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Writer's pictureKurt Zarniko

A dreamy day on The Canal - and a mirage

Time seems to slow right down on the canals. They are busy transport links but also dreamy routes. The mind wanders and retraces historical passages. And a journey along here is often attended by pylons and other lines of communication.



Fatema Shokr and I were talking about narrow boats, the industrial revolution and the Coventry Canal , and we drifted to the Suez Canal. We talked about construction, forced labour and opening ceremonies. Next month is the anniversary of the Free Officers revolution in Egypt, when Gamal Abdel Nasser and other young officers deposed the British puppet-King Farouk. Within a few years the canal was nationalised, leading to the 'Suez Crisis'.


I am rambling, but how did we get here? So much political trouble seems to have roots in bold moves like claiming territory, but also in the slow process of 'getting away' and escaping.


Exodus (dir., Ridley Scott 2014)


The parting of the Red Sea conjures images of a passage lined by tall waves, but the crossing was more likely to have been a wading - through a winding river near the Bitter Lakes on the isthmus of Suez. So Miriam, sister of Moses also makes an appearance here. They say she celebrated the crossing with a dance and her tambourine - portable folk percussion, wherever you come from.


The music is by Andy Denney.

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