Suez canal- a navigable lockless sea channel in the north-east of Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The Suez Canal is the shortest waterway between the ports of the Atlantic and Indian oceans (8-15 thousand km less than the way around Africa).

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 and Suez from the Red Sea. The Suez Canal runs along the Isthmus of Suez in its lowest and narrowest part, crossing a number of lakes and the Menzala lagoon.

The idea of ​​digging a canal across the Isthmus of Suez dates back to ancient times. Ancient historians report that the Theban pharaohs of the era of the Middle Kingdom tried to build a canal connecting the right branch of the Nile with the Red Sea.

The first reliable historical evidence of the canal's connection between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas dates back to the reign of Pharaoh Necho II (end of the 7th - beginning of the 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 later - Ptolemy Philadelphus (first half of the 3rd century BC). At the end of the era of the pharaohs in Egypt, the canal fell into decay.

However, after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the canal was rebuilt in 642, but in 776 it was filled up to direct trade through the main areas of the Caliphate.

The plans to restore the canal, developed later (in 1569 by order of the Vizier of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed Sokollu and the French during Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition in 1798-1801), were not implemented.

The idea of ​​building the Suez Canal arose again in the second half of the 19th century. The world during this period was going through an era of colonial division. North Africa, the closest part of the continent 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 nationalization of the channel served as a pretext for the Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt at the end of October 1956. The Suez Canal suffered significant damage, traffic on it was interrupted and resumed only on April 24, 1957, after the completion of the cleaning of the canal.

As a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli "six day war", navigation on 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 hostilities.

The annual damage caused by the inaction of 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 to clear, restore and reconstruct the canal. On June 5, 1975, the Suez Canal was reopened for shipping.

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 (upon 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 provides for a deepening of the fairway, 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 Taufik - 190.25 km. Width at a depth of 11 meters 200-210 m.Depth along the fairway 22.5 m.

The current symbol of the United States, the Statue of Liberty, was originally planned to be installed in Port Said under the name "The Light Of Asia", but the then government of the country decided that transporting the structure from France and installing it was too expensive for the state.

Currently, about 10% of all world shipping is carried out through the Suez Canal. On average, 48 ships pass through the Suez Canal per day, the average passage time of the canal is about 14 hours.

According to the existing rules, ships of all countries that are not at war with Egypt can pass through Suez. The operating rules prohibit the appearance in it only of ships with nuclear power plants.

Today the Suez Canal is the main budget-forming project of Egypt. According to a number of experts, the canal gives the country more funds than oil production, and much more than the rapidly developing tourism infrastructure allows to receive today.

The operation of the canal is one of the main sources of foreign exchange earnings for the Egyptian treasury. According to a number of experts, the canal provides the country with more funds than oil production, and much more than the rapidly developing tourism infrastructure.

The monthly toll for passage through the canal is $ 372 million.

In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, the Suez Canal brought Egypt more than $ 5 billion, a record high in the history of the canal.

In fiscal 2008-2009, shipping on the Suez Canal dropped 8.2%, while Egypt's revenues from operating the canal fell 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.

Suez canal

A large industrial center is located - the city of Ismailia.

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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 commemoration of this event, Darius erected granite steles on the banks of the Nile, including one near Carbet, 130 kilometers from Pie.

In the III century BC. e. the canal made navigable by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247). It is mentioned by Diodorus (I. 33. 11 −12) and Strabo (XVII. 1. 25), he is mentioned in the inscription on the stele from Pythom (16th year of the reign of Ptolemy). It began somewhat higher upstream of the Nile than the former canal, in the Fakussa region. It is possible, however, that under Ptolemy the old canal was cleared, deepened and extended to the sea, supplying the lands of wadi Tumilat with fresh water. The fairway was wide enough - two triremes could freely disperse in it.

In 1841, British officers conducting surveys on the isthmus proved the fallacy of Leper's calculations regarding the water level in two seas - calculations against which Laplace and the mathematician Fourier had previously protested, based on theoretical considerations. In 1846, the international Société d'etudes du canal de Suez was formed, partly under the patronage of Metternich, in which the most prominent figures were the French engineers Talabo, the Englishman Stephenson and the Austrian of Genoese origin, Negrelli. Luigi Negrelli (English) Russian on the basis of new, independent research, he developed a new project: the channel was supposed to become “ artificial Bosphorus»Directly connecting two seas, sufficient for the passage of the deepest vessels. French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps supported, in general terms, the Negrelli project.

