EARLY CANAL SCHEMES

The canal from the Nile to the Red Sea at Suez had a long, complex and uncertain history. Its origins go back far into the pharaonic period, and it remained in intermittent use until over a century after the Arab conquest. Precisely what work was done by which ruler is largely irrelevant to us. What concerns us is the persistent tale (Sources 88–91) that until the Ptolemies the canal was not completed because it was reported that the Red Sea was higher than the Nile and, if the land were cut through, would either drown Egypt or pollute the river. This report need not detain us long because, as Strabo saw, it was total nonsense.

The canal was approximately 120 km in length and originally left the Nile near Bubastis (though the take-off was later moved upstream to near Cairo) and ran east down Wadi Tumilat to Lake Timsah, where it turned south through the Bitter Lakes to Suez (Fig. 9.1). Its purpose was no doubt primarily for irrigation and to supply fresh water to the settlements along its course, ending at the various towns that have existed in the Suez area; the sweet-water canal completed in 1863, which largely follows its route, has exactly the same function today. Navigation was probably a secondary consideration.