The idea behind the canal was to shortern the trade route to india via a suez canal.
However, the calculation carried out by the French engineers showed a difference in level of 10 meters between both seas. If constructed under such circumstances, a large land area would be flooded. Later, the calculations showed to be wrong, and the final attempt to dig the Canal was undertaken by former French Consul in Cairo and famous Canal digger Ferdinand de Lesseps.
The
Suez Canal emerged on the political scene in 1956, during the Suez crisis.
In July of that year the Egyptian president Nasser, at age 38, announced
the nationalization of the Canal at Mansheya Square in Alexandria in front
of a cheering crowd. His decision was in response to the British, French,
and American refusal for a loan aimed at building the Aswan High Dam. The
revenue from the Canal, he argued, would help finance the High Dam project.
The announcement riggered a swift reaction by Great Britain, France, and
Israel, who all invaded Egypt less than two months later. Their action
would
be condemned by the International community, and Nasser would eventually
claim victorious.
A
re-opening ceremony took place in 1975. Since then, the Canal, which stretches
167 kms across the Egyptian desert, has been widened twice. Today, approximately
100 ships cross the canal daily, the cities and beaches along the Bitter
Lakes and the Canal serve as a summer resort for tourists.
