Craig Giddenss age 9. of Shreveport$ La., for his questions

Who built the Suez Canal?

The Suez Canal was planned by a French engineer named Ferdinand do Lossops. He designed the canal and he started the company which raised the money to build it. He also arranged a proper give‑and‑take with Said Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt,

The Suez Company was started in 1858. It was an Egyptian company with offices in Paris.  Business men bought stock, the money was raised and the work began, It was agreed that after 99 years of operation, the canal and its revenue should belong entirely to Egypt.

The canal was finished and opened on November 17, 1869. In 1875, Ishmail Pasha' the Khodive of Egypt needed money badly. He sold his share in the Suez Company to the British Government, They paid about 20 million dollars for almost half the company, Another 520 of the company was held by French stockholders.

Many people of many nations, gave a helping hand, But Ferdinand de Lossops was the man who made the dream of the Suez Canal come true. It joins the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and is a short cut waterway between Europe end Asia.