SUEZ CANAL OPENING CEREMONY IN 1869

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aukepalmhof
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Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

SUEZ CANAL OPENING CEREMONY IN 1869

Post by aukepalmhof » Wed Oct 23, 2019 8:44 pm

The stamp shows the vessels (most are Royal yachts) who took part in the opening ceremony in 1869 of the Suez Canal, not possible to find a full list which vessel took part in the ceremony, and also the last vessels of this parade are shown on the stamp, it is not possible to identify the ships.

The French post has the following information by the stamp.

About Joint Issue France - Egypt - Suez Canal 150th Anniversary
Symbol of modernity, globalization and the power of engineering, the Suez Canal is also a monument to the greatness of human ambitions. Its multimillenary history begins with the projects of the Pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom, but it is with the French expeditions of General Bonaparte that materializes the contemporary idea of a sea passage between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The engineer Maurice Adolphe Linant draws the plans, and the friendship of the Viceroy of Egypt Said Pasha for Ferdinand de Lesseps, former consul of France in Alexandria, allows the latter to obtain a concession of 99 years and of create the Universal Company of the Suez Canal. Work begun in 1859 was completed in 1869 and the 190-kilometer work was inaugurated on November 17, 1869 in the presence of Empress Eugenie, Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, Khedive Ismail Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt and Ferdinand de Lesseps (respectively to the right and left on the stamp).
Nationalized in 1956 by President Nasser, it is today the transit route of 8% of world trade and a major strategic infrastructure. Its expansion in 2015 is expected to double the current traffic by 2025.

https://www.wopa-plus.com/en/stamps/product/&pgid=57302
France 2019 1.30 Euro sg?, scott?

Additional information given by Wikipedia.

The canal opened under French control in November 1869. The opening ceremonies began at Port Said on the evening of 15th November, with illuminations, fireworks, and a banquet on the yacht of the Khedive Isma'il Pasha of Egypt and Sudan. The royal guests arrived the following morning: the French Empress Eugenie in the Imperial yacht L'AIGLE; the Crown Prince of Prussia; and Prince Louis of Hesse. In the afternoon there were blessings of the canal with both Muslim and Christian ceremonies, a temporary mosque and church having been built side by side on the beach. In the evening there were more illuminations and fireworks.

On the morning of the 17th November, a procession of ships entered the canal, headed by the AIGLE i. Among the ships following was HMS NEWPORT, captained by George Nares which would survey the canal on behalf of the Admiralty a few months later. The NEWPORT was involved in an incident that demonstrated some of the problems with the canal. There were suggestions that the depth of parts of the canal at the time of the inauguration was not as great as promised, and that the deepest part of the channel was not always clear, leading to a risk of grounding. The first day of the passage ended at Lake Timsah, 41 nautical miles south of Port Said. The French ship PÉLUSE anchored close to the entrance, then swung around and grounded, the ship and its hawser blocking the way into the lake. The following boats had to anchor in the canal itself until the PÉLUSE was hauled clear the next morning, making it difficult for them to join that night's celebration in Ismailia. Except for the NEWPORT. Nares sent out a boat to carry out soundings and was able to maneuver around the PÉLUSE to enter the lake and anchor there for the night.
Ismailia was the scene of more celebrations the following day, including a miltary "march past", illuminations and fireworks, and a ball at the Governer's Palace. The convoy set off again on the morning of the 19th November, for the remainder of the trip to Suez.After Suez, many of the participants headed for Cairo, and then to the Pyramids, where a new road had been built for the occasion
An Anchor Line ship, the S.S. DIDO, became the first to pass through the Canal from South to North.

Bjoern Moritz has more on the canal. http://www.seemotive.de/html/suez.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Cana ... mber_1869)
France 2019 1.30 Euro, sg?, scott?
Egypt 2019 (can’t find an image of the stamp.)
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Anatol
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Joined: Sun Apr 12, 2009 2:13 pm

Re: SUEZ CANAL OPENING CEREMONY IN 1869

Post by Anatol » Wed Dec 11, 2019 6:13 pm

CAIRO - 17 November 2019: Egypt celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Suez Canal, which was inaugurated on November 17, 1869 after 10 years of work. It is one of the most important waterways in the world since it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa, thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7 000 km.
The Suez Canal is an artificial double waterway extending over 193 kilometers and connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Vertically, the canal is divided into eastern and southern sections of Bitter Lakes, while horizontally, it is cross cut by double passages. The idea of digging up the canal rose for the first time amid the advent of French Campaign in Egypt and Syria in 1798.
In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps persuaded Khedive Said of embarking on the project and was granted the Suez Canal digging and operation concession for 99 years.The canal was dug between 1859 and 1869 by around 1 million Egyptians. Of those, more than 120,000 died while working because of hunger, thirst, epidemics, and abuse.A lavish inauguration ceremony was held and attended by royal guests. In 1905, the foreign company running the canal attempted to extend the concession duration for 50 years but failed. In July 1956, late President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the canal. The response to the decision was the tripartite aggression by Britain, France, and Israel. However, they retreated due to international pressure and popular resistance.
The canal was shut down for more than 8 years because of the Six-Day War in 1967 and was reopened by late President Anwar al-Saddat in 1975 after resolving the conflict with Israel and achieving ceasefire following October 6, 1973 War. Since 1980, the Suez Canal has been enlarged several times to reduce the time spent by ships while crossing, most recently after the inauguration of the New Suez Canal (a parallel canal) on August 6, 2015. For many Egyptians, the Suez Canal is one of the great achievements Egypt has made to serve humanity throughout history. Some 8-12 percent of global trade passes through the Suez Canal.
France 2019;1,3e:Ms; Collectibles GBP.
Source:https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/77 ... -its-150th.
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