In 1855, Ferdinand de Lesseps received concessions from Said Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt, whom de Lesseps met as a French diplomat in the 1830s. Said Pasha approved the creation of the company for the purpose of building a sea channel open to ships of all countries.

In the same 1855, Lesseps won the approval of the firman from the Turkish sultan, but only in 1859 was he able to establish a company in Paris. In the same year, construction began on the canal, led by Lesseps' General Suez Canal Company. The Egyptian government received 44% of all shares, France - 53% and 3% was acquired by other countries. Under the terms of the concession, shareholders were entitled to 74% of the profits, Egypt - 15%, the founders of the company - 10%.

Its fixed capital was equal to 200 million francs (this amount was calculated by Lesseps all the costs of the enterprise), divided into 400 thousand shares of 500 francs each; Said Pasha subscribed to a significant part of them. The British government, led by Palmerston, fearing that the Suez Canal would lead to the liberation of Egypt from the rule of the Ottoman Empire and to the weakening or loss of England's domination over India, put all sorts of obstacles on the way to the implementation of the enterprise, but was forced to retreat before energy Lesseps, especially since his enterprise was patronized by Napoleon III and Said Pasha, and then (since 1863) his heir was Wali Ismail Pasha.

The technical difficulties faced by 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 in approximately the same direction as the ancient canals (the remains of which were used in some places), and intended not for navigation, but solely for the delivery of fresh water - first to workers, then and settlements that were to arise along the canal. This freshwater canal runs from the Zakazik at the Nile to the east to Ismailia, and from there to the southeast, along the sea channel, to the Suez; channel width 17 m on the surface, 8 - along the bottom; its depth, on average, is only 2¼ m, in some places even much less. Its opening made the work easier, but still the mortality rate among the workers was great. The 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 the construction).

In 1866, Ismail Pasha sent his trusted Nubar Bey to Constantinople, so that he officially formalized with the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul-Aziz the fact of his accession to the Wali of Egypt by Ismail; and also - confirmed the Egyptian laying concession 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 (they rarely trusted non-Christians like that) to take into his own hands the completion of the work on the Suez Canal. The technical difficulties facing the canal builders were enormous ... Noubar Bey traveled to Paris to settle disputes between Egypt and the French Canal Company. The decision was made to the arbitration of Emperor Napoleon III. It cost Egypt 4 million pounds. Upon his return from Paris, Noubar Bey took the chair of the 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 the original Lesseps project, soon ended, especially due to the enormous spending on bribery at the courts of Said and Ismail, on widespread advertising in Europe, on the costs of representing Lesseps himself and other tycoons of the company. They had to make a new bond issue of 166,666,500 francs, then others, so that the total cost of the canal reached 475 million by 1872 (by 1892 - 576 million). In the six-year period in which Lesseps promised to complete the work, the canal was not built. Excavation work was carried out using forced labor of the poor in Egypt (in the early stages) and took 11 years.

The first was the northern section through the swamp and Lake Manzala, then the flat section to Lake Timsakh. From here, the excavation went to two huge depressions - the long-dried Gorky Lakes, the bottom of which was 9 meters below sea level. After filling the lakes, the builders went to the southern end 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 channel 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 it is 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 shipping on November 17, 1869. The opening of the Suez Canal was attended by the Empress of France Eugenia (wife of Napoleon III), the Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joseph I with the Minister-President of the Hungarian government Andrássy, the Dutch prince with the princess, 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 manage to finish the opera “Aida” ordered for this occasion, the premiere of which was supposed to enrich the opening ceremony of the channel. Instead of the premiere in Port Said, a large festive ball was held.

• On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the channel. This led to the invasion of British, French and Israeli troops and the start of the week-long Suez War of 1956. The canal was partially destroyed, some of the ships were sunk, as a result, shipping was closed until April 24, 1957, until the canal was cleared with the help of the UN. The UN peacekeeping force was brought in to maintain the status of the Sinai Peninsula and the Suez Canal as neutral territories.

