THE SUEZ CANAL AND WHY I DON'T RECOMMEND GOING TO EGYPT ANYMORE

Tuesday – 14 April 2015 – At sea: Aqaba to the Suez Canal

We had been scheduled today for a half day port stop at Sharm El Sheikh. Barbara and I had planned on a beach day. But Captain Arma had announced that today’s port stop had been cancelled. Silver Wind’s time slot for the Suez Canal transit might be moved up from 3 am the next morning to as early as 8 pm tonight. He didn't want to lose our position and chance a late arrival at the first stop in Israel the day after tomorrow. Although we were a bit disappointed in losing our day bathing in the clear Red Sea, we were upset that the 12-hour Suez Canal transit might be completely in darkness if we started our transit of the Canal just after sunset. 

The South End of the Suez Canal was the staging area for the northbound convoy later that evening. Many ships were already  waiting at anchor

We had a relaxing and unexpected sea day, but I was surprised when we arrived at the staging area for the Suez Canal well before dark. Barbara and I wondered if the missed Sharm stop had more to do with the recent terrorist attack in the Sinai than with scheduling issues for our Canal passage, but the late afternoon approach to the mouth of the Suez Canal was fascinating. When we arrived abeam Port Suez, a number of ships were already awaiting the formation of the evening northbound convoy. Transits of the Suez Canal is one-way, necessitating alternative convoys. As we anchored we could see Egyptian wind farms and oil rigs, none of which existed in my visit in the mid-1990s.

Throughout the evening the Captain came on the PA announcing each time a new time slot assignment with Silver Wind further back in the convoy. He hinted that the Suez Canal dispatching seemed disorganized. It turned out that was only one manifestation of Egypt's current dysfunction.

We had a quiet evening at anchor and enjoyed watching additional ships join the anchorage after dark. The entire convoy had been delayed. We didn't sail until well after midnight. It appeared we could have had our beach stop.

Wednesday – 15 April 2015 – Suez Canal Transit and Port Said, Egypt

Suez Canal Transit

We awakened to find that we were very much still transiting the Suez Canal. This house might have been for an official, perhaps a relief pilot for the 12 to 16 hour transit, or maybe a very dedicated ship watching fan?

The Al Salam Bridge is just past the halfway point. From the top deck I could see that we had passed under it just before dawn. I figured we still had a few hours to go before reaching Port Said

 

From the bow, it was clear that we were well back in the convoy

At dawn we had found we had gotten only half way up the Canal as the Al Salam Peace Bridge was just astern Silver Wind. Our position was well back in the northbound convoy. (In 1995, our Captain--the well known Captain Dag, now said to be with Seabourn Cruises--had arranged with cigarettes and cognac for Song of Flower to lead the convoy for an all daylight transit.) Because of Silver Wind's late start from the southern anchorage, much of the scenery along both sides of the canal was still stark desert. We enjoyed the remainder of the Canal transit quite a bit.

The Suez Canal tolls provide more than half of Egypt's total income. It's essentially a deep water ditch across the desert. The 102-mile long shortcut was built in 1869 to save ships’ having to sail 4,300 miles around Africa from Asia to Europe. There are no locks. The Mediterranean and Red Seas are at the same level. There is a modest current that reverses seasonally. Ships just sail in one end and out the other. At least two one-way convoys are formed each day.

Each of the many guardhouses on the more populated west side of the Canal were manned by very young and bored soldiers leaning on their gigantic machine guns

We saw a number of passenger trains along the Canal's route. This train appeared to be a long distance service. We saw a number of smaller three car trains, perhaps locals to service the small towns along the Canal's route.

The Suez Canal employs small three wheeled trucks to transport canal pilots. 

The passage through the Suez Canal is dramatic and most interesting. The ship convoys travel at a constant speed of around 10 knots with only the occasional guardhouse manned by a very bored teenage soldier visible. Small ferries carry cars and passengers across between huge container ships which seem to be bearing down on them. Sometimes a dowdy passenger train passes by on the old rail line that parallels the Canal. We were amused to see a canal pilot shuttled on the service road by a three wheeled vehicle flying a sea pilot flag.

Call at Port Said

Downtown Port Said looked prosperous and interesting

As is usual in Egypt, a bunch of uniformed officials and a few guys looking suspicious waited on the pier for Silver Wind to dock

Rudyard Kipling said,  "If you truly wish to find someone you have known and who travels, there are two points on the globe you have but to sit and wait, sooner or later your man will come there: the docks of London and Port Said". From the deck of our ship the city just south of the Mediterranean end of the Suez Canal was striking. As we approached the small cruise ship dock we could see high rise condos and busy wide boulevards.

