The Suez Canal
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The\\xa0Suez Canal\\xa0(Arabic:\\xa0\\u0642\\u064e\\u0646\\u064e\\u0627\\u0629\\u064f \\u0627\\u0644\\u0633\\u064f\\u0651\\u0648\\u064e\\u064a\\u0652\\u0633\\u0650\\u200e,\\xa0Qan\\u0101tu s-Suways) is an artificial\\xa0sea-level\\xa0waterway\\xa0in\\xa0Egypt, connecting the\\xa0Mediterranean Sea\\xa0to the\\xa0Red Sea\\xa0through the\\xa0Isthmus of Suez\\xa0and dividing Africa and Asia. In 1858,\\xa0Ferdinand de Lesseps\\xa0formed the\\xa0Suez Canal Company\\xa0for the express purpose of building the\\xa0canal. Construction of the canal lasted from 1859 to 1869 and took place under the regional authority of the\\xa0Ottoman Empire. The canal officially opened on 17 November 1869. It offers vessels a direct route between the\\xa0North Atlantic\\xa0and northern\\xa0Indian\\xa0oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans and reducing the journey distance from the Arabian Sea to London by approximately 8,900 kilometres (5,500\\xa0mi), or 10 days at 20 knots (37\\xa0km/h; 23\\xa0mph) to 8 days at 24 knots (44\\xa0km/h; 28\\xa0mph).[1]\\xa0The canal extends from the northern terminus of\\xa0Port Said\\xa0to the southern terminus of\\xa0Port Tewfik\\xa0at the city of\\xa0Suez. Its length is 193.30\\xa0km (120.11\\xa0mi) including its northern and southern access-channels. In 2020, more than 18,500 vessels traversed the canal (an average of 51.5 per day).[2]
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