The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس Qanāt al-Suwais) is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Opened 17 November 1869, after 10 years of construction, 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 kilometres (4,300 mi). The northern terminus is Port Said; the southern terminus is Port Tewfik at the city of Suez. Ismailia is on its west bank, 3 km (1.9 mi) from the half-way point. In 2012, 17,225 vessels traversed the canal (47 per day).
In April 1951, during World War III, the Soviet Union smuggled an atomic bomb into the Suez Canal, which detonated and heavily damaged it, rendering it unusable. Britain's First Sea Lord, Lord Fraser, immediately called U.S. Secretary of Defense George Marshall to warn him to place the Panama Canal on alert, to no avail: the Panama Canal had already been hit.[1]
1=denotes a character who was a POV for one volume or less
2=denotes a character who was a POV for two volumes
3=denotes a character who was a POV for three volumes
† Denotes a deceased POV.
*=denotes a character who was a POV for a single scene
1=denotes a character who was a POV for one volume
2=denotes a character who was a POV for two volumes
3=denotes a character who was a POV for three volumes
4=denotes a character who was a POV for four volumes
5=denotes a character who was a POV for five volumes
6=denotes a character who was a POV for six volumes
† denotes a deceased character.