تُعَدُّ قَنَاةُ السُّوَيْسِ مِنْ أَعْظَمِ الْمَشَارِيعِ الْهَنْدَسِيَّةِ فِي التَّارِيخِ الْحَدِيثِ. يَبْلُغُ طُولُ الْقَنَاةِ مِئَةً وَثَلَاثَةً وَتِسْعِينَ كِيلُومِتْرًا وَتَرْبِطُ الْبَحْرَ الْأَبْيَضَ الْمُتَوَسِّطَ بِالْبَحْرِ الْأَحْمَرِ. بَدَأَ الْعَمَلُ فِي حَفْرِ الْقَنَاةِ سَنَةَ أَلْفٍ وَثَمَانِمِئَةٍ وَتِسْعٍ وَخَمْسِينَ وَاسْتَمَرَّ عَشْرَ سَنَوَاتٍ. كَانَ الْمَشْرُوعُ ضَخْمًا جِدًّا وَاحْتَاجَ إِلَى جُهْدٍ هَائِلٍ مِنَ الْعُمَّالِ وَالْمُهَنْدِسِينَ. قَبْلَ افْتِتَاحِ الْقَنَاةِ، كَانَتِ السُّفُنُ تَضْطَرُّ إِلَى الْإِبْحَارِ حَوْلَ أَفْرِيقْيَا كُلِّهَا لِلْانْتِقَالِ بَيْنَ أُورُوبَّا وَآسْيَا. اخْتَصَرَتِ الْقَنَاةُ هَذِهِ الرِّحْلَةَ بِآلَافِ الْكِيلُومِتْرَاتِ وَوَفَّرَتْ أَسَابِيعَ مِنَ السَّفَرِ. افْتُتِحَتِ الْقَنَاةُ رَسْمِيًّا فِي نُوفَمْبَرَ مِنْ سَنَةِ أَلْفٍ وَثَمَانِمِئَةٍ وَتِسْعٍ وَسِتِّينَ. الْيَوْمَ، تَمُرُّ عَبْرَ الْقَنَاةِ آلَافُ السُّفُنِ كُلَّ سَنَةٍ وَهِيَ مِنْ أَهَمِّ الْمَمَرَّاتِ الْمَائِيَّةِ فِي الْعَالَمِ. فِي سَنَةِ أَلْفَيْنِ وَخَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ، افْتَتَحَتْ مِصْرُ تَوْسِعَةً جَدِيدَةً لِلْقَنَاةِ تَسْمَحُ بِمُرُورِ سُفُنٍ أَكْبَرَ. تَظَلُّ قَنَاةُ السُّوَيْسِ رَمْزًا لِلْهَنْدَسَةِ وَالْإِرَادَةِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ.
The Suez Canal is considered one of the greatest engineering projects in modern history. The canal is 193 kilometers long and connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. Work on digging the canal began in 1859 and continued for ten years. The project was enormous and required a tremendous effort from workers and engineers. Before the canal opened, ships had to sail all the way around Africa to travel between Europe and Asia. The canal shortened this journey by thousands of kilometers and saved weeks of travel. The canal was officially opened in November 1869. Today, thousands of ships pass through the canal every year, and it is one of the most important waterways in the world. In 2015, Egypt opened a new expansion of the canal that allows larger ships to pass through. The Suez Canal remains a symbol of engineering and human determination.