Isthmus of Suez

“ In the Isthmus of Suez, which is considered the healthiest part of Egypt, an alien population of twenty thousand persons failed in the course of ten years to rear one infant born upon the soil. Children of an alien father and an Egyptian mother will die off in the same way in early infancy, unless brought up in the simple native fashion. ”

“ He has indicated Pelusium and Suez, as the extreme points of the cutting to be made in that narrow tract of land, which presents a longitudinal depression across the Isthmus, of thirty leagues, and which is formed by the meeting of the two plains descending with a gradual slope, the one from Egypt, the other from the frontier hills of Asia. He considers that nature has herself traced out the communication between the two Seas, in the line of this depression. ”

“ We have already seen how a Babylonian element probably enters into Egyptian civilization through Semitic infiltration across the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb or by way of the Isthmus of Suez, and it was Sumerian culture which these Semites brought with them. In like manner, through the Semitic Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Kassites, and the inhabitants of Palestine and Syria, and of some parts of Asia Minor, Armenia, and Kurdistan, all in turn experienced indirectly the influence of Sumerian civilization and continued in a greater or less degree to reproduce elements of this early culture. ”

“ The Mediterranean ports will profit, it is true, [21] by the opening of the Isthmus of Suez, but England with the 5,000,000 tons employed in her commerce—a tonnage greater than that of all the navies of Europe, including France, united—cannot fail to profit in a much greater degree by the increase of relations which must necessarily result from the shortening of the distance between the points of traffic ”

“ Russia will find in the opening of the Canal of Suez a just satisfaction of that national aspiration towards the East which led her on one occasion to extend the limits of her vast Empire to the confines of British India, and, on another, to threaten the integrity of Turkey. The mission of civilization devolving upon the Czar over the numerous tribes of whom he is arbiter, may yet suffice the noblest ambition ”

“ In the wake of commerce, enlightenment and civilization will penetrate, by degrees, that dreary night which envelopes the Mussulman world.”
The advantage of the new track being thus sufficiently proved from a general point of view, we shall now enter into the details of the scheme with regard to its execution. We will begin with the levelling of the line from Pelusium to Suez. These levels were taken by some engineers attached to the French expedition, and the difference between the level of high water at Suez, and of low water at Tineh, was found to be 9 met., 90, in favour of the Red Sea. ”

“ A deplorable prejudice, based upon the political antagonism which so long and so unhappily existed between France and England, has alone accredited the opinion that the opening of the canal of Suez, so useful for the interests of civilization and of the common weal, could damage those of England. ”

“ Amongst the numerous administrations of the same wise and merciful design, it is not unreasonable to believe that the completion of navigable channels across the Isthmuses of Suez and Darien are enterprises amongst the events designed to minister to the growing wants and improvement of the human race. ”

“ The editor of the Engineers’ and Architects’ journal (1844) in giving an account of the labours of these engineers, adopts in starting from Suez, the line of the ancient canal as far as the Bitter Lakes, and from the head of these lakes at Katieh he takes the direction of the Mediterranean in passing by the great lake Sulak el Bardoil.
The author adds, “It is hardly reasonable to reckon upon a union of the European powers to [119] effect an undertaking in which England has such a preponderating interest, in the point of view of our domination in India. ”

“ A great part of the Mediterranean fishermen will [162] transport themselves to the Indian Sea, to pursue their occupation, and increase the activity of the navigation in the Maritime Canal.
We may therefore be sure that the cutting through of the Isthmus will increase ten-fold the operations of commerce and navigation; that, as with every undertaking based upon a true principle, the consequences cannot be calculated, and that the idea most exaggerated in appearance, will always be surpassed by the reality. ”

“ Quitting Aden, the shores of the Red Sea are frequently seen, but rarely approached during the upward voyage. In six days Suez is reached, and, as soon as boats can come off to the steamer, the passengers are landed and almost immediately conveyed by van (see previous details on this head) across the desert.
The town of Suez offers no kind of inducement to prolong one's stay. Small, dirty and destitute of any architectural beauties or antique remains, it exhibits the worst specimen of a Mahomedan city in the whole Ottoman empire. ”

