Suez Canal in transit

Marg & John entering the Suez Canal

It was our first Suez transit as Margaret travelled to the UK in the early 70s when the Suez Canal was still closed.

As many of you would know, they are expanding the canal by adding another channel. It is part complete and sped up our journey by some 2 hours. We were the second ship in a convoy of 23 ships.

We found it interesting but not nearly as interesting as the Panama Canal with its locks, mules, and massive engineering works.

One interesting aspect was the security – we had our passports collected before Dubai and not returned until our approach to Italy – presumably to discourage us from jumping ship and joining ISIS.

An armed  guard - a lonely job

And all along the Canal are watch towers with armed guards constantly on watch.

A guard post

The memorial to those who built the Canal is impressive.

Monument to workers

And we are not sure what this memorial is all about.

An interesting point is that apparently the Ancient Egyptians also had built a canal for trade with the Eastern African coast and with what we now know as the Middle East.

Friendship bridge

The “Friendship Bridge” was built by the Japanese and opened quite recently.

How other people live - along the Canal.

It was a hot day and John managed to get a sunburnt face even though he was under cover – reflection from the sand, no doubt.