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On the Isthmus of Suez and the Canals of Egypt.” by JOSEPHGLYNN, F.R.S., M

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On the Isthmus of Suez and the Canals of Egypt.” by JOSEPHGLYNN, F.R.S., M ISTHMUS OF SUEZ. 369 crediton Mougel Bey. A similar machinehad formerly been em- ployed at Tonlon, and there was considerable analogy between it and the plan adopted at Rochester. Mr. RENDEL, V.P., said, that such a system would undoubtedly answer, even withcaissons of verylarge dimensions, ifadequate means were adopted for steadying them. Mr. HUGHES,in answer to questions, said, that the thickness of thecylinders was 1; inch:-thatthe average nnrnber ofbuckets passed throughthe locks per hour, was twenty-five full,weighing about 2 cwt.each, and twenty-five empty,but that depended, of course, on the depth from which they had to be pwsed :-and that the timbers of the old foundations were all sound, except those of beech. Nay 20, 1851. WILLIAM CUBITT, President,in the Chair: The following Candidates were balloted for and duly electcd :- FrancisMortimer Young, as a Member;and Williant Henry Churchward, as an Awociate. No. 859.-‘‘ On the Isthmus of Suez and the Canals of Egypt.” By JOSEPHGLYNN, F.R.S., M. Inst. C.E. ABOUTfifteen years ago, when the means uf transit from the Medi- terranean to India were under consideration, and the route by way of the River Euphrates to the Persian Gulf found nlany advacates, theAuthor, with otherEngineers, was consulted as to tlte expe- diency of adopting that route, or the one at present used, through Egypt and the Red Sea. In order to ellable him to arrive at a just conclusion, a mass of evidence was placed in his hands, including, among other infolma- tion incidentalto the main question, muchthat reltted to the internal navigation of Egypt, both in its ancient and present state, to the formation of the country between the Red Sea and the RTile, and also to that between the lied Sea and the Mediterranean. It is not necessary here to recapitulate t,he objections that were then raised, against the adoptiou of the route through Egypt ; they have been met and overcome, Travellers also have become f‘xniliar with the transit through the Desert, whichis now divested of it;r obstaclesand its terrors. Atthe time,however, when all these matters were under discussion, the possibility of restoring the ancient canals of Egypt, oreven of forrnitjg a new and direct communication by water, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, was also dis- cussed and examined. [1850-81.1 ‘B Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD] on [16/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. X70 ISTHMUS OF SUEZ. Eventually,the plan then considered most expedientand prac- ticable, that of making part of the journeyby canal, from Alexandria to Cairo, and part by lad carriage, from Cairo to Snez, was chosen. The advantages arising from the adoptionof this route, naturally lead to the inference, that greater benefits, of more general, or it may he said, of universal interest, would result from the opening of a navigation for steam ships between the two seas. - From the evidence alluded to, it appears, that a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, had exisled at a very remote period : that it was undertaken about 600 years before the Christian era, and was completed by Darius (Hystaspes) ; that it was filled with water from the Pelusiac branch of the River Nile, wllich it joined at a short distanceabove Bubastis; and that it terminated in the Red Sea, near the city of Patumos. It seemalso, that a branch extended to the city of Pelusium, (near Tineh,) on the shore of the Dlediter- ranean, or rather, that it communicated with the sea through the Pelusiac branch, forrnerly one of the mouths of the Pu’ile, but now choked up. Other ancient writers give somewhat different s!atements, but all agree in the main facts, and from their concurrent testimony it may be gathered, that a canal extended from the Nile, through the valley leading to theBitter Lakes, or about 34 -Englishmiles; that it was filled withfresh water by the rising of the Nile ; that there were double gates, to prevent the impure water of the lakes from entering; that the canal was navigable for about two months in the year, when the Nile was high, and ceased to be so until the Nile againrose; that it was also used forthe purposesof irrigation and for the supply of fresh TYater to several important towns ; that this part of the canal, and also the basin of the Bitter Lakes, abont 27 miles inlength, were navigable for vessels of considerable burden, during the period before named ; and that a canal of some- what smaller dimensions was continued from the Bitter Lakes to the Red Sea, near Suez. It also appears, that the ancients assumed a difference of level to existbetween the waters of the Red Sea and theMediterranean and that precautions, which were not always successful, were take11 to prevent inundations. Various accounts are given of the dimen- sions of the canal, or rather of the three main divisions of it, which there is reason to believe, differed considerably. Butthe portion just mentioned,-that from the Nile, through the valley leading to the Bitter Lakes,-was froin I00 feet to 150 feet, (or 100 cnbits,) in width, and 30 feet in depth. It is obvious, that a great part of it must have had that depth, because the level of the ground in this Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD] on [16/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. OF SUEZ.ISTHMUS OF 371 valley is, for several miles, 2 fcet, or 3 feet, below the level of the Bfediterranean, and as thewaters of the Nile, atBubastis, rose during floods, 28 feet above that level, the banks must havebeen sufficiently high to contain them; but between the Bitter Lakes and the Red Sea, the depth seems to have been much less. To account for many discrepancies in the statement referred to, and for apparent inconsistencies in tire construction of the works, it must be remembered, that canal locks as now used, were not then known,-that it was desired to keep the water of the sea separate from that of the Nile,-and thatboth from local interests and politicalreasons, thecircuitous communication by way of the Nile and the Bitter Lakes, was preferred to a more direct one be- tween the two seas, which would have been of little advantage to the inhabitants of the valley of the Nile. The workswhich in thecourse of severalcenturies had fallen into decay, appear to have been restored, about the year G44 of the Christian era, by the Caliph Omar, who introduced several improve- ments. Instead, however,of thecanal joining the Nile near Bubastis, as was originally the case, it curved southward to Cairo. It was first called the ‘ Prince of tlle Faithful’s Canal,’ but it was subsequently named the ‘ Canal of Cairo.’ Here the waters of the Nile rise G feet higher than at the former point, andconsequently, the navigation could be kept open for a longer time. In making the Canal of Cairo, the Caliph zppears to have followed the course of a trench already existing, for the pur- pose of irrigation, and it also seems, that for more than one hundred and twenty years afterwards, the navigation through this canal from the Nile to the Red Sea was kept open. Above a thousandyears haveelapsed sincethis navigation was abandonedand allowed to fa11 into decay. It thnsremained neg- lected and almost forgotten until the French Expedition to Egypt, whenNapoleon, whose greatgenius, even amid the toils and dangers of war, could still encourage the arts of peace, and promote the interests of science, caused a complete survey of this great work of antiquity to be made, under the direction of M. Lepbre, a French Engineer of reputation.His report and survey, with a lineof levelsfrom the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, will be found in Demon’s celebraied ‘‘ Descriptionde l’Egypte,” together with an estimate of the cost of restoring this ancient navigation, on a larger and improved plan ; and had the French remained in possession of Egypt,it is not improbable, that the plans proposed mighthave been attempted to be carried into execution. It was proposed to follow the old line of the canal from the Nile 2J33 Downloaded by [ UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD] on [16/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 372 ISTIIXIUS OF SUEZ. to the Red Sea, and to divide the work into four sections, forming three levels. The firstsection was fromBubastis to Seneka, (or Abacch,) a distance of about12 miles. The bottom was proposed tobe on a levrl with the low-water line of the Nile, or about 10 feet above t,he Mediterranean ; thedepth was tobe sufficient to receive the full rise of' the Nile, which, at this point, is 18 feet, the walls being carried up 4 feet higher than the water. The secondsection, on the same level as the first, includes the whole line of the ' ouadee,' or valley, about 38 miles iu length, to Serapium. It was also intended to receive 18 feet of water,but as it was to be supplied from the Canal of Cairo, it was proposed to connect it with the firstsection by a lock.Both thesesections were to be opened for navigation, when the Nile had risen 6 feet, and to remain open from August to March, beingfrom seven to eight months, or as long as the navigation of the Nile itself continued good. The third section was about 27 miles long, through the basin of the Bitter Lakes. It was to be filled, in the first instance, with the fresh water of the Nile, but, was to be afterwards supplied from the Red Sea.
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