Ferdinand de Lesseps
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Ferdinand Marie, Comte de Lesseps was a French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal, which in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times between Europe and East Asia.
Lesseps photographed by Nadar
Caricature of de Lesseps by André Gill, 1867.
Lesseps' statue displayed today in front of the Suez Canal International Museum in Ismailia.
Ferdinand de Lesseps' house and office in Ismailia, near the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
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The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The 193.30-kilometre-long (120.11 mi) canal is a key trade route between Europe and Asia.
The Suez Canal from space, showing the Great Bitter Lake at the centre (after the 2015 expansion)
Aerial view of the Suez Canal at Suez
The southern terminus of the Suez Canal at Suez on the Gulf of Suez, at the northern end of the Red Sea
Bathymetric chart, northern Gulf of Suez, route to Cairo, 1856