Thisnholiday is celebrated by many in Egypt, but it is not an officialnnational holiday, and governmental buildings remain open. Itncelebrates the resistance of Egyptian citizens during a 1973 war withnIsrael.
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nOfncourse…
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nInam not “in favor” of war, and of course war in the Middle East isnparticularly scary and upsetting. However, the next day (October 25,n1973) a ceasefire ended the war, and peace talks began haltingnprocess toward making things better (at least for a while).
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nNow,nback to Suez…
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Sueznis the name of an Egyptian city near the southern end of the muchnmore famous Suez Canal. This canal, completed in 1869, connects thenMediterranean Sea (and through that, the Atlantic Ocean) to the RednSea (and through that, the Indian Ocean). This very important canalnis sometimes called “The Highway to India,” because ships fromnEurope can use it to avoid having to travel aaaallllllllllllllllllnthe way around Africa, when traveling to India. The Suez CanalnAuthority, which is owned by Egypt and which runs the canal, is dedicated to the proposition thatnall ships from all nations can use the canal, whether during peacefulntimes or war. That includes even warships of warringnnations!
Sueznis the name of an Egyptian city near the southern end of the muchnmore famous Suez Canal. This canal, completed in 1869, connects thenMediterranean Sea (and through that, the Atlantic Ocean) to the RednSea (and through that, the Indian Ocean). This very important canalnis sometimes called “The Highway to India,” because ships fromnEurope can use it to avoid having to travel aaaallllllllllllllllllnthe way around Africa, when traveling to India. The Suez CanalnAuthority, which is owned by Egypt and which runs the canal, is dedicated to the proposition thatnall ships from all nations can use the canal, whether during peacefulntimes or war. That includes even warships of warringnnations!n
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Thencanal is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) long—just a single lanenwith two passing places. There are no locks and pumps, because therenis no elevation change—the entire canal is at sea level, and thensea waters flow freely between the two connecting seas.
Thencanal is about 120 miles (193 kilometers) long—just a single lanenwith two passing places. There are no locks and pumps, because therenis no elevation change—the entire canal is at sea level, and thensea waters flow freely between the two connecting seas.n
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nThenSuez Canal Authority collects tolls from the ships that use the canalnand make the Rules of Navigation. I thought I was interesting thatnthe SCA owns and runs, not just the canal,nbut also:
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nemergencyn hospitals at each end of the canal
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nan full-service hospital at Ismailia, SCA headquarters
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n14n ferry connections that cross the canal, along with 36 ferry boats,
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nan shipyard
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nroadsn alongside the canal
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nfourn schools
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nsportsn and recreation centers.
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nBynthe way, the triangular chunk of Egyptian land that lies between thenSuez Canal and Israel is called the Sinai Peninsula. n
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nAlsonon this date:
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United Nations Day
United Nations Day n
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nAnniversary of the discovery of Ariel and Umbriel
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