUEZ CANAL, one of the world's most important man-made waterways; crosses the Isthmus of Suez, stretching from Port Said (on the Mediterranean Sea) to the Gulf of Suez (on the Red Sea). The length of this lockless canal, the main channel of which runs almost straight from north to south and separates the main part of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, is 168 km (including the 6 km length of the approach canals to its ports); The width of the water surface of the canal in some places reaches 169 m, and its depth is such that ships with a draft of more than 16 m can pass through it.
Canal route.
The Suez Canal Zone is considered a conditional border between two continents: Asia and Africa. The main ports of entry are Port Said from the Mediterranean Sea and Suez from the Red Sea. The Suez Canal runs along the Isthmus of Suez in its lowest and narrowest part, crossing a series of lakes and the Menzala Lagoon.
The canal crosses a low-lying area of sandy desert where the laying of its channel was favored by lakes Manzala, Timsakh, Bolshoye Gorkoye and Maloe Gorkoye. water surface Both Bitter Lakes lie below sea level, but they had to be dredged because their depths were shallower than required for the canal. On the 38 km section from Port Said to El Kantara, the route passes through Lake Manzala, which is essentially a shallow lagoon of the Mediterranean Sea. The nature of the soil in the Suez Canal area made it easy and quick to carry out excavation work, and thanks to the flat terrain here - unlike, for example, the Isthmus of Panama - there was no need to build locks. Drinking water in the Isthmus of Suez region is supplied from the Nile through the Ismailia freshwater canal, which begins just north of Cairo. The Suez Canal Zone is connected to Cairo and the Nile Valley by a network of railways originating from the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Port Tawfik.
Port Said
The first canals on the Isthmus of Suez.
The idea of digging a canal across the Isthmus of Suez arose in ancient times. Ancient historians report that the Theban pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom era tried to build a canal connecting the right branch of the Nile with the Red Sea.
The ancient Egyptians built a shipping canal from the Nile to the Red Sea ca. 1300 BC, during the reigns of Pharaohs Seti I and Ramesses II. This canal, which was first dug as a channel for the flow of fresh water from the Nile to the area of Lake Timsah, began to be extended to Suez under Pharaoh Necho II ca. 600 BC and brought it to the Red Sea a century later.
The expansion and improvement of the canal was carried out by order of the Persian king Darius I, who conquered Egypt, and subsequently by Ptolemy Philadelphus (first half of the 3rd century BC). At the end of the era of the pharaohs in Egypt, the canal fell into a state of decline. However, after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the canal was restored again in 642, but was filled in in 776 to channel trade through the main areas of the caliphate.
Drawing of the Suez Canal (1881)
Plans for the restoration of the canal, developed later (in 1569 by order of the vizier Ottoman Empire Mehmed Sokollu and the French during Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition in 1798–1801) were not implemented.
During the construction of the modern Suez Canal, part of this old channel was used to build the Ismailia freshwater canal. Under the Ptolemies, the old canal was maintained in working order, during the period of Byzantine rule it was abandoned, and then restored again under Amr, who conquered Egypt during the reign of Caliph Omar. Amr decided to connect the Nile with the Red Sea to supply Arabia with wheat and other food products from the Nile Valley. However, the canal, the construction of which was undertaken by Amr, calling it “Khalij Amir al-mu’minin” (“canal of the Commander of the Faithful”), ceased to function after the 8th century. AD
At the end of the 15th century. The Venetians were studying the possibilities of building a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez, but their plans were not put into practice. At the beginning of the 19th century. Europeans mastered the route to India through Egypt: along the Nile to Cairo, and then by camel to Suez. The idea of building a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, which would help significantly reduce the cost of time and money.
Napoleon Bonaparte, while in Egypt on a military mission, also visited the site of the former majestic structure. The ardent nature of the Corsican was fired up with the idea of reviving such a grandiose object, but his army engineer Jacques Leper cooled the commander’s ardor with his calculations - they say the level of the Red Sea is 9.9 meters higher than the Mediterranean and if they are combined, it will flood the entire Nile Delta with Alexandria, Venice and Genoa. It was not possible to build a canal with locks at that time. The idea was considered not feasible. In addition, the political situation soon changed and Napoleon had no time to build a canal in the sands of Egypt. As it later turned out, the French engineer was incorrect in his calculations.
The idea of building the Suez Canal arose again in the second half of the 19th century. The world during this period was experiencing the era of colonial division. North Africa, the part of the continent closest to Europe, attracted the attention of the leading colonial powers - France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain. Egypt was the subject of rivalry between Britain and France.
