Egypt celebrates 150th anniversary of opening Suez Canal to int'l navigation

A cargo ship sails on the Suez Canal in Egypt, July 26, 2009. Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) celebrated on Sunday the 150th anniversary of the Suez Canal's opening to international navigation. The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It was opened for navigation in November 1869 after 10 years of construction. The Suez Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7,000 km. In August of 2015, Egypt opened a new 35-km waterway alongside the original 190 km Suez Canal, plus a 37-km expansion and deepening of some parts of the existing one. (Xinhua/Zhang Ning)