The Suez canal tour

0: Suez-canal-tour - Track

1: Suez-canal-tour - Suez

Suez (el-Suweis) is located on the Southern tip of the Suez Canal, and has been a commercial port since the 7th century. The spice trade and pilgrimages to Mecca made it prosperous throughout the Middle Ages. It became a naval base in the 15th century and, in 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal ensured its development as a modern city. Today, Suez is one of Egypt's largest ports. It is situated near the scenic Ataga Hills (Jebel Ataga), about 134 kilometers (83 miles) from Cairo and 88 kilometers (55 miles) from Ismailia, this city affords an excellent view of Sinai and the Red Sea. It is also interesting to watch ships passing through the Canal form Suez's vantage point. http://www.touregypt.net/sueztop.htm

2: Suez-canal-tour - Port Taufiq

3: Suez-canal-tour - Shatt

4: Suez-canal-tour - Overhead line crossing

The Suez Canal overhead line crossing is an important electrical power line built across the Suez Canal in 1998. It is designed for 2 circuits of 500kV. Because the required clearance over the Suez Canal is 152 metres, the overhead line has two 221 meter high pylons on either side of the crossing, in spite of its small span width of 600 metres, The pylons each have 4 crossarms, 3 for the conductors and one for catching the conductors in case of an insulator string failure. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal_overhead_line_crossing

5: Suez-canal-tour - Gokarna

6: Suez-canal-tour - Ma'diyah

7: Suez-canal-tour - Kubrr

8: Suez-canal-tour - Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel

The Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel is an Automobile tunnel under the Suez Canal. It has two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, and connects the Asian Sinai Peninsula to the town of Suez on the African mainland. It was originally constructed as a shield tunnel by the British government in 1983. It is 1.63 km long and has an outside diameter of 11.6 m. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Hamdi_Tunnel

9: Suez-canal-tour - Shallufa

10: Suez-canal-tour - Wadi Tor Salum

11: Suez-canal-tour - Qaryat al Jana'in

12: Suez-canal-tour - Little Bitter lake

13: Suez-canal-tour - Al Kibrit

14: Suez-canal-tour - Gireifa

15: Suez-canal-tour - Fanara

16: Suez-canal-tour - Great Bitter Lake

The Great Bitter Lake is a salt water lake between the north and south part of the Suez Canal. It is adjoined by the Small Bitter Lake. Together, the Bitter Lakes have a surface area of about 250 km². To the north, the canal also runs through Lake Manzala and Lake Timsah.

As the canal has no locks, sea water flows freely into the lake from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, replacing water lost to evaporation. The lake acts as a buffer for the canal, reducing the effect of tidal currents.

On February 14, 1945, on the Great Bitter Lake, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, having flown directly from the Yalta Conference with Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, met on board the naval cruiser USS Quincy with Saudi Arabia's King Abdul Aziz. President Roosevelt's interpreter was U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Bill Eddy who recorded the mens' conversation in his book FDR Meets Ibn Saud.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, the canal was closed, leaving 14 ships trapped in the lake until 1975. These ships became known as the "Yellow Fleet", because of the desert sands which soon covered their decks. A number of local postage stamps (or rather, decorative labels, since they had no postal validity) were created by the crews, which are sought after by collectors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Bitter_Lake

17: Suez-canal-tour - Abu Sultan

18: Suez-canal-tour - Serapeum

19: Suez-canal-tour - Ezbet Abu Husein

20: Suez-canal-tour - Lake Timsah

21: Suez-canal-tour - Ismailia

22: Suez-canal-tour - As Salihiyah

23: Suez-canal-tour - El Ferdan Railway Bridge

The El Ferdan Railway Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt. It is the longest swing bridge in the world, with a span of 1100 ft (340 m). It replaced the 1963 bridge, which was destroyed in the Six-Day War.

24: Suez-canal-tour - Al Firdan

25: Suez-canal-tour - Abu Khalifah

26: Suez-canal-tour - El-Qantara el-Gharbîya

27: Suez-canal-tour - Canal Bridge/Peace Bridge

The Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Mubarak Peace Bridge or the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, is a road bridge crossing the Suez Canal at El Qantara. The Arabic al qantara means "the bridge". It has a 70 meter clearance over the canal and was built with assistance from the Japanese government. The contractor was PentaOcean Construction.

The Japanese grant, accounting for 60% of the construction cost (or 13.5 billion yen), was agreed to during the visit of President Mubarak to Japan in March 1995, as part of a larger project to develop the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt bore the remaining 40% (9 billion yen). The bridge opened in October, 2001.

The bridge, which is 3.9 km long, consists of a 400m cable stayed main span and two 1.8km long approach bridges. The height of the two main pylons supporting the main span is 154 m each. The towers were designed in the shape of Pharaonic obelisks.

The clearance under the bridge is 68 meters, which defines, therefore, the maximum height above the waterline (Suezmax) of ships that can pass through the Suez Canal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal_Bridge

28: Suez-canal-tour - Qantara el Gharbiya

29: Suez-canal-tour - Qantara el Sharqiya

30: Suez-canal-tour - Cap

31: Suez-canal-tour - Ushash Arab el- Haiya

32: Suez-canal-tour - Tina

33: Suez-canal-tour - Ras al Ushsh

34: Suez-canal-tour - Port Fouad

35: Suez-canal-tour - Port Said

The economic base of Port Said is fishing and industries, like chemicals, processed food, and cigarettes. Port Said is also an important harbour both for exports of Egyptian products like cotton and rice, but also a fueling station for ships that pass through the Suez Canal. Port Said also thrives on being a duty-free port, as well as a summer resort for Egyptians.

There are numerous old houses with grand balconies on all floors, giving the city a distinctive look. Port Said's twin city is Port Fouad, which lies on the eastern side of the canal. The two cities coexist, to the extent that there hardly is any town centre in Port Fouad. The cities are connected by free ferries running all through the day, together they form a metropolitan area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Said