The main opponent of the construction of the canal was Britain. At that time, it had the most powerful fleet in the world and controlled the sea route to India through the Cape of Good Hope. And if the canal was opened, France, Spain, Holland and Germany could send their small-tonnage vessels through it, which would seriously compete with England in maritime trade.
Modern channel.
In the second half of the 19th century, another Frenchman, Ferdinand de Lesseps, was able to organize the construction of the Suez Canal. The success of this venture lay in the personal connections, irrepressible energy, and adventurism of the French diplomat and entrepreneur. In 1833, while working as the French consul in Egypt, Lesseps met Bartholémy Enfantin, who infected him with the idea of building the Suez Canal. However, the then Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali reacted coolly to the grandiose undertaking. Lesseps continues his career in Egypt and becomes a mentor to the ruler's son. Between Ali Said (that was the name of the son of the Egyptian pasha) and the mentor, friendly and trusting relationships began, which in the future would play a primary role in the implementation of the grandiose plan.
Ferdinand de Lesseps
The plague epidemic forced the French diplomat to leave Egypt for a while and move to Europe, where he continued to work in the diplomatic field, and in 1837 he got married. In 1849, at the age of 44, Lesseps resigns, disillusioned with politics and his diplomatic career, and settles to live on his estate in Chene. After 4 years, two tragic events occur in the Frenchman’s life - one of his sons and his wife die. Staying in his estate becomes unbearable torment for Lesseps. And suddenly fate gives him another chance to return to active work. In 1854, his old friend Ali Said became the Khedive of Egypt, who called Ferdinand to his place. All the Frenchman’s thoughts and aspirations are now occupied only with the canal. Said Pasha, without much delay, gives the go-ahead for the construction of the canal and promises to help with cheap labor. All that remains is to find money to finance construction, draw up a project and resolve some diplomatic delays with the nominal ruler of Egypt - the Turkish Sultan.
Returning to his homeland, Ferdinand Lesseps contacts his old acquaintance Anfontaine, who all these many years with his like-minded people has been working on the project and estimate of the Suez Canal. The former diplomat manages to convince them to pass on their work, promising to include Enfontaine and his comrades among the founders of the channel in the future. Ferdinand never kept his promise.
The canal project is in his pocket and Ferdinand Lesseps rushes in search of money - the first thing he does is visit England. But in Foggy Albion they reacted coolly to this idea - the mistress of the seas was already making huge profits from trade with India and she did not need competitors in this matter. The United States and other European countries also did not support the French adventure. And then Ferdinand Lesseps takes a risky step - he begins the free sale of shares of the Suez Canal Company at 500 francs per share. security. In Europe there is a wide advertising campaign, its organizer is also trying to play on the patriotism of the French, calling to beat England. But the financial tycoons did not dare to get involved in such a dubious undertaking. In England, Prussia and Austria, a ban on the sale of company shares was generally introduced. The UK is conducting anti-PR for the French adventurous project, calling it a soap bubble.
Suddenly, the French middle class - lawyers, officials, teachers, officers, merchants and moneylenders - believed in the success of this risky enterprise. The shares began to sell like hot cakes. A total of 400 thousand shares were sold, of which 52% were bought in France, and 44% were purchased by an old friend Said Pasha. In total, the company's share capital amounted to 200 million francs, or in terms of 3 billion modern dollars. The Suez Canal Company received huge benefits - the right to build and operate the canal for 99 years, tax exemption for 10 years, 75% of future profits. The remaining 15% of the profits went to Egypt, 10% went to the founders.
In 1854, the French diplomat and businessman Ferdinand Marie Lesseps, taking advantage of the growing influence of France in Egypt and personal connections, received a concession from the Egyptian ruler to build the Suez Canal on preferential terms. The construction of the canal was led by the Universal Suez Canal Company (La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez), created by Lesseps.
The company began financing the construction of the canal. Only the British, who benefited most from the fastest route to India, did not buy a single share, although the canal shortened the distance between London and Bombay by 7343 km. The British government did everything to prevent this project. It condemned it as physically impossible, too expensive and unprofitable, believing that the water would immediately be absorbed by the hot sands of the desert, and in Lesseps’ calculations there was a gross geodetic error, because the level of the Red Sea is 9 meters higher than the level of the Mediterranean, and the civilization of Europe will perish under water . Then this opinion changed to the idea that the channel would turn into a stinking puddle. Meanwhile, the British quickly laid the rails of the railway right next to the future canal.
