> In which country is the Suez Canal located?And the answer: Egypt. Located in Egypt, the Suez Canal connects the Mediterranean Sea with the RedSea, and serves as a dividing line between Africa and Asia. Opening in 1869, thecanal helped to boost international trade by dramatically reducing shippingtimes between Europe and Asia.Image: Britannica.com.The Suez Canal has a longstanding history of trade alongthe line which divides two vast regions of the world. Interestingly, its originsdate back to ancient Egypt. The Egyptian Pharaoh Senusret III may have built anearly canal connecting the Red Sea and the Nile River around 1850 BCE, andaccording to ancient sources, the Pharaoh Necho II and the Persian conquerorDarius both began and then abandoned work on a similar project. Evidently,domain for this waterway was in high demand throughout history, as NapoleonBonaparte also considered constructing it centuries later. However, due to somefaulty surveyor calculations, it wasn't until the 19th century that the canalbecame a feasible reality. Photo credit: public domain.In 1854, Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French formerdiplomat, negotiated an agreement to begin work on this link between the Easternand Western world. However, since Lesseps’ proposed canal had the support of theFrench Emperor Napoleon III, many British statesmen considered its constructiona political scheme designed to undermine their dominance of global shipping. Itwasn't until the Egyptian government auctioned off their shares in 1875 that theBrits got on board with the idea (pun intended). After buying 44% stake in thewaterway, the project's significance began to take hold in the United Kingdom.Did you know? The Statue of Liberty was originally intended for the Suez Canal! French artistFrédéric-Auguste Bartholdi tried to convince Ferdinand de Lesseps and theEgyptian government to let him build a sculpture titled Egypt Bringing Light toAsia at its Mediterranean entrance. However, the idea didn't stick until it wasintroduced [https://www.askqotd.com/the-statue-of-liberty/] to the United Statessome years later.