Tarawa (CV 40) - Naval Cruise Book

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l fTransit made 20-21 january 1949j Our transit through the Suez Canal unfolded to us many scenic views of the interiors of both Egypt and Arabia. The entire trip was full of picturesque views, we never tired of contemplating the fact that we were witnessing a panorama of life on two continents- Asia and Africa-without as much as leaving the Tarawa. The trip was begun in the early morning of 20 January, and lasted until the .afternoon of the 21st, During the night of the 19th, the Tarawa had anchored in the Gulf of Suez, and shortly after raising its anchor, it left the Gulf and entered the Canal. At. the entrance to the Canal, and on our left, could be seen Suez, a large, prosperous-looking city nestled between the Canal and a range of mountains. Leaving Suez, and looking at the Egyptian side, we could see the beginning of a belt of fertile, irrigated land, which was to stretch all the way to Port Said, and which varied in width from a few hundred yards at some points to several miles at others. On the other side-the Arabian side-of the Canal, the desert stretched as far as the eye could see, with the city of Ismalia fsituated about halfwa alon th Y 3 C Canalj being the only obstruction to break the mo- notony of the view. About ten miles from the entrance to the Canal, we passed a canal ferry, with a network of roads leading up to the landing. This ferry is said to be the one used by the camel caravans and pilgrims from North Africa on their annual pilgrimages to the Holy City of Mecca. 0ne of the roads mentioned above veered off to follow the canal into Port Said. Shortly after noon of the first day, our trip came to an end, temporarily, when we reached Great Bitter Lake, and dropped anchor to wait for the morrow before continuing our journey. At 0630 on the 21st of January, our journey was resumed and at 1330, we arrived in the city of Port Said, having completed the 87-mile Qaboutp passage through the Suez Canal. Port Said, itself, may be said to be sitting on the Mediterannean entrance to the Suez Canal, since-part of it is built on both sides. The Tarawa, in leaving the canal, passed through the center of the city-and at times, it seemed almost possible to reach out and touch the hotels, restaurants, public buildings, etc., which bordered on the canal. The City of Port Said is modern and appearsto be very clean. The influence of Islamic culture is reflected in much of its architecture, and the city's Waterway-Streets add a romantic quality to its appear- ance. The history of Port Said can be said to be that of the Suez Canal and vice-versa. The dream of a canal across the Isthmus of Suez had occupied the minds of men for ages, from the time, centuries ago, when the great pharaohs of Egypt had connected the Nile with the Red Sea, but nothing came of the dream. Ships continued to sail or steam all the way around Africa in order to reach the Mediterranean from the Red Sea. Then came a French engineer, Ferdinand De Lesseps, who got the necessary rights from his friend, Said Pasha, Viceroy of Egypt, organized 3 Company in 1858, and went to work. On November 17, 1869, the ninety-mile canal was formally opened. There was an elaborate and costly ceremony at the northern terminus, Port Said, which is named for Said Pasha. Afterward a fleet of vessels of various nationalities steamed through the canal toward the city of Suez at the other end. The leading vessel, the French Imperial Yacht Aigle, carried Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III. At Ismalia. the midway port, Khedive Ismail Pasha entertained some 6,000 persons in his new palace fa beautiful and Costly building no longer standingj. 0n November 20 the Fleet arrived at Sugl,

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The canal, the longest in the world at that time, presented little actual difficulty in its digging, except a short distance through soft stone. It really amounted in places to deepening a channel in lagoons and lakes already existent. The company found itself in finan- cial difliculty many times during the progress of the work and in 1875 the Khedive of Egypt decided to sell the large number of shares he then held. The English government stepped in and bought these shares, gaining virtual control of the company. This was one of Disraeli's boldest acts to promote his policy of imperialism. In the early days when De Lesseps was selling shares for 500 francs each, neither England, Russia, Austria nor the United States would sub- scribe to the venture. The English looked with fear on the project as they felt it would work a great hard- ship on English shipping. The undertaking, however, has justified itself, as the shares held by the British Government, for which less than 20 million dollars was paid, have already returned more than eight times this amount in interest and earnings. Normally, more than half of the ships passing through the canal are of British registry and the canal has been one of the greatest value to British shipping. The management of the canal is under the direction of a board of which the French have the largest number of members, so that the control is practically French, although the French government does not actually own any interest. The concession provides that the rights of the company are to expire in 1968 when the canal and all accessories will revert to Egypt. The vision of De Lesseps has been more than justified. The journey from London to Bombay, formerly a tedious and dangerous trip of 10,870 miles, was at once shortened to 6,307. Since 1887, ships have been permitted to steam through the canal at night as well as by day, and the average time of passage is 13 hours. Mail ships are given the right of way. The trip through the canal aboard the Tarawa was one not soon to be forgotten, and we like to remember that we were not the only ones who enjoyed it. As we passed through, Egyptians, Britains fboth civil and naval personnelj, and a few Americans, were along the way to cheer us on. Once when we passed a Dutch troop transport headed for the Far East, troops manned the rail to give the Tarawa a rousing cheer. PP