We hard time for a walk around the city before our geeky tour of the Suez Canal widening construction and the Canal Headquarters’ town of Ismailia. Tour Manager, Sylvia, told me that the 5-hour excursion had been scheduled for the afternoon rather than the usual morning timeframe because the Captain had told her he was unable to guaranty that the Canal authorities would be able to provide an accurate timeframe. This, of course, turned out to be the case. With Silver Wind's position well back in the convoy, we arrived mid-morning.

Port Said's well kept apartment buildings and colonial architecture was a little worse for wear but still worth a quick exploration

Port Said's El Salam Mosque was a gem. a good destination for our walk

Hours after we arrived in Port Said we could see ships at anchor in the Mediterranean Sea still awaiting the start of the southbound convoy

Most cities in the Middle East are less sparkly up close. Port Said has suffered with the rest of Egypt during the recent political troubles, but the town still had some charm.  We walked a couple of blocks dodging cars and trucks to our destination, the beautiful El Salam Mosque.

We returned for lunch before our 1 pm tour. Surprisingly, many ships at still at anchor in the Mediterranean Sea waiting for the southbound convoy to begin. Despite our position towards the end of the convoy overnight, more northbound ships were still dribbling out into the Mediterranean.

We were accompanied by a two vehicle police escort within the city limits. An empty backup tour bus followed us  throughout the tour

We booked the excursion to Ismailia for the sights. But the tour gave us more of a creeping dismay and sadness for the people of Egypt. We expected security to be tight but nothing like we experienced. The current Egyptian government is said to be democratic, but actually it is still a military dictatorship. Worries about terrorism were very evident. A heavily armed guard accompanied us on the bus. There was a 2nd gentleman who also appeared to be armed but mostly monitored every word spoken by our tour guide. An  identical tour bus followed us on this short excursion in case of a break down, a procedure Barbara had reported for her much longer and more isolated tour to the Valley of the Kings and Luxor a few days earlier.

The Egyptians raise pigeons for food in gigantic structures

Our escorts were military personnel with rifles, and we were obliged to pass through numerous checkpoints

Soldiers were everywhere along the Canal road. Our tour bus convoy had an armed police escort within the city limits of Port Said. They were replaced by a truck load of young soldiers holding military assault weapons after crossing the city limits. The countryside turned quickly to desert. Characteristic pigeon houses were visible. The Egyptians raise pigeons for food we were told.

We were obliged to stop at a number of checkpoints where our passports had to be displayed. The military escorts were changed at some of these checkpoints. The soldiers’ uniforms and insignias on the vehicles differed for each exchange indicating that the areas we were transiting were under different jurisdictions, somewhat unexpected considering we were paralleling the Canal for a relatively short distance. More disquieting was that some of the exchanges of armed escorts were accompanied by heated arguments between the various officers of the details. Our armed guard and the 2nd gentleman from our bus joined in the heated discussions. Our progress was delayed quite a bit each time until we were allowed to proceed. To us, it seemed that each permission to proceed was not necessarily assured.

Eventually we arrived at the city of Ismailia. A city tour was mentioned in the excursion sign-up sheet. Ismailia had been established as a company town when the Suez Canal was built. At half way up the Canal, the city of now 750,000 is the location of the Canal’s administrative headquarters. Ismailia has a rich cultural life. It’s the location of the Chinese built Suez Canal University. Our bus whisked through the town without stopping. Our tour guide provided no explanation of the change of plans, but we clearly were running late due to the frequent security stops. I found out later that Ismailia is where the now discredited Muslim Brotherhood had its start. Perhaps security concerns were behind the cancellation of the city tour.

The Ismailia Museum of Antiquities was small with only two rooms of interesting archaeological finds from the local area

We crossed the Suez Canal just west of Ismailia on a crowded ferry. The soldiers accompanied us on foot, watching the pedestrians riding with us intently. The "Welcome to Egypt" sign 50 miles from the sea didn't make sense to me. Little else did that day

I

Security at the museum was particularly tight. Note the soldiers with flak jackets and the guards on the corner. There was a similar detail behind our tour bus

Instead of a tour of the city, we stopped briefly at the small Museum of Antiquities. The modest museum building was surrounded by security guards and Egyptian Army soldiers. Spooky looking guys just stood around staring at us. Inside the museum were two small rooms with archeological pieces that had been found in the immediate region. There were very modest descriptions, but the pieces were interesting and a good reminder of the Egypt’s glorious past. The stop was worth a few minutes. Returning to the bus, we proceeded to a nearby ferry dock to cross the Suez Canal to the eastern side. I was amused in an existential way that a 5-minute ferry had just taken us from Africa to Asia. We were now in the Sinai albeit just barely so.

