37 



The Ismailia Canal deserve.-? special mention because it was con- 

 structed wholly by contract and in one piece. The Egyptian (lovern- 

 ment entered into an agreement with the Suez Canal Company to 

 construct a navigable waterway from the Nile to some point on the 

 Suez Canal. The canal was not only to be navigable, but w^as to be 

 capable of furnishing fresh w^ater to the towns along the main canal and 

 the branch beginning at Ismailia and running parallel with the Suez 

 Canal to the town of Suez. In addition, the canal was to supply water 

 for the irrigation of a considerable area ceded ))y the government to 

 the company. The contract stipulated that the canal should be so con- 

 structed as to contain S feet of water in depth during tlood season of 

 the Nile, 6i feet at mean discharge, and 3i feet at low water. The 

 canal has two head gates, the older one being in the city of Cairo. The 

 second head gate is about 4^ miles north of Cairo, from which point a 

 branch canal 2^ miles long connects with the main channel .5^ miles 

 northeast of Cairo. For some distance the canal runs northeasterly 

 along the edge of the desert, after which it turns to the east through a 

 gap in the desert hills and continues to the town of Ismailia. For some 

 40 miles from Cairo it runs above the level of the surrounding country, 

 and the water is confined between two parallel embankments. This 

 has resulted in considerable seepage, which has destroyed large areas 

 adjoining the canal. Some work has been done toward draining a por- 

 tion of this countr3\ Just before reaching Ismailia a branch of the 

 canal takes off to the south and terminates at the town of Suez. In 

 digging the canal some traces of an ancient channel leading in the same 

 direction were discovered. Historical accounts of an older canal have 

 been found. About 6(>0 B. C, King Nekos began the construction of 

 a navigation channel running between the east arm of the Nile and the 

 Red Sea. The channel was never finished, although 120,000 natives 

 employed upon it lost their lives in the undertaking. 



The length of the Ismailia Canal from Cairo to Lake Timsah, near 

 the town of Ismailia, is about 80 miles. The length of the branch 

 leading south from Ismailia to Suez is about 53 miles. The bottom 

 width of the main canal is about 40 feet. The slopes are 3 to 1. The bot- 

 tom width of the branch canal leading to Suez is only about 25 feet, but 

 the channel was not well excavated and the width is not uniform. In 

 places it does not exceed 16 feet. Many important masonry struc- 

 tures are found throughout the length of the canal. Swing bridges 

 are numerous, and substantial head gates and regulators are found 

 wherever the discharge of the canal has to be changed. Owing to the 

 depth to which the canal has been dug, and the necessity for keeping 

 it cleaned out so that it will carry sufficient water for navigation dur- 

 ing low stages of the Nile, large quantities of silt have to be removed 

 each year. Formerly this deposit frequently, amounted to 350,000 

 cubic yards each season. It has been reduced to about 160,000 cubic 