  Present time

  The Suez Canal is one of the main sources of income for Egypt, along with oil, tourism and agriculture.

  In December 2011, the Egyptian authorities announced that tariffs for the transit of goods, which have not changed over the past three years, will rise by three percent from March 2012.

  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

  In August 2014, construction began on a 72-kilometer parallel canal to enable 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 inauguration ceremony of the new Suez Canal took place. The ceremony was attended, in particular, by the President of Egypt, Abdul-Fattah Al-Sisi, who arrived at the venue on board the yacht "Al-Mahrusa". This yacht became known as the first ship to sail through the old Suez Canal in 1869.

  Currently, the vessel is part of the Egyptian Navy, being the country's oldest operating seagoing vessel, and is sometimes used as a presidential yacht. The ship leaves at sea about three times a year, but usually only for one day. The yacht was built in 1865.

  New Suez runs parallel to the 145-year old shipping lane, which is the shortest waterway between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. The new channel, like the previous one, will be state property.

  The construction was funded from internal sources. The Egyptian government issued bonds with a yield of 12% per annum, and investors bought them up within just eight days. Construction work was carried out around the clock with the large-scale participation of the engineering units of the Egyptian army.

  It took only one year to build Suezky's understudy (although it was estimated that it should have been built in three years). The project cost Egypt $ 8.5 billion. The project of the New Suez Canal was to widen, deepen the current path and create a parallel path. The new channel should increase the channel's capacity.

  The goal of the project is to provide two-way traffic of ships. 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 the passage through the canal should be reduced by four times, while its capacity will increase from 49 to 97 ships per day.

  In addition, the backup is expected to increase Egypt's revenue from the operation of 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 is the second largest source of foreign exchange earnings after tourism. In the future, it is planned to create a large logistics center and an industrial zone next to the canal. A number of experts consider these forecasts to be overly optimistic.

  Control

  Main article: Suez Canal Administration

  Until 1956, the Suez Canal was managed by the Suez Canal Company, which was attached to the Suez Canal Administration by Egyptian President Gamal-Abdel Nasser.

  The SCA was chaired by:

  • 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 (January 1, 1984 - December 1995)
  • Ahmed Ali Fadel (22 January 1996 - August 2012)
  • Mohab Mamish (August 2012 - present)

  The connection between the shores

  Since 1981, in the area of ​​the city of Suez, an automobile tunnel has been operating, passing under the bottom of the Suez Canal, and connecting the Sinai and continental Africa. In addition to technical excellence, which 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 line was built over the canal in Suez. The pillars of the line, standing on both banks, are 221 meters high 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 of Port Said and Ismailia. The opening ceremony of the bridge was attended by the then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Before the opening of the Mihaud viaduct, this structure was the world's tallest cable-stayed bridge. The height of the bridge is 70 meters. The construction lasted 4 years, with the participation of one Japanese and two Egyptian construction companies.

  In 2001, traffic was opened on the El Ferdan railway bridge, 20 km north of the city of Ismailia. It is the longest swing bridge in the world, its two swing sections have a total length of 340 meters. The previous bridge was destroyed in

The Suez Canal, قناة السويس (Arabic, pronounced "kana al-Suwais"), Suez canal (English) is the shortest waterway between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea region in the Atlantic Ocean. The canal is located in Egypt and connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas between Port Said (Būr Sa "īd) on the Mediterranean Sea and Suez (al-Suways) on the Red Sea.

The geographic position of the canal in the center of international sea communications linking the oil-producing region of the Near and Middle East with Western Europe, providing its links with Asia, Australia and East Africa

The Suez Canal Zone is considered a conditional border between two continents, Africa and Eurasia. The Suez Canal allows water transport to pass in both directions between Europe and Asia without skirting Africa, thereby reducing the distance by 8-15 thousand km. Before the opening of the canal, transportation was carried out by unloading ships and overland transportation between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas.