The Bayonet Monument commemorates Egypt's very modest skirmish with the Israeli Army in the Six Day War

After the ferry crossing, our guide explained that we were to visit the “Famous Bayonet Coming Out of the Desert”, a huge memorial to the—wait for this—GLORIOUS EGYPTIAN VICTORY IN THE SIX DAY WAR.  Most Westerners remember that the Yom Kippur War was a stunning victory for Israel whose march to Cairo was stopped only by the intervention of Britain and France. The Memorial was most impressive. Inside the base was a wraparound mural depicting the so-called victory, essentially featured was the tactics used by the Egyptian Army. They brought high-pressure water hoses to destroy the sand dunes on which the Israeli troupes were camped on. Egypt apparently believes they stopped the much superior Israeli forces from advancing across the Canal with water hoses after Israel won the entire Sinai in the war. I seemed to recall that Israel ceded the land back to Egypt as part of the Camp David Accord. 

The wrap-around mural inside the monument plinth provided a most patriotic Egyptian version of the War

At the mural, to her credit our tour guide mumbled very quietly, “Egypt, of course, lost the war”. Most of the tourists missed this. The 2^nd gentleman from the bus was distracted when she made that statement. He was outside the monument in a heated discussion with the local security guards. We found out later that the treaty with Israel wasn't as simple as we thought. Egypt got the Sinai back but had to agree to significant restrictions on its militarization, especially in the areas closest to Israel.  Egyptians worry that they can't pursue terrorists in all of the Sinai as well as they would like; Israelis are made a bit more comfortable that the Egyptian Army isn't at their border to the south.  But the treaty has held, and both Israel and Egypt are happy to keep it maintained. As we learned in Jordan, peace is possible in the Middle East, maybe as long as the parties don't mention it too much.

The most revered of Egypt's patriotic sites was falling apart. Paving stones were cracked and missing. The three flagpoles were askew 

After taking in the mural, we walked a bit outside and noticed that this most important patriotic Egyptian memorial was falling apart. Many of the paving tiles were cracked or missing entirely and the three flagless flag poles were askew. I felt unhappy for the school groups that were arriving by bus to see the monument.

We returned to the tour bus before the allotted time to explore the monument was over and found about half of our group was already onboard looking a bit dismayed. The strange propaganda tour was to get worse.

Under the watchful eyes of some unidentified young men our tour guide in white deferred to the soldier spokesman to explain the significance of the reconstructed Israeli camp

Our next destination was an Egyptian reconstruction of the Israeli Army Headquarters for the “failed Israeli campaign" to cross the Suez Canal.  Our guide introduced us to a young soldier. She said he was much more knowledgeable about the complex. She added, looking at one of the two unidentified young men who were monitoring her closely, that she was certain that she would not “get it all right” if she attempted to explain the exhibit. I noticed that the 2^nd bus gentleman smiled as she said that.

The "captured Israeli equipment" appeared to be WWII surplex radios that had no Hebrew labelling

The "Israeli Command" office did not seem very authentic

Signage at the site was curious. The Hebrew type font was unfamiliar

This sign just made me sad. The "Hebrew" on the top line did not look like actual Hebrew to me

The soldier walked us through the amateurish reconstruction. The “Israeli” radio equipment was actually WWII surplus short wave receivers with only French labelling, and the various offices were decorated in a sort of homemade image of what the Egyptian Army public relations sign maker thought the Israelis might have had. The Hebrew lettering was in a type font unknown to me. I felt very sad for the Egyptian people I had come to like during my visits 20 years earlier. At that time they were proud of their Pharaohs and the history of the ancient Egyptian civilization. With creeping religious fundamentalism and the current military government, the Egyptians seem desperate to find an element of historical pride, even in a modest military battle in a war that they lost.

Egypt is trying to develop the Western Sinai for agriculture with varying success

Some areas, such as the wetlands behind this fense, seemed to need extensive clearing. But methods seemed primitive

The Suez Canal widening project was impressive.

More authentic experiences by far, both good and not so good, were yet to come. From the "Israeli Camp" we proceeded through the Western Sinai, passing some failing attempts at agricultural development. The true highlight of the excursion was driving along and across the massive project widening the Suez Canal. The widening will provide a number of two-way passing zones and allow the new larger container ships and tankers to pass through the canal. As the Suez Canal provides a large proportion of Egypt’s revenue, this project has been deemed essential by the current administration. Our guide said, “The all-Egyptian Army laborers are working night and day.” We passed miles and miles of dredges and earth movers as she repeated the 24-hour work schedule a number of times.

