Suez Canal, As Suways, Egypt
Monday, May 10, 2010
The
Suez Canal, opened in 1869, was built across 100 miles on the Isthmus of Suez. It separates the Africa mainland part of Egypt and the Asian sinai Penninsula belonging to Egypt. About 2:15 am we saw 3 tugs and a pilot boat moving us into position to anchor (after 3 a.m.) to wait for our position in the transit convoy. At 5:40 am, as no. 3 in the convoy, we started thru the canal with
Suez City visible thru the usual haze. Across a sand spit we could see lots of buildings. The canal has been widened several times thru the years and must be dredged continually. It was a thrilling journey and much more scenic than I had expected. I watched every bit of the transit. The port side, mainland Egypt, had cities and farm land right up close to the canal..which surprised us. Military observation towers and equipment were every few miles. There was activity all along. On the Sinai side it was mostly desert as far as one could see...sand and more sand. The first section of the canal had a high ridge of sand..from the original construction. There were gaps cut thru it every 100 feet or so...so that military troops and equipment could be moved thru quickly if needed. There were soldiers and towers all along the way. Periodically there were stacks of pontoons which could be used to move the troops onto the water. There was a large training facility visible also. A floating bridge was anchored along shore which could be used in an emergency. At 7:45 we entered Little Bitter Lake, which had been created from a natural depression in the desert. The entrance was marked by El Gineifa Signal Tower. This allowed space for ships to pass each other...if necessary. At 8:10 we moved thru a narrow area into the Great Bitter Lake. The town of Kabrit was visible but hazy. It continued to surprise us..the amount of builtings and activity.
Next we saw several aircraft hangers that had been abandoned. we saw a huge dredging barge with miles of large hoses spread out behind. At 8:45 we could see a large convoy of ships, anchored, waiting to go southbound after we passed. At 9:45 we left the Great Bitter Lake entering the usual narrow canal area..with the usual military towers ( they would wave to us!!!!). At 10:25 we enteredthe small Lake Timsah Area. The large town of
Ismailia came into view. Quite a sight! At 11:10 we passed a swinging bridge stacked along both shores. Earlier and now again we saw ferries moving tankers and cars across the canal. We also saw a pod of dolphins playing.
At 12 we passed under a lovely permanent bridge. Traffic was light..with people seeming to prefer the ferries. Again there were south bound frieghters lined up in a bypass area waiting... By 1 pm there were large farms right up to the canal with lots of plantings , cows and horses. Flies were everywhere...ugh. Also it was very windy and sand was blowing everywhere...well, duh, we were in the desert! By 2:10 we had huge expanses of sand on both sides for the first time..and then at 2:45 we exitied the canal at Port Said...and entered a very rough Mediterrean Sea.
All in all...I just plain enjoyed the transit.....
