1869, the year that sea travel around the world changed dramatically. The Suez Canal opened in this year, which followed the recent completion of the American transcontinental railroad. Circling the globe suddenly became a much faster process, as ships didn’t have to travel around the horn of Africa to cross from Europe to Asia or back. Now, the Mediterranean was connected to the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, leading into the Indian Ocean.

Now a destination for educational and enjoyable cruise holidays and expensive holidays, the Suez Canal still remains in use. Cruise ships now sail up and down the waters of the Suez Canal, including through the Great Bitter Lake which is located in the middle of the canal. This lake keeps water flow steady to both sides of the canal, and the sides are almost equal in length and in height above sea level. Popular ports of call offer tours inland, to enable visitors to see Cairo and Luxor in Egypt.

Canal building attempts didn’t stop with Senusret II, there were many east-west attempts and only one was successful. The original attempt was to be a north-south canal; this is known as the remains of a trench were discovered in the 20th Century connecting Lake Timseh to the Ballah Lakes near Great Bitter Lake. A canal did manage to connect the Nile and the Red Sea during the reign of Darius I, but Ptolemy II later improved it and built the first known functioning sea-lock.

The original attempt at the canal can still be seen today; the remains of a trench were discovered in the 20th Century connecting Lake Timseh to the Ballah Lakes near the Great Bitter Lake. This was the only north-south attempt at a canal before the existing version. However, there were numerous east-west attempts, but only one was successful. Going back to the reign of Darius I, a canal did connect the Nile and the Red Sea, but it was later improved under Ptolemy II who built the first known functioning sea-lock.

When you visit now, you will find that most of the evidence of these ancient canals has disappeared beneath the sand, but the legends are still very much alive. When you take a cruise ship to the Suez Canal, you can see and smell the history all around you. To visit the interior of the land, Port Said and the Port of Safaga both offer day trips, and also offer amazing assortment of nightlife that might take you a few days to fully discover.

Sarah Van Rensburg is a travel lover and avid writer, focussing on a range of travel topics particularly cruise holidays.