“ Kolzum retained some of the trade of Egypt with Arabia and countries farther east long after the canal was closed, but by the 13th century it was in ruins and Suez itself, which had supplanted it, was also, according to an Arab historian, in decay. On the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in the 16th century Suez became a naval as well as a trading station, and here fleets were equipped which for a time disputed the mastery of the Indian Ocean with the Portuguese. ”

“ Distance lends no enchantment to the view of Suez. It is difficult to fancy that the few miserable buildings, appearing upon the margin of the sea, actually constitute a town; and the heart sinks at the approach to a place so barren and desolate. My donkeys carried me through a gap in the wall, which answered all the purposes of a gateway, and we passed along broken ground and among wretched habitations, more fit for the abode of savage beasts than men. ”

“ The weight of opinion is in favor of Suez as the crossing-place of the Israelites, and so we will believe we are at the scene of the deliverance of the captives and the destruction of the hosts of Pharaoh. It is a mistake to suppose that Pharaoh was himself drowned in the Red Sea ”

“ Suez stands in a desert place, where grows no herb of any kind. At this place the ships are built which are designed for India. All the timber of which they are built, with the iron work, and every kind of tackle, are brought from Satalia and Constantinople to Alexandria; whence they are carried on the Nile in jerbs or barks to Cairo, and thence on the backs of camels to Suez, where Pharaoh was drowned. ”

“ The people of Suez are a finer and fairer race than the Cairenes. The former have more the appearance of Arabs: their dress is more picturesque, their eyes are carefully darkened with Kohl, and they wear sandals, not slippers. ”

“ GEORGE WALKER AT SUEZ. Of all the spots on the world’s surface that I, George Walker, of Friday Street, London, have ever visited, Suez in Egypt, at the head of the Red Sea, is by far the vilest, the most unpleasant, and the least interesting. There are no women there, no water, and no vegetation. It is surrounded, and indeed often filled, by a world of sand. A scorching sun is always overhead; and one is domiciled in a huge cavernous hotel, which seems to have been made purposely destitute of all the comforts of civilised life. ”

“ Suez is indeed a triste, unhappy, wretched place. It is a small oriental town, now much be-Europeanized, and in the process of being be-Anglicized. It is not so Beelzebub-ridden a spot as Alexandria, nor falling to pieces like Cairo. But it has neither water, air, nor verdure. No trees grow there, no rivers flow there. Men drink brine and eat goats; and the thermometer stands at eighty in the shade in winter. The oranges are the only luxury. There is a huge hotel, which contains long rows of hot cells, and a vast cave in which people eat. ”

“ These caravans bring the manufactures of Damascus, soap, glass- ware, tobacco, and dried fruits, which are shipped at Suez for the Hedjaz and Yemen.
The eastern part of the town of Suez is completely in ruins, but near the shore are some well built Khans, and in the inhabited part of the town are several good private houses. The aspect of Suez is that of an Arabian, and not an Egyptian town, and even in the barren waste, which surrounds it, it resembles Yembo and Djidda; the same motley crowds are met with in the streets, and the greater part of the shop-keepers are from Arabia or Syria. ”

“ My informants told me that Al-'Ajrudi is the name of a Hijazi Shaykh whose mortal remains repose under a little dome near the fort. This, if it be true, completely nullifies the efforts of Etymology to discern in it a distinct allusion to "the overthrow of Pharaoh's chariots, whose Hebrew appellation, ‘Ageloot,' bears some resemblance to this modern name." [FN#31] The only sweet water in Suez is brought on camel back from the Nile, across the Desert. The "Bir Suez" is fit for beasts only ”