The British extended the rails from Cairo to Suez in 1859.
Construction of the canal began in April 1859 and lasted more than 10 years and cost the lives of 120 thousand workers.
The main work on the Suez Canal was carried out by Egyptians, who were forcibly recruited at a rate of 60 thousand people per month. Many of them died from overwork and epidemics. It was only when labor-intensive operations were mechanized that workers from Europe began to arrive here. However, the work took place in difficult desert conditions, and drinking water was delivered over many kilometers on camels and donkeys.
Each person’s daily norm was two cubic meters of earth, which was pulled out from the bed of the future canal in gunny bags or baskets. The only thing that the advanced science of Europe gave the workers was the first version of the excavator, which the Europeans themselves looked at as if it were a miracle. On the Mediterranean Sea, where the canal began, Port Said literally arose out of nowhere. It is built on a pier that protects the canal from silt. The length of the pier is 7 km (this is the longest pier in the world). From there, 25,000 workers traveled south to work sites until a special fresh water canal was built by 1863, finally allowing camps to be set up along the entire route. The length of the finished canal was 163 km. A reserve bay was dug every 10 km.
Until a canal was dug along the future route with drinking water, the canal was laid from north to south, and only with the improvement of working conditions did it become possible to continue work in both directions. Although 25 thousand people were simultaneously working on this construction site, the work went on for many years, and all this time Lesseps personally supervised each site.
At the same time, a freshwater canal was being laid from Cairo to Ismailia.
Construction continued continuously for three years until Britain intervened. London put pressure on Istanbul, and the Turkish Sultan put pressure on Said Pasha. Everything stopped and the company was threatened with complete collapse.
And here personal connections again played a role. Lesseps's cousin Eugenie was married to the French emperor. Ferdinand Lesseps had previously wanted to enlist the support of Napoleon III, but he was not particularly willing to help. For the time being. But since the shareholders of the Suez Canal Company included thousands of French citizens, its collapse would lead to social upheaval in France. But this was not in the interests of the French emperor and he forced the Egyptian Pasha to change his decision.
By 1863, the company built an auxiliary canal from the Nile to the city of Ismailia to supply fresh water. In the same 1863, Said Pasha dies and Ismail Pasha comes to power in Egypt, demanding that the terms of cooperation be reconsidered. In July 1864, an arbitration tribunal under the leadership of Napoleon III considered the case and decided that Egypt should pay compensation to the Suez Canal Company - 38 million was due for the abolition of forced labor of Egyptian fellahs, 16 million for the construction of a fresh water canal and 30 million for the seizure lands granted to the Suez Canal Company by the former ruler Said Pasha.
To further finance construction, several bond issues had to be issued. The total cost of the canal rose from 200 million francs at the start of construction to 475 million by 1872, reaching 576 million francs in 1892. It should be noted that the then French franc was backed by 0.29 grams of gold. At current gold prices (about $1,600 per troy ounce), a 19th-century French franc is equal to 15 21st-century American dollars. 
The opening of the Suez Canal took place on November 17, 1869 in Ismailia and was of international importance.
The canal has become a symbol of Egypt's intentions to take its rightful place in the world, a symbol of a modern country located on the border between East and West. Ismail Pasha, who became the Khedive of Egypt after the death of Muhammad Said, invited all the crowned heads of the civilized world, artists and scientists to celebrate the event that changed the map of the world. Among the guests were the French Empress Eugenie, the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, the Dutch prince and princess, the Prussian prince, writers Emile Zola, Théophile Gautier, Henrik Ibsen. Russia also did not remain indifferent to this important event. The celebrations were attended by Count Nikolai Ignatiev, Ambassador to Turkey, writer Vladimir Sollogub, artist Aivazovsky and other famous compatriots. For 6,000 guests, 500 cooks and 1,000 footmen were invited. 48 flag-decorated ships arrived at Port Said, and then this powerful flotilla moved through the canal. Lots of people from different countries crowded on the shore of Lake Timsah. At half past five a ship appeared under the French flag. From aboard the ship, the French Empress Eugenie and Ferdinand de Lesseps greeted the people who met them. "Eagle" is the first ship to sail through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
29,725 thousand pounds sterling were spent on its construction. The initial depth of the fairway was 7.94 m, and its width along the bottom was 21 m; later, the canal was deepened so much that ships with a draft of up to 10.3 m began to pass through it. After the nationalization of the canal by Egypt (in 1956), work was carried out to further improve it, and in 1981 ships with a draft of up to 16.1 m began to pass through it.
