We have been very fortunate to see some amazing sites on this trip. The Suez Canal is another of them. We arrived at the Red Sea/South side of the canal around 10 pm and spent the night anchored with dozens of ships. Some ships felt a little too close as our ship’s side thrusters were used all night to keep us away and some passengers awake. Ships travel in convoys, all going the same direction in the Canal. It’s time and we set off in the lead.
The Suez Canal is a project that never ends. Along the way, we notice a dredger, huge piles of sand and new riprap on the shore. Also, in 2015 they completed a major widening and deepening project that also included a 22-mile parallel channel on the northern half.
Click here to read 9 interesting facts about the canal including the plan to place what became the Statue of Liberty monument at the Mediterranean mouth of the canal.
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| Landslide |
Traffic control for the canal is similar to the Panama Canal. Both have a lake in the middle that allows for traffic to congregate and pass. Ships travel in only one direction on each half of the canal. You can see the lake in the satellite image below. Each of the colorful items on the map on the right is a ship. The arrow points to our ship in blue.
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| The green in the satellite image shows the lushness of the Nile Delta |
Portions of the canal are flat as far as the eye can see. In other sections we are walled in from the material moved to build the canal. We only saw two bridges to cross the canal. The canal is 193km long, so two bridges isn’t much. The one below is a 1,100-foot swing bridge for train traffic. It’s currently being upgraded while a second one is being built to cross the new parallel channel.
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| Swing bridge for train traffic. |
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| Lots to do on a Sea Day |
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Mosque on top created giant murals on banks
Bottom - Fisherman on a Felucca |
We are now in a very built-up area north of the new parallel canal. Small multi story buildings line each shoreline. The docks are lined with ferry boats who must carefully navigate between the ships transiting the canal. Ahead of us is a massive suspension bridge completed in 2001. It limits ships to 68 meters tall.
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| That ship is very, very tall and is directly under the bridge |
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| Our Pilot departs, note the very green color of the water. Almost like the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day |
To mark our momentous feat of transiting the canal, Oceania has provided us each with certificates. We are now in the Mediterranean Sea. Next stop, Israel
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