Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

THE SUEZ CANAL. 245 to be brought on the back of camels from places so distant as Cairo and Alex- andria. At the end of two years not a fiftieth part of the Canal proper had been cut, and it became evident that more money would be needed. The original capital of £8,000,000 was consequently increased to £17,120,000, thanks to the Emperor Napoleon’s award of £3,800,000 and to subsequent loans amount- ing to £5,320,000. It was found necessary to reduce the width of the waterway to 76 feet at the bottom—less than one-half of the width recommended by the Commission. As com- pensation for this reduction in width, it was decided to construct “ gares,” or sidings, at frequent intervals, to allow vessels to bring-up for the purpose of passing each other or to moor fo the night. Before much excavation work could be carried out along the route of the proposed Canal the engineers had practically to build Port Said. No materials could be collected nor workshops erected here until a channel had been dug through the bare sand, and docks constructed in which, large ships could enter with their cargoes of stores. It was further necessary to build a vast break- water, for the twofold purpose of keeping the mud out of the Canal, and enabling vessels to approach the mouth of the Canal with safety even in rough weather. This breakwater is one of the striking features of the port. The western pier runs out to a distance of more than a mile, and is 1,500 yards distant from the eastern pier—an arc about 1,100 yards in length. Stones, which had to be transported great distances, were used at first, being simply dumped on to the site from lighters. Later on, after the work on the Canal had progressed somewhat, the engineers finished off these piers or jetties by building up from the consolidated stone foundation massive concrete walls, composed of blocks weighing Building Port Said. 20 tons apiece, cast in moulds, and laid in place by giant cranes. From Port Said the Canal crosses about 20 miles of Lake Menzaleh, in which it is over 300 feet wide at the surface. Twenty-two miles farther on it reaches Lake Timsah by means of a cut dug through the ground to a depth varying from 30 to 80 feet. Lake Tim- sah itself is 3 miles long, and at this point the flourishing town of Ismailia, where many of the employees of the Company reside, has taken the place of a former small Arab village. To Lake Timsah a fresh-water canal was made from the Nile, to upply the population en- gaged on the line of the maritime Canal. When this canal was completed a great saving of expense was effected, as the cost of bringing fresh, water from the Nile for the workmen had been very excessive. The work from Lake Timsah to the edge of the Bitter Lakes was very heavy. Deep cut- tings, varying from 30 to 62 feet, were neces- sary. The deepest cutting of all was at El Gir, where the excavation, when originally completed, was 172 yards wide at the sum- mit-level, 112 yards wide at the water-level, and 85 feet deep. Embanking rather than excavating was the kind of work required in passing through, the Bitter Lakes, the surface of that region being very little above the intended level of the great Canal. From the Bitter Lakes to Suez, a distance of about 13 miles, the work again became severe, ground to the depth of from 30 to 56 feet having to be dug out and carted away. Briefly, cuttings had to be made for 66 miles of the course, while 14 miles of the bed were dredged through the lakes, leaving but 8 miles requiring no works of any kind. The Khedive supplied Sudden an army of fellaheen, 30,000 Withdrnwnl strong, for the heavier and Labourers, more laborious parts of the work. After they had been engaged for some time they were suddenly withdrawn by in-