On the photo

The total length of the Suez Canal, including the approach sections, is 174 km. Part of the route runs along the fairway in lakes Timsy, Bolshoy and Maly Gorky, along the bottom of which sea canals are laid. Including these lakes, the route is 192 km long, including the following sections: 78 km from Port Said to Ismailia and 84 km from Ismailia to Port Tawfik (Suez). The smallest channel width is 300 meters (the width of the fairway between the buoys is 180 meters). The maximum permitted draft of vessels is 53 feet, the depth of the channel is 20 meters. Reconstruction in 2005 to deepen the canal allowed supertankers with a displacement of up to 360,000 tons to pass through it.

Currently, about 10% of all world shipping is carried out through the Suez Canal. On average, up to 50 ships pass through the canal per day. The speed of vessels, depending on the tonnage and category, is limited to 11-16 km / h, the average time for passing the channel is 14 hours.



On the photo The largest container ship in the world at the moment "Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller" of the Maersk Line company freely uses the Suez Canal in its sea movements

The history of the emergence of the Suez Canal dates back to ancient times. It is known that the creation of a canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Seas took place already during the reign of Pharaoh Necho II (end of the 7th - beginning of the 6th century BC). Subsequent rulers of Egypt also supported the conservation and improvement of the canal, which continued until the end of the era of the pharaohs, after which the canal was abandoned and fell into decay. In 642, it was restored, but in 776 it ceased to function again and was finally filled up by order of the Caliph Mansur, who did not want to allow the withdrawal of trade routes from the center of the Caliphate.



Location of the Suez Canal on the geographical map of the world

More than a thousand years later, in 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte, while in Egypt, became interested in the possibility of building a canal connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. At the same time, the commission, headed by engineer Leper, began to work closely on the creation of a construction project, which subsequently, however, was not implemented. The project was completed at the end of 1800, when Napolen was already in Europe, having lost hope of conquering Egypt and therefore abandoned the idea of ​​building a canal.



The total number of hired workers for the entire construction period is more than 1.5 million people

On this, the idea of ​​creating a canal did not disappear, since at that time Egypt remained the subject of interest of the leading colonial countries, primarily France and Great Britain, due to its territorial location close to the rest of the continent to Europe. In 1846, the international society "Société d'etudes du canal de Suez" was formed, which was also engaged in research on the possible construction of a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. Finally, in 1854, the French diplomat and entrepreneur Ferdinand Marie Lesseps received a concession from the Egyptian ruler for the construction of the Suez Canal on preferential terms. The General Company of the Suez Canal, created by him, led the construction, and the main shareholders of the company were Egypt (44%) and France (53%).



On the photo Suez Canal in the last century

Construction of the canal began in April 1859. The main work was carried out by the Egyptians, who were forcibly recruited by 60 thousand people a month, as well as by the Europeans. The number of people employed at a time in construction reached 30 thousand people. Due to the difficult working conditions, as well as the geographical and climatic characteristics of the region, the mortality rate among workers was high. The work lasted more than 10 years, which is almost twice as long as the originally planned period; the total cost of the Suez Canal was ultimately 576 million francs.

The canal was opened for shipping on November 17, 1869. Substantial expenses for the construction of the Suez Canal complicated the economic situation in Egypt. Taking advantage of this, in 1875 the British government acquired a controlling stake in the canal. Egypt was removed from management as well as from profits. England became the actual owner of the canal, which was further exacerbated after the British occupation of Egypt in 1882.

The July Revolution of 1952 led to the expulsion of the English royal dynasty from the country. In 1953, Egypt was proclaimed a republic, and on July 26, 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the canal. This served as a pretext for the Anglo-French-Israeli aggression against Egypt at the end of October 1956, as a result of which the Suez Canal was significantly damaged and the movement of maritime transport was interrupted. Shipping was again suspended for periods of hostilities in 1967, 1973. In 1975, the canal was reopened for shipping, and the restoration process began, including a large-scale reconstruction of the Suez Canal, which began in 2005.

Today the Suez Canal is one of the main budget-forming projects in Egypt. Transit duties levied by Egypt make up a significant share of government revenue, along with oil production and tourism. For example, in May 2013, the revenue of the Suez Canal amounted to US $ 438.1 million.

