In which year did work begin on the Suez Canal in Egypt?

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez.

Constructed by the Suez Canal Company, the excavation took some 10 years between 1859 and 1869, using forced labour (corvée) of Egyptian workers; it was officially opened on November 17, 1869.

The canal offers watercraft a shorter journey between the North Atlantic & northern Indian Oceans via the Mediterranean and Red Seas by avoiding the South Atlantic and southern Indian oceans, in turn reducing the journey by approximately 7,000 kilometres (4,300 miles). It extends from the northern terminus of Port Said to the southern terminus of Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Its length is 193.30 km (120.11 miles), including its northern and southern access channels.

In 2012, 17,225 vessels traversed the canal (average 47 per day).

The original canal was a single-lane waterway with passing locations in the Ballah Bypass and the Great Bitter Lake.

It contains no locks system, with seawater flowing freely through it.

In general, the canal north of the Bitter Lakes flows north in winter & south in summer. South of the lakes, the current changes with the tide at Suez.

The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of Egypt. Under the Convention of Constantinople, it may be used "in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag".