The Suez Canal Opens
“Port Said, November 17, 1869. The Empress Eugénie's yacht Aigle leads a procession of ships through the new canal. Foreground shows Khedive Ismail and European royals on a decorated quay under tricolor bunting; midground reveals camels lining the banks and dignitaries waving; the Mediterranean shimmers behind a desert horizon stretching unbroken to Suez.”
