In which country was the Suez Canal constructed?

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt. It cuts across the Isthmus of Suez, connecting the Mediterranean Sea at Port Said in the north with the Red Sea at Suez (Port Tewfik) in the south.

Key facts:

It is about 193 km long.

It was built by the Suez Canal Company under the direction of the French diplomat and developer Ferdinand de Lesseps. Construction began in 1859.

It was opened on 17 November 1869.

It has no locks, because the sea levels on both sides are almost the same and the land is flat desert.

It passes through Lake Manzala, Lake Timsah (near Ismailia) and the Great Bitter Lake and Little Bitter Lake.

Importance:

• It provides the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia, so ships do not have to sail around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.
• For India, it greatly shortened the voyage to Europe; after it opened, British trade with India grew rapidly.
• About 12 per cent of world trade passes through it, and it is a major source of foreign exchange for Egypt.

History:

Britain bought Egypt's shares in the canal company in 1875 under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.

In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the canal. This led to the Suez Crisis, in which Britain, France and Israel invaded Egypt. They withdrew under pressure from the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Nations.

Recent events:

• In 2015, Egypt opened the "New Suez Canal", a parallel channel along part of the route that allows two-way traffic.
• In March 2021, the giant container ship Ever Given ran aground and blocked the canal for six days, disrupting global trade.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Israel lies east of the Sinai peninsula, which is Egyptian territory.
• ✗Jordan has only a small coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba.
• ✗Sudan lies south of Egypt, on the Red Sea.