The huge costs of building the canal made it difficult economic situation Egypt.
According to the original terms of this treaty, the Egyptian government was to receive 15% of the gross profits from shipping on the canal, and 99 years after the canal was commissioned, it was to become Egyptian property. Most of the shares were purchased by the French, the Turks and Said Pasha, who bought almost half of all shares. In 1875, Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain, bought 176,602 shares of the Company from Khedive Ismail for £4 million, giving Great Britain a 44% stake.
In 1880, the Egyptian government was forced to sell its right to 15% of the profits from the Suez Canal. Egypt was excluded from managing the canal and sharing in the profits. After the occupation of Egypt by British troops in 1882, the canal became the main British military base in the Middle East. In 1888, an international convention was concluded in Istanbul to ensure freedom of navigation along the Suez Canal.
The English light cruiser Euryalus passes the Sued Canal
The opening of the Suez Canal sharply escalated the Anglo-French struggle for Egypt, and the enormous costs of constructing the Suez Canal complicated the economic situation in Egypt.
Taking advantage of this, and the weakening of France after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, which forced it to cede a leading role in Egyptian affairs to Great Britain, the British government bought a controlling stake in the canal in 1875.
In 1876, joint Anglo-French control of Egyptian finances was established. However, during the Egyptian crisis of 1881–1882, caused by the rise of the patriotic movement in Egypt (the Arabi Pasha movement), Great Britain managed to push France into the background.
As a result of a military expedition in July–September 1882, Egypt found itself occupied by the British and became the main British military-strategic base in the Middle East.
Six years later, an international convention was concluded in Istanbul to ensure freedom of navigation along the Suez Canal, which is still the main document regulating navigation along the canal.
Great Britain established a protectorate over Egypt in 1914. In 1919–1921, the protectorate was abolished and Egypt was declared an independent kingdom.
However, the economy, external and domestic politics controlled by Great Britain, there were British troops in the country.
The July Revolution of 1952, organized by the Free Officers group led by Gamil Abdel Naser, expelled royal dynasty. In 1953, Egypt was declared a republic. In 1956, British troops were withdrawn from Egypt and the Suez Canal was nationalized.
The nationalization of the canal served as a pretext for the Anglo-Franco-Israeli aggression against Egypt at the end of October 1956. The Suez Canal suffered significant damage, traffic along it was interrupted and resumed only on April 24, 1957, after the completion of the canal cleaning work.
As a result of the Arab-Israeli "Six Day War" of 1967, navigation through the Suez Canal was again interrupted, as the canal zone actually turned into a front line separating Egyptian and Israeli troops, and during the October 1973 war, into an area of active military operations.
The annual damage caused by inaction to the Suez Canal was estimated at 4-5 billion dollars.
In 1974, after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Suez Canal zone, Egypt began clearing, restoring and reconstructing the canal. On June 5, 1975, the Suez Canal was reopened to navigation.
In 1981, the first stage of the canal reconstruction project was completed, which made it possible to carry through it tankers with a deadweight of up to 150 thousand tons (on completion of the second stage - up to 250 thousand tons) and cargo ships with a deadweight of up to 370 thousand tons.
In 2005, a new reconstruction of the Suez Canal began. The reconstruction plan includes deepening the channel, which will allow more than 90% of the existing international merchant fleet to pass through the canal. Since 2010, supertankers with a displacement of up to 360 thousand tons will be able to navigate the canal. Today, the length of the canal itself is 162.25 km, with sea approaches from Port Said to Port Taufiq - 190.25 km. Width at a depth of 11 meters is 200–210 m. Depth along the fairway is 22.5 m.
Currently About 10% of all global maritime transport occurs through the Suez Canal. On average, 48 ships pass through the Suez Canal per day, and the average transit time through the canal is about 14 hours.
By existing rules Vessels from all countries that are not at war with Egypt can pass through Suez. Operating rules prohibit the appearance of only ships with nuclear power plants.
Today, the Suez Canal is the main budget-generating project in Egypt. According to some experts, the canal provides the country with more funds than oil production, and much more than the rapidly developing tourism infrastructure allows today.
The monthly volume of fees for passage through the canal is $372 million.
In the 2007–2008 fiscal year, the Suez Canal brought Egypt more than $5 billion, which was a record figure in the history of the canal.
