The Institut du monde arabe very close to our hotels takes a look at one of the most incredible feats of human engineering ever undertaken: the construction of the Suez Canal, a story spread over 4,000 years!

Here’s all the info.

The idea of shortening the sea voyage from London to Mumbai by 8,000km by linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea is not a new one. The Pharaohs had it first, although it wasn’t until 1859 that construction properly started!

After its official inauguration on 17th November 1869, the canal soon became the envy of numerous powers wanting to benefit from the new trade possibilities it allowed.

The canal also became extremely important for Egypt’s budget, earning the country around 5,3 billion dollars per year, 20% of the country’s budget, and it is estimated that this figure will rise to 13.2 billion dollars a year by,2023, partly thanks to the doubling of the canal, opening in 2015.

The story of the canal is one of a huge venture made reality, involving a number of iconic characters.

The exhibition looks back at each period and shows the various projects, problems, engineering genius and effect of wars over the ages, as well as the political importance the canal held and holds for the future of an entire continent.

Linked to the exhibition there are debates, four different musical shows, a cycle of films and guided visits.

A catalogue of the exhibition is also available (160 pages, 22€ here at amazon.fr), as well as a comic book for kids (in French) called Il était une fois le canal de Suez (48 pages, 12€ here).

And until 5th April, each night at 7pm there are videoprojections on the front of the Institut du Monde Arabe.

The presentation lasts seven minutes and shows the history of the canal through a number of themed scenes, shown as horizontal strips inspired by Egyptian frescoes.

The exhibition L’épopée du canal de Suez – Des pharaons au XXIe siècle is at the Institut du Monde Arabe (here) until 5th August 2018

Open every day except Mondays from 10am-6pm (7pm weekends and public holidays)

Admission: 12€ / 10€

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Embarquez pour une visite immersive au coeur de la voie d’eau artificielle la plus célèbre du monde! “L’épopée du canal de suez, des pharaons au XXIe siècle” est à découvrir dès aujourd’hui et jusqu’au 5 août à l’IMA. #institutdumondearabe #IMA #museum #musee #exhibition #exposition #culture #Egypte #suez #arab #art #paris #paris5

A post shared by Institut du monde arabe (@institutdumondearabe) on Mar 28, 2018 at 2:05am PDT