Why the Suez Canal is special
The 160 kilometer (99 mile) long Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the vast waters of Asia (via the Red Sea). Without it, a cargo ship sailing from Italy to Singapore would have to go around the southern tip of Africa, doubling the travel time and distance. Travelers marvel at the unusual sight of an endless parade of super-tankers, container ships, and other large ocean-going vessels taking a shortcut through the barren desert.

Sightseeing tip
Stand back far enough from the canal banks so you see the moving boats but not the canal's water. The giant ships appear to be sliding through the dry desert sands in the middle of nowhere.

Earlier canals
The Suez Canal is not the first water link between the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The Persians built a sophisticated canal system around 500 BC - and, later, the Romans and Sixth century Arabs did the same. These routings cut an appreciably different path through the desert than the modern canal does.
In the 1700s, Napoleon vaguely conceived the current Suez Canal route but the waterway wasn't built until nearly a century later (by a joint British and French venture).

What leading travel books say about the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal is the most traveled stretch of water in the world.
Egypt
Insight Compact Guides

The Suez Canal ships carry 14 percent of the world's trade.
Egypt
Passport Illustrated
Guides