The Al Salam Peace Bridge was closed for security reasons

We continued our return to Port Said north along the eastern side of the Canal to the most impressive Al Salam Peace Bridge. The imposing structure was built by the now ousted President Mubarak with Japanese Government assistance to provide a highway link so that the Sinai could be developed. The main cable-stayed portion is 230 feet above the waterline and 1300 feet long. The entire bridge is 2.4 miles in length. Our guide explained we would cross the bridge to get back to Port Said despite it being closed as an anti-terrorist precaution.

Our tour was running about an hour late. The tour bus proceeded to the intersection of the northern highway and the bridge approach and was stopped by a small security detail. Our armed security guard exited the bus and approached the two trucks with armed soldiers escorting us. They commenced to have a discussion with the dozen or so heavily armed soldiers who were guarding the the bridge. Raised voices were heard a number of times. After 20 minutes, an officer came out of a nearby shack, apparently the bridge security detail’s headquarters. Our guide said that the officer was to give us permission to proceed across the bridge. She sounded quite confident.

We made the last ferry to the western shore, dodging between hugh ships in the southbound convoy, just before sunset.

When the officer appeared from the guard shack, the 2^nd gentleman from our bus stepped out of the bus. He had not joined the others for all this time, instead just observing us and our tour guide. After lighting a cigarette, he slowly approached the bridge security detail's officer. In no time they were hollering at each other and pointing repeatedly at the bridge. After about 15 minutes or so of these discussions, the officer and the second gentleman from the bus shook hands, laughed loudly, and patted each other on the back. Our guide said nothing. The officer went back to his guard shack, and our two security guys returned to the bus. We started up but didn't turn on to the bridge's approach road. Instead we made a U-turn back and headed back south we had come. Our guide explained sadly that the Secret Police in Cairo had not granted permission. We were to take a nearby local ferry back across the Canal and return to Port Said the way we came. By now, it was about to get dark. We just made the last ferry and returned to Port Said quite a bit later than scheduled. As usual, the butlers were lined up and greeted us with the now familiar shouts of, “Welcome Back”. After waiting two hours beyond when our scheduled tour was to return to the pier, they sounded less enthusiastic. So were we. Some of us pushed them gently aside. Everyone looked tired.

Before it got dark we watched widely spaced ships pass in southbound convoy as we enjoyed some beers from our fridge as the butler was still on welcoming duty pierside

Barbara and I attempted to order some drinks to be delivered to our room so that we could relax on our suite’s balcony before showering and heading down to dinner. Our page was not answered in the usual few seconds. We took some beers from the fridge and sat for a while on our balcony hoping to watch the usually closely spaced canal traffic pass by. Our downtown berth was along the northern entrance channel for the Canal. (Northbound traffic diverts east just south of Port Said.) But we saw only a few ships pass. They were very far apart. We could see that most of the ships were still at anchor in the Mediterranean awaiting permission to join up for the southbound convoy which had apparently just started. It was clear that the legendary efficiency of the Suez Canal no long existed.

We cleaned up and on the way to dinner happened to accost our butler in the hallway. He explained that he had gotten our page but was on the pier awaiting a privately arranged tour to return. At diner Barbara and I reviewed our experiences. I concluded that I could no longer recommend Egypt as a tourist destination. I’m confident that most tourists would not experience difficulty on simple visits from Cairo to the Giza Pyramids or taking an escorted Nile riverboat cruise vacation. But Egypt has become essentially dysfunctional and marginally unsafe for the more adventurous traveler. Besides the high unemployment and the apparent conflicting military security jurisdictions, there are extreme anti-terrorism measures to deal with. A traveler to this otherwise wonderful country should well wait until the situation improves.

I've thought a bit more about Egypt now that we've been home from the cruise for a more than a month. I’m afraid improvement will not come soon or easily. We we drove back to Port Said, our tour guide explained that the Egyptian people have traded freedom for security. She detailed her family’s experiences over the last few years. The Secret Police were everywhere she said, smiling at our 2nd gentleman on the bus who was napping. The Christian minority is increasingly oppressed. Most young men in the country are uneducated soldiers in the gigantic army. All are heavily armed with assault rifles. I doubt they are well trained. Unemployment outside the military is very high, and civil rights are strongly curtailed. I thought, what more possibly can go wrong?