It is one of the most important waterways in the world. Spanning 101 miles, it connects marine Europe to Asia and lower Africa, by connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It is often called the “crossroads to Europe, Africa and Asia”; the route is used to transport goods to and from all three continents.
Connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea is an idea older than we ever thought. The first inland waterway in the region seems to have been dug about 1850 B.C. That attempt, like many others, failed. Desert winds blew in and clogged the canal. In the 1860s, approximately 150 years ago, Great Britain had a blossoming trade with India, but without a canal. British ships had to make a long voyage around the entire continent of Africa. A canal in Suez would cut the journey by almost 6,000 miles (9600 kilometers).
A French company led by Ferdinand deLesseps made an agreement with Egypt to construct the Suez Canal. After ten years of work, the canal opened in 1869. The Egyptian ruler, Ismail, celebrated the opening of the Suez Canal by building a huge palace in Cairo. Ismail treated royalty from around the world to a gathering in celebration of the canal. The expenses for the celebration came at a time when the price of Egyptian cotton plummeted. Egypt had to take on loan to pay for the Suez Canal. Ismail took out loans from European banks, but he was unable to repay the loans. Thereupon, Egypt was forced to sell its share of the Suez Canal to Great Britain.