Day 31 Suez Canal

Day 30 was at Sea and nothing out of the ordinary happened. Nana wasn't feeling well so we took  it easy. I needed the time to try and catch up with my blog for the last couple of ports.

Day 31 Wed June 19

We started our leisurely cruise through the Suez Canal. It was Napoleon Bonaparte himself that flirted with the idea of a canal linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, however it was no until 1858 that the Suez Canal's construction started. A French engineer Ferdinande de Lesseps provided the blueprints and obtained the licence. The construction took 11 years and thousands died in the process. I think there was a cholera outbreak.

The Suez Canal is in Egypt's control at present time, though there have been struggles for control in the past.

It is also sometimes called "The Highway to India". The canal is approximately 120 miles long, 79 feet deep and 673 wide. Today, over 17,000 ships pass through each year.

Entering the canal about 6.30am

There are cement circular markers in the water for the ships to follow.

A nice place for the locals to hang out.

A fly was bugging a few of us. It met a nasty end in a library book. 

These cone shaped structured appeared regularly along the canal. Pigeons live in them. The locals eat Pigeon, it is considered a delicacy. 

House of the president of Egypt.

The welcome to Egypt sign. I was a little late getting a picture.

Tomorrow we hit up Ashdod in Israel.