According to the International Convention of 1888, ships of all countries that are not at war with Egypt can use the right of passage through the Suez Canal. However, due to the conflict in Syria, in August 2013, the Suez Canal was closed to warships passing with the aim of hostilities against Syria, as the Minister of Defense of Egypt, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, made a statement. He also added that Egypt will not allow the transformation of the Suez Canal into a corridor for an attack by any Arab state.

At present, under the bottom of the Suez Canal lies an automobile tunnel connecting Sinai and continental Africa. In 1998, a power line was built over the canal. Also worth mentioning is the Hosni Mubarak Road Bridge, built in 2001, which crosses the Suez Canal. The 70 m high bridge is part of the highway between the cities of Port Said and Ismailia, and in fact connects Africa with Asia. Another interesting project, opened in the same 2001, is the El Ferdan railway bridge, the longest swing bridge in the world, connecting the eastern bank of the Suez Canal with the Sinai Peninsula.

The Suez Canal has been and remains one of the busiest and most relevant shipping lanes in the world. It connects Western Europe with the Near and Middle East, as well as with East Africa, Asia and Australia. Every day, up to 50 ships pass through the canal, and due to the high density of sea transport, two-way traffic is envisaged at four points of the canal. On August 9, 2013, 68 vessels with a total load of 4.8 million tons crossed the Suez Canal, setting a new record for the number of cargo shipped through it in one day.

SUETSKY CANAL

SUETSKY CANAL

waterway of international importance. The length is 161 km from Port Said (Mediterranean Sea) to Suez (Red Sea). Includes the channel itself and several lakes. Built in 1869, width 120- 318 m, depth on the fairway - 18 m, no locks. The volume of transportation is 80 million tons, mainly oil and oil products, ferrous and non-ferrous metal ores. It is considered a conditional geogr. border between Africa and Asia.

Concise Geographical Dictionary... EdwART. 2008.

Suez Canal

(Suez Canal), navigable, lockless channel in Egypt, connects Red sea near Mr. Suez with Mediterranean Sea near Mr. Port Said crossing Isthmus of Suez ... Opened in 1869 (construction lasted 11 years). The authors of the project are French and Italian engineers (Linan, Mougel, Negrelli). Nationalized in 1956, before that it belonged to the Anglo-French "General Company of the Suez Canal". As a result of the Arab-Israeli military conflicts, the canal trial was interrupted twice - in 1956–57 and 1967–75. It is laid along the Isthmus of Suez and crosses a number of lakes: Manzala, Timsakh and Bol. Bitter. To supply the canal zone with river water from the Nile, the Ismailia Canal was dug. The route of the canal is considered a conditional geographical border between Asia and Africa. Length 161 km (173 km with offshore approaches). After reconstruction, the width is 120-318 m, the depth is 16.2 m. up to 55 ships: two caravans in the south and one in the north. channel passage time - approx. 14 hours. 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 (upon completion of the second stage - up to 250 thousand tons) and cargo ships with a deadweight of up to 370 thousand tons. k. - the second most important source of income for the country.

Dictionary of modern place names. - Yekaterinburg: U-Factoria. Under the general editorship of Acad. V. M. Kotlyakova. 2006 .

Suez Canal

a lockless navigational canal in Egypt, on the border between Asia and Africa, connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. The shortest waterway between the ports of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Opened in 1869 (construction lasted 11 years). Nationalized in 1956, before that it belonged to the Anglo-French General Company of the Suez Canal. It is laid along the deserted Isthmus of Suez and crosses a number of lakes, including Bolshoye Gorkoye. To supply the canal zone with river water from the Nile, the Ismailia Canal was dug. L. Suez Canal 161 km (173 km with sea approaches), lat. (after reconstruction) 120-318 m, depth. 16.2 m. Allows per day on Wed. up to 55 ships - two caravans in the south, one in the north. The average time for passing the channel is approx. 14 hours.

Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M .: Rosman. Edited by prof. A.P. Gorkina. 2006 .