In the 2008–2009 fiscal year, shipping traffic on the Suez Canal fell by 8.2%, and Egypt's revenue from operating the canal fell by 7.2%. Experts explain this by the consequences of the global financial crisis, as well as by the actions of pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The role of the channel in world trade.
Thanks to the Suez Canal, the length of the waterway between Western Europe and India was reduced by almost 8,000 km. In the northern direction, it transports mainly oil and petroleum products for Western Europe. Products are transported in a southern direction industrial production for countries in Africa and Asia.
The Suez Canal is an artificial sea route on Egyptian territory, separating Eurasia from Africa. For almost 150 years it has been used for the shortest transport of goods from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.
The Suez Canal is very easy to find on the map. It connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. On one side of the Suez Canal is the port city of Port Said (on the Mediterranean coast), and on the other is Suez (on the Red Sea coast). It “cuts” the narrowest part of the Isthmus of Suez.
Since 1956, the Suez Canal has been fully owned by Egypt. Before that, it was owned by the General Suez Canal Organization, owned by France and England.
Dimensions
Different sources provide different information about the length, width and depth of the Suez Canal. According to the latest data, its length, including approach sections and the route, is approximately 193 kilometers. Throughout its entire length, the Suez Canal has unequal width and depth. By official information at a depth of 11 meters the width is 205-225 meters. In 2010, the maximum depth was 24 meters.
Price per pass
The rules and price of sailing are determined by Egypt. Its budget largely depends on the Suez Canal, because every year profits from the use of this waterway amount to about five billion dollars. The passage through the Suez Canal is the most preferable for ship owners, since when using an alternative route that goes around Africa, the distance increases by 8 thousand kilometers, and accordingly there is a large loss of time. In addition, there is a possibility of running into Somali pirates. The cost of passage through the canal depends on the weight of the cargo, the draft of the vessel, the height of the cargo on deck, the date of application and other factors, and ranges from 8-12 dollars per ton. The total cost of passing a ship with a large cargo can reach a million dollars.
The role of the canal in Egyptian life
The Suez Canal is of great importance for the global cargo transportation market. About 20% of all transported oil is transported through it and about 10% of all world trade cargo transportation is carried out. In addition, tourists from all over the world come to the Suez Canal to see and take photos, which also helps to increase Egypt’s budget.
Modernization of the Suez Canal
After the Suez Canal began to belong to Egypt, the government began to consider its expansion one of its main tasks, because its original depth was 8 meters and its width was 21 meters.
Now the government plans to create a new channel, which will run next to the main one. Its length will be 72 kilometers. This will make it possible to extract even greater profits due to the increased throughput of the canal. The expansion should reduce wait times to travel through the passage to three hours (currently 11 hours) and triple the number of ships passing through the canal at any one time. In addition, a huge number of new jobs will appear. It is planned to spend several billion dollars on expansion.
Workarounds
Due to the high cost of passage, owners of transport vessels are looking for alternative ways to transport goods. The Israeli government proposed to build a bypass route through its territory. This is the so-called “bypassing” of the channel. However, this route cannot be made completely by water, so there are plans to build a railway line between the city of Eilat and the Mediterranean coast.
Rosatomflot also proposed replacing the Suez Canal. Presumably, the Northern Sea Route, which connects Europe with Asia, could be used as a replacement. Due to the melting of Arctic ice, this route is open for a longer time and, perhaps, in the near future, it will be possible to transport goods across Russian territory.
History of construction
The idea of making the shortest route to the waters of the Red Sea visited the inhabitants of Egypt many centuries ago. The first attempts were made by the Theban pharaohs during the Middle Kingdom. They wanted to connect the Red Sea with one of the tributaries of the Nile.
The history of the creation of the canal itself began at the end of the 7th - beginning of the 6th century BC. Evidence from Herodotus has been found that says that Pharaoh Necho II began the construction, but Darius I completed the canal a century later. Then things didn't go very well. Reconstruction of the route took place in the 3rd century BC under the leadership of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The deepening of the canal took place several centuries later by order of Emperor Trajan, during his reign in Africa. In the 8th century (during the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs), despite the fact that this transport route was actively used, it was filled up.
In 1854, French businessman Ferdinand de Lesseps decides to resume the history of the Suez Canal. Since France had great influence in Egypt at that moment, he was allowed to start this process. Construction work started in 1859, the canal was opened 10 years later. Large numbers of Egyptians were forced into forced labor, and many died from hard labor, dehydration, and disease.
