Enter Suez Canal at Suez

Today Port Suez is a modern city with three harbors on the Red Sea, but in the 25th century B.C.E., it was the site where the pharaohs protected their lands from marine invasions. From Port Suez, the Suez Canal flows 193 kilometers (120 miles) through the Isthmus of Suez, across saline lakes known as the Bitter Lakes, to Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea. Built under the guidance of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, the canal took 10 years to construct, opening in 1869. When the Suez Canal opened, it eliminated the need for ships to sail around Africa to reach South Asia.