I can’t write too much about cruising the Suez Canal. It is nothing at all like the Panama Canal transit since there are no locks. The canal was built between 1859 and 1869 to provide a more direct route between the North Atlantic and northern Indian oceans. It is a 121 mile long canal. Because there are no locks, seawater flows through it freely. There are tides, and in general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter and south in summer. South of the lakes, the current changes with the tides at Suez.

The last time we cruised the canal, we were on the port side, and so had a view of the Sinai Peninsula. This time, we were starboard, so saw mainland Egypt. The view is much the same, whichever side of the ship you are on! The canal is fairly narrow so you are never far from land. At a couple of point, it opens out into large lakes before narrowing again.

Here are some pictures I took along the way: