DAY 22 transiting the Suez Canal

At around 2.00am we began our transit of the Suez Canal south from Port Said. We were second in our convoy.  All the other ships were cargo ships; we didn’t see any other passenger ships today. As always we didn’t get to bed until around 12.30am.  Then couldn’t get to sleep so I kept getting out of bed and going out onto the balcony to see where we were.  At 1.15am I could see 6 other ships waiting off Port Said. Dawn broke around 5.00am and we were well on our way.  I was not disappointed at all at missing the very beginning as I thought I would be because as it turned out we didn’t miss anything.  Our view from the cabin is perfect we can see everywhere. J Breakfast arrived at 6.30 and by then we were beginning to see little towns and the first of dozens of Army Posts with personnel on guard.  It is compulsory in Egypt to join the Army for 3 years and in that time there is no pay for personnel.  Families are expected to pay for their needs.

One side of the canal is quite different from the other one is green and inhabited the other just desert. On the ‘green’ side we passed many villages, farms, little settlements and even the odd large ‘Mansion’ which was quite opulent compared to the other properties. As usual there were dozens of unfinished homes because the families build extensions as and when their children marry so in the years prior to the marriages the home consists of unfinished many unfinished levels. That’s what was explained to us by our guide in Alexandria. As I have already mentioned on the East bank it is mainly desert with the exception of one inhabited area other than that it is purely Army Barracks/Posts. 

I cannot remember the name of the bridge we sailed under but it really is a master piece of design.  I researched a little about it before we came away but just cannot remember the name of it. It is huge and very long.  We later passed a swing bridge with half one side and half the other.  For a swing bridge a very large structure indeed.  Many ‘Bailey bridges’ are positioned all the way along the canal and are ready to be swung into position if ever needed by the Armed Forces. Many runways and aircraft hangers also are dotted along the West Bank together with a couple of big airbases.

Mosques are everywhere, seem to be the only buildings we’ve seen in Egypt that appear to be completely finished and in immaculate condition. Some are rather ornate and there are various styles and colours.  At midday we could hear the chanting from the loud speakers in the tower calling the locals to prayer.

I love the way this ship has the bow open for all passengers to visit.  We went for a walk up there mid-morning as we were sailing into Great Bitter Lake. The view was vast; we counted at least 18 ships either at anchor or coming in the other direction or waiting ready to merge in behind us.  Four ships did just that and joined our convoy. Many local fishermen were out in their little colourful row boats throwing huge nets over the side.  We presumed them to be commercial fishermen as there were dozens of them throughout the length of the canal which is approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) in length.

Ismailia a large city about half way along the canal looked to be quite attractive.  Many parks and many quite expensive looking mansions dotted along the canal. Many date palms are to be seen as well as orchards of very dense and tall trees. We saw many wheat crops which were tendered to by the woman of the house, they appeared to be harvesting today. There appeared to be many boxed water areas which appeared to be for salt extraction. In other words salt filtration ponds?

As we sailed along the last section of the canal to the city of Suez we reflected on the history of the Suez Canal. To think it was in 1859 or thereabouts decided  that a water way was needed to link the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.  A French man by the name of Ferdinand de Lesseps supervised his dream to build a modern canal to link these two great waters. As we know after that there have been many troubled times over the Suez Canal. It has been closed, ships sunk, mines laid and all sorts of the years. Finally when everyone was happily getting along again  the Canal was re-opened once and for all but no-one could use it because the fees were too high so ships continued to go the ‘long’ way round until the charges were reviewed.  In 1997 it was dredged to accommodate the larger ships and the officials reduced the fees. Since then it has been a busy canal carrying passengers and cargo from the Mediterranean to the East and beyond.

Our second Formal tonight and an early night for us as we’ve all been up all night… well worth it though, and an extremely interesting day.  J

Sorry I haven’t been putting up photos, sometimes the internet on the ship is so slow it just doesn’t accept the photos but I’ll keep trying because every now and then it speeds up making it easier to upload.

Tomorrow in Aqaba, Jordon.