Egypt, circa 1870
attributed to Hippolyte Arnoux

The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and allowed goods to be shipped between Europe and Asia without the need to navigate around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. Tis image, attributed to the French photographer Hippolyte Arnoux, who is best known for his work documenting the construction of the canal, shows a ship making its way through the waterway linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea.