Suez Canal

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I woke up at 05:45 am and the ship had just entered the North entrance of the Suez Canal. I enjoyed sitting on my balcony to watch the sun come up and cast beautiful colors in the sky as we crossed under the only suspension bridge built over the Suez Canal in El Qantara. The bridge was a gift from Japan.

The Suez Canal is the longest canal in the world without any locks. It has an interesting history and has passed ownership from the French to an international trust and eventually to Egyptian control. However, when the Israelis invaded the Sinai in 1967 during the 6 day war, the canal was closed for over 7years due to the damage and debris, including sunken warships, that blocked the canal.

In 1974 a UN peacekeeping force was stationed at the canal to maintain neutrality and keep the navigation channel opened. The income from the canal was over 6 billion USD last year, which is the #2 source of income for Egypt and used to update the infrastructure which is still suffering since the war. Approximately 50 ships per day pass through the canal with 1 daily convoy heading south and 2 daily convoys heading north. Travel through the canal is only 1 direction at a time, so after passing into Bitter Lake in the center, we sat anchored for a number of hours, waiting for our turn to continue south through the last half to the Port of Suez.

The ship provided a local guide who gave informative commentary about the canal throughout the day. Other activities included an enrichment lecture by Dr. Dieter Galler, Professor Emeritus of Louisiana State University, on Tutankhamen: Myth vs. Reality. He gave a brief history lesson on the pharoahnic dynasties and their gods. He also explained how Tutankhamen’s father, Ahkenaton, tried to change the current thinking at the time from many gods to one god and moved the capital from Thebes for a short time. He also discussed the most recent CATSCAN of Tutankhamen performed in 2005 under the watchful eye of Dr. Zawi Hamas, that proved Tutankhamen was not murdered. The hole in his skull was due to resin that stuck to the coffin and was accidentally damaged during careless handling by Dr. Carter. They discovered Tut’s sternum and ribs were missing which may have suggested he suffered an accident during chariot racing.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing around the ship, breathing in the fresh sea air and soaking up the sunshine on a beautiful 70 degree F day. I also enjoyed a delicious latte made by Oceania’s “King of Cappuccino”, Gorrin the Bar Manager from Croatia.

We finally entered the 2nd half of the canal around 4:00 pm behind a long line of container ships, including the “largest one in the world”, which looked like an aircraft carrier.

We saw the lights of Cairo off in the distance once it got dark and exited the canal into the Gulf of Suez around 7:00 pm. A beautiful sparkling skyline that even had some Christmas lights strung up in what we supposed to be the Christian quarter, because there were no mosques visible in that area.

Tonight we ate at the Grand Dining Room decorated in gold, rose and blue brocades with a pastel frescoed dome ceiling in the center. The tables were dressed elegantly with Versace china and crystal glasses. While the dining room is slightly larger than the others, it is noisier, but the service was friendly and efficient. We especially enjoyed our sommelier Michael from Canada, who has a great sense of humor. The menu offered traditional contemporary dining. I had escargot, Roquefort and endive salad, filet mignon perfectly cooked, and savarin for dessert. All were delicious and nicely presented.

The day’s activities concluded with a musical variety show featuring all of the on-board entertainers.

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Photos

Suez Canal Suspension Bridge
Located at El Qantara

Army Encampment
On the Sinai side of the Suez Canal