Lesson 1: Egypt's Geographic Location, the Suez Canal and Strategic Importance

• The location of a state affects its strength and its political and economic standing, in peace and in war.
• Location is classified into astronomical and geographic.
• The geographic location is studied under four headings: relative to land and water, relative to neighbouring states, central and peripheral locations, and strategic locations.

• Astronomical location: the position of a state relative to lines of longitude and parallels of latitude.
• The position relative to the parallels of latitude is the more important, because it:
  • determines the general character of the state's climate;
  • affects the human activity of its population.

The difference between the two locations

Maritime states

• Maritime states face open seas.
• The value of a maritime position depends on: the length of the coastline, the importance of the water body, and the hinterland.
• Hinterland: the zone lying behind the coast. It is most useful when it is flat, because flat land makes communication easy between the coast and the rest of the country.
• A maritime state may face the sea with one front (Syria, Chile), with two fronts (Egypt, Saudi Arabia), or from all sides — island states such as Britain and Japan.

Egypt

• Egypt faces two seas, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and the Suez Canal links them.
• It lies in the north-eastern corner of Africa, with an area of about 1.01 million km².

Landlocked states

• Landlocked states have no direct contact with open seas; they reach the world through the territory of neighbouring states — Ethiopia, Uganda, Afghanistan.
• Some landlocked states use rivers as routes to the world, such as the Rhine and the Danube.
• Africa contains the most landlocked states of any continent, then Asia, then South America.

• Some states have few neighbours (Morocco, the United States); others have many — China is bordered by fifteen states.
• Many neighbours may bring cooperation and greater strength, as with the states of western Europe.
• Or they may cause problems — Sudan is bordered by seven states.

• Central locations lie in the middle of their region — the position of Egypt in the centre of the Old World.
• Peripheral locations lie at the edges — New Zealand.
• Egypt's central position gives it easy communication with Asia, Africa and Europe.

• Strategic locations are positions of exceptional importance because they overlook — and can control — international sea or land routes.
• Their value to the state is very great both in peace and in war.
• Examples: the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Strait of Gibraltar.

• A world navigation route joining the Mediterranean to the Red Sea; it is the artery of international trade.
• It is the shortest sea route between East and West.

The New Suez Canal (2015)

• Opened in 2015 to double the carrying capacity of the Canal.
• It cut transit time to about 11 hours and allowed the Canal to absorb giant vessels.
• It supports international trade and supply chains.

The Suez Canal axis

• The state is developing the Suez Canal economic axis to raise the returns of the location economically and logistically.

• Egypt belongs to the states of regular (compact) shape — the distance from the centre to the edges is nearly equal in every direction.
• Advantages of a compact shape:
  • the government can achieve the best communication and control over all parts of the state;
  • good internal administration;
  • fewer border friction and disputes, because the boundary is short relative to the area.
• Egypt is a state of diverse relief (like Brazil), which yields diverse resources and activities.
• Cairo is the capital and the seat of political decisions — the political heart of the state.

• Egypt has a distinguished astronomical and geographic position: two sea fronts and a central place in the Old World.
• The Suez Canal is a strategic position overlooking the chief East–West shipping route.
• Egypt's compact shape and diverse relief strengthen its unity and its economy.