As a result of construction, the country's economy suffered seriously, which forced Ismail Pasha to sell his share of the Suez Canal World Organization to the British. In 1882, a British military base was located in this place.
Story
Antiquity
Construction of the Suez Canal
Drawing of the Suez Canal (1881)
Later, the construction and restoration of the canal was carried out by the powerful Egyptian pharaohs Ramses II and Necho II.
Herodotus (II. 158) writes that Necho II (610-595 BC) began to build a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, but did not finish it.
The canal was completed around 500 BC by King Darius the First, the Persian conqueror of Egypt. In memory of this event, Darius erected granite steles on the banks of the Nile, including one near Carbet, 130 kilometers from Pie.
In the 3rd century BC. e. The canal was made navigable by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247). He is mentioned by Diodorus (I. 33. 11 -12) and Strabo (XVII. 1. 25), and is mentioned in the inscription on the stele from Pythos (16th year of the reign of Ptolemy). It began slightly higher up the Nile than the previous canal, in the area of Facussa. It is possible, however, that under Ptolemy the old canal, which supplied the lands of Wadi Tumilat with fresh water, was cleared, deepened and extended to the sea. The fairway was wide enough - two triremes could easily separate in it.
In 1569, by order of the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed Sokollu, a plan was developed to restore the canal, but it was not implemented.
Channel restoration
More than a thousand years passed before the next attempt to dig a canal. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte, while in Egypt, considered the possibility of building a canal connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. He entrusted the carrying out of preliminary surveys to a special commission headed by engineer Leper. The commission erroneously concluded that the water level of the Red Sea is 9.9 m higher than the water level in the Mediterranean Sea, which would not allow the construction of a canal without locks. According to Leper's project, it was supposed to go from the Red Sea to the Nile partly along the old route, cross the Nile near Cairo and end in the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria. Leper considered it impossible to reach a particularly significant depth; its channel would be unsuitable for deep-draft vessels. The Leper Commission estimated the cost of digging at 30-40 million francs. The project failed not because of technical or financial difficulties, but because of political events; it was completed only at the end of 1800, when Napoleon was already in Europe and finally abandoned the hope of conquering Egypt. Accepting Leper's report on December 6, 1800, he said: “ this is a great thing, but I am not able to carry it out at the present time; perhaps the Turkish government will someday take it up, thereby creating glory for itself and strengthening the existence of the Turkish Empire» .
In 1841, British officers who carried out surveys on the isthmus proved the fallacy of Leper's calculations regarding the water level in the two seas - calculations that Laplace and the mathematician Fourier had previously protested against, based on theoretical considerations. In 1846, partly under the patronage of Metternich, the international “Société d’etudes du canal de Suez” was formed, in which the most prominent figures were the Frenchman Talabo, the Englishman Stephenson and the Austrian of Genoese origin Negrelli. Luigi Negrelli, based on new, independent research, developed a new project: the channel was to become “ artificial Bosphorus"directly connecting the two seas, sufficient for the passage of the deepest ships. The French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps supported, in general terms, Negrelli's project.
In 1855, Ferdinand de Lesseps received concessions from Said Pasha, the Viceroy of Egypt, whom de Lesseps had met as a French diplomat in the 1830s. Said Pasha approved the creation of a company for the purpose of constructing a sea canal open to ships of all countries.
In the same 1855, Lesseps achieved the approval of the firman from the Turkish Sultan, but only in 1859 was he able to found a company in Paris. That same year, construction of the canal began, spearheaded by the General Suez Canal Company created by Lesseps. The Egyptian government received 44% of all shares, France - 53% and 3% were acquired by other countries. Under the terms of the concession, shareholders were entitled to 74% of profits, Egypt - 15%, and the founders of the company - 10%.
Its fixed capital was equal to 200 million francs (in this amount Lesseps calculated all the costs of the enterprise), divided into 400 thousand shares of 500 francs each; Said Pasha signed up for a significant part of them. The British government, with Palmerston at its head, fearing that the Suez Canal would lead to the liberation of Egypt from the rule of the Ottoman Empire and the weakening or loss of England's dominance over India, put all sorts of obstacles in the way of the enterprise, but was forced to retreat in the face of energy Lesseps, especially since his enterprise was patronized by Napoleon III and Said Pasha, and then (since 1863) his heir, Wali Ismail Pasha.