“ Suez as a "watering-place" is duller even than Dover. The only society we found, excepting an occasional visitor, was that of a party of Egyptian women, who with their husbands and families occupied some rooms adjoining ours. At first they were fierce, and used bad language, when the boy Mohammed and I,-whilst Omar Effendi was engaged in prayer, and the rest were wandering about the town,-ventured to linger in the cool passage, where they congregated, or to address a facetious phrase to them. ”

“ The constant arrival of pilgrims from Egypt had now rendered Suez, in proportion to its extent, more populous than Cairo. These holy men, being on their way to the city of their prophet, regarded Christians with an evil eye, just as a bigoted Franciscan travelling to Jerusalem would regard a heretic or an unbeliever; and on this account Niebuhr greatly dreaded the voyage he was about to perform in their company from Suez to Jidda. ”

“ Poor Suez is the sole exception to the general rule of gaiety and merry-making in Egypt. She is actually in the throes of house-changing. She knows that the flitting must be done, but she has no heart to do it. This will be her third remove: even as Heroöpolis on the Bitter Lakes shifted to Arsinoë and Arsinoë migrated to Suez, so Suez must transfer herself to the New Docks—Waghorntown. She must rebuild herself, hotel and inns, Consulates and offices, agencies and counting-houses, leaving the-present tenement to Egyptian officials and native population. ”

“ The men who take care of the wheels and the oxen remain constantly shut up in the building for fear of the Bedouins. The water is brackish, but it serves for drinking, and the Arabs and Egyptian peasants travelling between Cairo and Suez, who do not choose to pay a higher price for the sweet water of the latter place, are in the habit of filling their water skins here, as do the people of Suez for their cooking provision. From an inscription on the building, it appears that it was erected in the year of the Hedjra 1018. We reached Suez about sunset, at the end of eleven hours and a half. ”

“ The Suez ship-builders are an influential body of men, originally Candiots and Alexandrians. When Mohammed Ali fitted out his fleet for the Hijaz war, he transported a number of Greeks to Suez, and the children now exercise their fathers' craft. ”

“ Be it known to you all, as many of you as this reaches, that the honoured Yagoube el Hakim has come to us, and has given us to understand the injustice commonly practised by his majesty the Sherriffe of Mecca, and by his dependants in the place of Jidda, and that you wish to come into the port of Suez, but want security. It is very agreeable that you should enjoy this in the time of our king, [37] servant of the two holy places, and lord of the two lands and the two seas; may God always give him strength and victory! ”

“ Among those instincts, the sense of right and justice, the absence of which we have just been noticing, holds the first place: without it the formation and maintenance of political society are impossible.
There are three towns on the Canal: Port Saïd, which is almost entirely French; Ismailia, which is so to a great extent; and Suez, which has a French quarter. At these places I heard that the French were far from popular; that they are regarded as arrogant, and illiberal in their dealings with the Arabs they employ ”

“ Blind to their own interest, the Egyptian Government obstructs traffic by the heavy duties which it levies. Cattle and sheep, which can be obtained from the tribes in the neighbourhood, are sent by hundreds annually to Suez by sea. Were it not for the heavy duties imposed, I should say that a large trade ought to be done with Suez, which is but three and a half days from Souâkin. There is a telegraph line to Kassala. ”

“ After another stormy day, we again got up steam; and, fighting hard against adverse winds and waves, greatly to the distress of the unfortunate mules and gazelles, we reached Suez on April 20th.
At Suez my wife had been awaiting me for long weeks, preferring the simplicity of the Desert to the complex life of Cairo. Some delay was again necessary in order to telegraph our arrival, to apply for a special train, and to sort and pack in the travelling-cases our twenty-five tons of specimens. As often happens, the return to civilization was in nowise cheery. ”

“ The hand of the Turkish looters had fallen particularly heavy on carts and draught animals. As the Arabs know little or nothing of carting, hauling, or the management of horses and mules, the Turks, simply enough, had "requisitioned" many of the owners—middle-aged or elderly men—and forced them to go south to help along with the tremendous preparations that were being made for the attack on Suez. Among these were a number of men from our village. ”