Which artificial waterway connects the Mediterranean and Red Seas?

The Suez Canal is the artificial waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

The canal crosses Egypt’s Isthmus of Suez, linking Port Said in the north with the city of Suez in the south. Unlike many famous canals, it is a sea-level waterway with no locks. Its route gives ships a direct connection between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean trading systems without sailing around the southern tip of Africa.

Construction of the modern canal began in 1859 under the direction of French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps and was completed in 1869. It officially opened on November 17 that year. The canal is about 193 kilometers long and has been expanded and widened to accommodate larger vessels and two-way traffic in sections.

A common mix-up is confusing it with the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and uses locks. The Suez Canal has also played a major political role: Egypt nationalized it in 1956, triggering the Suez Crisis, and the waterway was closed from 1967 until 1975 after the Six-Day War.