November 17
SUEZ CANAL DAY
Over the years, a lot of squabbling has gone on over a 100-mile (160 kilometers) ditch called the Suez Canal. Formally opened on this day in 1869, the canal connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas, eliminating a 4000-mile trip around Africa.
The canal first belonged to France, then to Great Britain and then Egypt. Because of the single direction of the wind in the Suez area and the narrowness of the canal, sailing ships had a hard time navigating and were eventually taken out of service in the British fleets - never to return. They were replaced by steamships. The building of the Suez Canal not only eliminated the African route, it eliminated a whole nautical tradition of sailing that had been a part of society for nearly 4800 years.
The Suez Canal has played a major wartime role. It was blockaded (by Britain) in World War I to keep enemy ships from using the waterway. Axis ships were denied use of the canal in World War II; then in 1950, because of the Arab-Israeli war, Egypt banned Israeli ships from the canal. During the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, it was blocked once again, this time by sunken ships; and didn’t reopen until 1975.
Since 1956, when Egypt seized control and claimed the sovereign right to govern its use, the Suez canal has been a national treasure to the Egyptian people -- earning the country millions of dollars daily.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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