The Suez Canal is a 192 km artificial waterway 1)..........connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. It provides a shortcut for ships travelling 2) .......... European and American ports, as well as ports located 3)..........Asia, Africa and Oceania. Without it, traders from Europe 4) .......... have to sail around the entire continent of Africa to reach Asia, adding 9,656 km 5) ..........the journey.

The idea of 6) ..........the Mediterranean and Red Seas is an old one. Four thousand years 7) .........., the pharaohs in Egypt made the first attempt to link the two seas. Today’s canal was built between 1859 and 1869 under the direction of a French engineer called Ferdinand de Lesseps. Constructing the canal 8) ..........a massive task. Several lakes made up 45 km of the distance, but the 9) ..........of the 192 km had to be dug from the desert. One and a half million Egyptians worked 10)......... the canal. Tragically, 11) .......... estimated 120,000 died. Today, the canal transports about 14% of the total world trade, and about 8% of the world’s shipping traffic passes through 12).......... . The Suez Canal is often referred to 13) .......... “The crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa”, 14)..........of its significance as a trade route between 15) .......... continents.

The idea of 6) ..........the Mediterranean and Red Seas is an old one. Four thousand years 7) .........., the pharaohs in Egypt made the first attempt to link the two seas. Today’s canal was built between 1859 and 1869 under the direction of a French engineer called Ferdinand de Lesseps. Constructing the canal 8) ..........a massive task. Several lakes made up 45 km of the distance, but the 9) ..........of the 192 km had to be dug from the desert. One and a half million Egyptians worked 10)......... the canal. Tragically, 11) .......... estimated 120,000 died. Today, the canal transports about 14% of the total world trade, and about 8% of the world’s shipping traffic passes through 12).......... . The Suez Canal is often referred to 13) .......... “The crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa”, 14)..........of its significance as a trade route between 15) .......... continents.