Suez canal

one of the world's most important artificial waterways; crosses the Isthmus of Suez, stretching from Port Said (on the Mediterranean) to the Gulf of Suez (on the Red Sea). The length of the canal, the main channel of which runs almost directly from north to south and separates the main part of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula, is 168 km (including the 6 km length of approach channels to its ports); the width of the water surface of the canal in some places reaches 169 m, and its depth is such that vessels with a draft of more than 16 m can pass through it.
Canal route. The channel crosses a low-lying area of ​​the sandy desert where the lakes Manzala, Timsakh, Bolshoye Gorkoye and Maloye Gorkoye favored the laying of its channel. The water surface of both Gorky Lakes lies below sea level, but they had to be dug out of them, because their depths turned out to be less than required for the channel. In the 38 km section from Port Said to El Kantara, the route runs along Lake Manzala, which is essentially a shallow lagoon in the Mediterranean Sea. The nature of the soil in the Suez Canal zone made it possible to easily and quickly carry out earthworks, and due to the flat terrain here - unlike, for example, the Isthmus of Panama - there was no need to build locks. Drinking water to the Isthmus of Suez is supplied from the Nile through the Ismailiya freshwater canal, which begins just north of Cairo. The Suez Canal zone is connected with Cairo and the Nile Valley by a network of railways from the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Port Taufik.
The first canals on the Isthmus of Suez. The ancient Egyptians built a navigable canal from the Nile to the Red Sea for approx. 1300 BC, during the reign of Pharaohs Seti I and Ramses II. This canal, which was first dug as a channel for the flow of fresh water from the Nile to the Timsakh Lake area, began to be extended to the Suez under Pharaoh Necho II c. 600 BC and brought it to the Red Sea a century later. During the construction of the modern Suez Canal, part of this old channel was used for the construction of the freshwater Ismailia Canal. Under the Ptolemies, the old canal was maintained in working order, it was abandoned during the rule of Byzantium, and then rebuilt 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 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 Lord 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 laying a canal from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez, but their plans were not implemented. At the beginning of the 19th century. Europeans mastered the way to India through Egypt: along the Nile to Cairo, and then on camels to Suez. The idea of ​​building a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, which would help significantly reduce the time and money spent, was considered unrealizable at the time, based on the findings of Leper, an engineer who was commissioned by Napoleon to conduct research on the canal project. But Leper's conclusions were erroneous due to the confusion he took on faith about the difference in the levels of the water surface of the Mediterranean and Red Seas (allegedly in the Mediterranean it was 9 m lower than in the Red).
Modern channel. In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French consul in Egypt, received from Said Pasha, the ruler of Egypt, a concession for the creation of the General Company of the Suez Canal (La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez). It was formed in 1858. Work on the construction of the canal began in April 1859, along with the laying of a freshwater canal from Cairo to Ismailia. According to the original terms of this agreement, the Egyptian government was to receive 15% of the gross profit from navigation on the canal, and 99 years after the canal was put into operation, it was to become the property of Egypt. Most of the shares were acquired by the French, Turks and Said Pasha, who bought almost half of all shares. In 1875, Disraeli, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, bought 176,602 shares of the Company from the Khedive Ismail for £ 4 million, giving Great Britain 44% of the shares.
The opening of navigation on the canal took place on November 17, 1869. 29,725 thousand pounds sterling was spent on its construction. The initial depth of the fairway was 7.94 m, and its bottom width 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 role of the channel in world trade. Thanks to the Suez Canal, the length of the waterway between Western Europe and India has been reduced by almost 8,000 km. In the northern direction, it transports mainly oil and oil products for Western Europe. In the southern direction, industrial products are transported for the countries of Africa and Asia.
The international significance of the channel. The importance of the canal was recognized by the leading powers of the world in the Constantinople Convention of 1888, which guaranteed the passage of ships of all countries through it in conditions of peace and war. The Turks allowed Italian ships to pass through the canal even during the Italo-Turkish war of 1911 (during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the canal was closed to Russian ships). Serious problems on these issues did not arise during both world wars. However, after the formation of the State of Israel (1948), Egypt detained ships heading through the canal to or from Israel, and confiscated their cargo. There were no military fortifications in the canal zone, but British troops were in Egypt since 1882. Before the nationalization of the canal, its administration consisted mainly of the British and French. Then the Egyptians began to dispose of the channel.
LITERATURE
P.V. Perminov Sphinx's smile... M., 1985

Encyclopedia Around the World. 2008 .

