The Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
The artificial waterway crosses Egypt’s Isthmus of Suez and provides a direct maritime route between Europe and Asia. Before its construction, ships traveling between the two regions generally had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa’s southern tip, making journeys much longer.
The modern canal was built by the Suez Canal Company under the direction of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. It opened to navigation on 17 November 1869. Unlike the Panama Canal, it has no lock system because the Mediterranean and Red Sea are at broadly similar levels.
The canal became a major strategic and commercial route, but its history also includes conflict. Egypt nationalized it in 1956, prompting the Suez Crisis. A later closure followed the 1967 Arab-Israeli War; the canal reopened in 1975 after clearing and reconstruction.