January 2023

The Suez Canal is one of the most important shortcuts in the world!

Sailing through this manmade channel allows ships to pass from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea without having to circumnavigate the entire African continent.

People have wanted this shortcut for centuries, but it was one of those ideas that looks easier on paper than in actual practice.

After several failed attempts, work began again in 1859 using forced labor working under lousy conditions.

Success came with a bitter human price tag: At least 120,000 workers died along the way, but ten years later, the canal opened in 1869.

Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned to write an opera for the event. His “Aida” was performed for the first time at the Cairo Opera House for the inauguration of the Suez Canal.

As you can imagine, the canal had an immediate and major effect on world trade.

Today, nearly 100 ships take this shortcut each day.

You don’t just show up whenever you want. There are two convoys each day, one in each direction. You must make an appointment and pass through single file, but as part of your group.

Each ship is accompanied by a tug boat and guided by a local pilot. (See photos.) I always get a kick out of watching the port pilots come alongside our ship and hop aboard. The one for the Suez Canal was wearing a very fancy uniform, but I wasn’t able to get a decent photo of him.

Our ship arrived at Port Said around 9 pm and hung around all night with all the other ships scheduled to go through with us.

We took off at dawn and made it to the Red Sea roughly 4 1/2 hours later.

Remember a few years ago when a ship got stuck sideways in the canal? Since then, the canal has been enlarged.

They also added a second lane in 2016, and roughly halfway through, the Great Bitter Lake offers room for ships to pass each other in opposite directions.

This is my 3rd trip through the Suez Canal and it’s always more interesting than I expect.En savoir plus