Suez canal

The Suez Canal is in Egypt (cm. Egypt), laid across the Isthmus of Suez, connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. In ancient times, there was a connecting route from the Mediterranean Sea along the Nile and several channels to the Red Sea. According to ancient chronicles, the Suez Canal was built by King Darius. The inscriptions of Darius on the stones, which stand 20 km north of Suez, also speak of this. The Darius Route ran along the western bank of the present-day canal.
A channel in decline after the 2nd century. BC e., restored by the Roman emperor Trajan. For 2 centuries, Roman ships sailed along it to the shores of Arabia and India. After the conquest of Egypt by Byzantium, the canal did not operate from the mid-9th to the mid-19th century. During the period of modern history, the idea of ​​digging a canal across the isthmus was repeatedly expressed, but all attempts ended in failure, since the difference in water levels in the two seas was too large (9.9 m). Only Ferdinand de Lesseps, an engineer and French consul in Egypt, managed to start building the canal in 1859. It was supposed to go from Suez, inspect its harbor, and then go to Peluse. In the final version of the project, it was decided to move the northern mouth of the canal to where the Port Said harbor was subsequently built in honor of the Egyptian Khedive.
Construction was successfully completed by 1869 and the Suez Canal was opened on October 4, 1869. F. de Lesseps organized an unprecedented splendor ceremony for 6 thousand guests. The composer Giuseppe Verdi was commissioned with an opera for the grand opening of the canal and the new Italian theater in Cairo. This is how the immortal "Aida" was created. The next day, 48 ships decorated with flags in a predetermined order set off across the canal. The French Empress Eugenie, as a guest of honor, sailed on the first ship. Many crowned heads of Europe and from other continents took part in the identities. And right there, the agile travel agent Thomas Cook organized a tourist trip on the new channel. So, with fireworks, dancing, music, the Suez Canal was transferred to public use.
Thanks to the Suez Canal, the long and dangerous route around Africa for ships traveling from Europe to the East was significantly shortened. Economically and strategically important, the channel from the very beginning fell into the sphere of interests of the great powers, primarily Great Britain and France. In 1875, the government of British Prime Minister B. Disraeli acquired shares in the Suez Canal Company from an Egyptian Khedive. Since 1880, the management of the Suez Canal was carried out by the Anglo-French "General Company of the Suez Canal". Nasser's nationalization of the company that owned the Suez Canal caused a crisis in 1956. Nasser responded to the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula by blocking the canal, which was lifted only in 1975. Today, this route serves 14% of all world trade traffic. The length of the canal is 162.5 km, and its channel was widened and deepened several times. About 50 ships pass through the canal every day. It takes 14-16 hours. In the Port Said area, as in three other locations, the canal forks for two-way traffic.

Cyril and Methodius Encyclopedia of Tourism. 2008 .




See what "SUETSKY KANAL" is in other dictionaries:

Suez canal- - a navigable lockless sea channel in the north-east of Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The Suez Canal is the shortest waterway between the ports of the Atlantic and Indian oceans (8-15 thousand kilometers less than the way around Africa) ... Encyclopedia of Newsmakers

Suez canal- Suez Canal. SUETZ CANAL, in Egypt, runs through the Isthmus of Suez, connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. Opened in 1869. Length 161 km, depth 16.2 m, width 120 318 m, without locks. Suez Canal ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

In Egypt, it is laid across the Isthmus of Suez, it connects the Red Sea near the city of Suez with the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Port Said. It was opened in 1869. From 1880 the Suez Canal was managed by the Anglo-French General Company of the Suez Canal. Nationalized in ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Suez canal- (Suez Canal), a 171 km long navigable canal linking the Mediterranean Sea at Port Said with the Red Sea. Opened in 1869; Purchased by England in 1875; from 1882 to 1955 the channel zone had the status of an English. military base. In 1956, Egypt nationalized ... ... The World History

SUETSKY CANAL- a canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean and is essential for international shipping. The legal regime of the canal is determined by the Constantinople Convention of 1888, which stipulates that both in military and in peace ... ... Legal encyclopedia