The technical difficulties facing the canal builders were enormous. I had to work under the scorching sun, in a sandy desert completely devoid of fresh water. At first, the company had to use up to 1,600 camels just to deliver water to workers; but by 1863 she had completed a small freshwater canal from the Nile, which ran approximately in the same direction as the ancient canals (the remains of which were used in some places), and was intended not for navigation, but solely for the delivery of fresh water - first to workers, then and the settlements that were to arise along the canal. This freshwater canal runs from Zakazik on the Nile east to Ismailia, and from there southeast, along the sea canal, to Suez; channel width 17 m on the surface, 8 at the bottom; its depth on average is only 2¼ m, in some places even much less. Its discovery made the work easier, but still the mortality rate among workers was high. Workers were provided by the Egyptian government, but European workers also had to be used (in total, from 20 to 40 thousand people worked on construction).
In 1866, Ismail Pasha sent his trusted Nubar Bey to Constantinople to formalize in the proper manner with the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul Aziz, the fact of his accession by Ismail to the rights of the wali of Egypt; and also - confirmed the Egyptian concession for laying Suez Canal designed to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Nubar managed to convince the Sultan of the need to allocate a fabulous sum for the construction of the canal.
Satisfied with the results of the visit of the Armenian Nubar Bey to the Sultan, Ismail Pasha instructed him (non-foreigner Christians were rarely trusted with this) to take into his own hands the completion of work on the Suez Canal. The technical difficulties facing the canal builders were enormous... Nubar Bey traveled to Paris to settle disputes between Egypt and the French Canal Company. The issue was submitted to arbitration by Emperor Napoleon III. It cost Egypt £4 million. Upon his return from Paris, Nubar Bey took the post of Minister of Public Works and was awarded the title of Pasha. And soon he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt.
The 200 million francs determined according to Lesseps's original project soon ran out, especially due to the enormous expenses on bribery at the courts of Said and Ismail, on widespread advertising in Europe, on the costs of representing Lesseps himself and other bigwigs of the company. It was necessary to make a new bond issue of 166,666,500 francs, then others, so that the total cost of the canal by 1872 reached 475 million (by 1892 - 576 million). In the six-year period in which Lesseps promised to complete the work, it was not possible to build the canal. The excavation work was carried out using forced labor from the poor in Egypt (in the first stages) and took 11 years.
The northern section through the swamp and Lake Manzala was completed first, then the flat section to Lake Timsah. From here the excavation went to two huge depressions - the long-dried Bitter Lakes, the bottom of which was 9 meters below sea level. After filling the lakes, the builders moved to the end southern section.
The total length of the canal was about 173 km, including the length of the canal itself across the Isthmus of Suez 161 km, the sea canal along the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea - 9.2 km and the Gulf of Suez - about 3 km. The width of the channel along the water surface is 120-150 m, along the bottom - 45-60 m. The depth along the fairway was initially 12-13 m, then it was deepened to 20 m.
The canal officially opened to navigation on November 17, 1869. The opening of the Suez Canal was attended by the Empress of France Eugenie (wife of Napoleon III), the Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph I with the Minister-President of the Hungarian government Andrássy, the Dutch prince and princess, and the Prussian prince. Never before has Egypt known such celebrations and received so many distinguished European guests. The celebration lasted seven days and nights and cost Khedive Ismail 28 million gold francs. And only one point of the celebration program was not fulfilled: the famous Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi did not have time to finish the opera “Aida” commissioned for this occasion, the premiere of which was supposed to enrich the opening ceremony of the channel. Instead of the premiere, a large gala ball was held in Port Said.
Economic and strategic importance of the canal
The canal had an immediate and invaluable impact on world trade. Six months earlier, the First Transcontinental Railroad had been put into operation, and the entire world could now be circumnavigated in record time. The canal played an important role in the expansion and further colonization of Africa. External debts forced Ismail Pasha, who succeeded Said Pasha, to sell his share of the Great Britain canal in 1875. The General Suez Canal Company essentially became an Anglo-French enterprise, and Egypt was excluded from both the management of the canal and the profits. England became the actual owner of the canal. This position was further strengthened after it occupied Egypt in 1882.
On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the channel. This led to the invasion by British, French and Israeli troops and the start of the week-long Suez War in 1956. The canal was partially destroyed, some ships were sunk, and as a result, shipping was closed until April 24, 1957, until the canal was cleared with the help of the UN. UN peacekeeping forces were brought in to maintain the status of the Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal as neutral territories.
Present tense
The Suez Canal is one of Egypt's main sources of income, along with oil production, tourism and agriculture.
In December 2011, the Egyptian authorities announced that tariffs for cargo transit, which had not changed throughout last three years, from March 2012 will increase by three percent.
According to 2009 data, about 10% of the world's maritime traffic passes through the canal. The passage through the canal takes about 14 hours. On average, 48 ships pass through the canal per day.
Second channel
Construction of a 72-kilometer parallel canal began in August 2014 to allow two-way traffic for ships. Trial operation of the second stage of the canal began on July 25, 2015. The country's army actively participated in the construction. The population of Egypt participated in the financing.
On August 6, 2015, the opening ceremony of the new Suez Canal took place. The ceremony was attended, in particular, by Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, who arrived at the event site on board the Al-Mahrusa yacht. This yacht gained fame as the first ship to pass through the old Suez Canal in 1869.
The vessel is currently part of the Egyptian Navy, being the country's oldest active naval vessel, and is sometimes used as a presidential yacht. The ship goes to sea about three times a year, but usually only for one day. The yacht was built in 1865.
"New Suez" runs parallel to the old shipping route, built 145 years ago and is the shortest water route between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The new channel, like the old one, will be state property.
Construction was financed from internal sources. The Egyptian government issued bonds with a yield of 12% per annum, and investors snapped them up within just eight days. Construction work was carried out around the clock with the large-scale participation of engineering units of the Egyptian army.
The Suez backup took only one year to build (although it was estimated that it should have been built in three years). The project cost Egypt $8.5 billion. The New Suez Canal project consisted of widening, deepening the current tract and creating a parallel tract. The new channel should increase the channel's capacity.
The goal of the project is to ensure two-way traffic of vessels. In the future, from south to north they will follow the old channel, and from north to south along the new channel. Thus, the average waiting time for ships during passage through the canal should decrease by four times, while its throughput will increase from 49 to 97 ships per day.
In addition, the backup is expected to increase Egypt's income from operating the waterway by 2.5 times by 2023, to $13.2 billion from the current $5.3 billion. The Suez Canal provides 7% of the world's maritime cargo turnover, plays a key role in supplying Europe with Middle Eastern oil, and for Egypt it is the second source of foreign exchange earnings after tourism. In the future, it is planned to create a large logistics center and an industrial zone near the canal. A number of experts consider these forecasts to be overly optimistic.
Control
The Suez Canal was managed until 1956 by the Suez Canal Company, annexed to the Suez Canal Authority by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
The chairmen of the SCA were:
- Bahgat Helmi Badawi (July 26, 1956 – July 9, 1957)
- Mahmoud Younis (July 10, 1957 – October 10, 1965)
- Mashhour Ahmed Mashhour (October 14, 1965 – December 31, 1983)
- Mohamed Adel Ezzat (1 January 1984 – December 1995)
- Ahmed Ali Fadel (22 January 1996 – August 2012)
- Mohab Mamish (August 2012 – present)
Connection between banks
Since 1981, a road tunnel has been operating in the area of the city of Suez, passing under the bottom of the Suez Canal, connecting Sinai and continental Africa. In addition to the technical excellence that made it possible to create such a complex engineering project, this tunnel attracts with its monumentality, is of great strategic importance and is rightfully considered a landmark of Egypt.
In 1998, a power transmission line was built over the canal in Suez. The line supports, standing on both banks, have a height of 221 meters and are located 152 meters from each other.
On October 9, 2001, a new bridge was opened in Egypt. Hosni Mubarak on the highway connecting the cities
How the idea came about construction of the Suez Canal? More than a hundred years ago, sailors leaving Hamburg for Bombay, one of the largest ports in eastern India, had to make a long detour. They walked around the southern tip of Africa, like the Portuguese Bartolomeu Diaz, or followed in the footsteps of Magellan to the west and around the southern tip of South America (more details:). Either way it was necessary to cover more than 9,000 kilometers. In the days of sailing, such a journey took several weeks. There was no other, shorter route from Europe to India. England and France, which captured large overseas colonies back in the Middle Ages, It would be especially beneficial to shorten this long path. The inquisitive gaze of politicians, economists, shipowners and sailors increasingly turned to the Mediterranean Sea, where the Red Sea, like a long snake, stretched from north to south between Africa and Asia. Only a narrow isthmus with many lakes separated the northern shore of the Red Sea from the Mediterranean. As long as this isthmus existed, the Mediterranean Sea was just a big dead end. “What a pity,” the shipowners thought, “that there is no through route between Africa and Arabia.” Then they remembered Egyptian pharaohs, which 3000 years ago they tried to dig in the isthmus. Couldn't we do the same today?