Where are the locks?

There aren't any.  What ? A canal without any locks?  Well, you only need locks when there is a significant change in elevation, like going over a mountain range, and there is only a few feet difference between the elevation of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.  That is why the Suez Canal is nicknamed "The Ditch."

When the canal was dug in 1869, it was done by hand, a monumental task covering (or rather uncovering) about 78 miles.

In the south part of the canal all you could see was mountains of sand lining the canal.

The canal zone includes the canal itself, 2 lakes and the land immediately surrounding them. The zone is separated from the rest of the land by a fence.  In some places there was new construction on the other side of the fence.There were occasional piles of things that looked like shipping containers and roads leading to the canal, but mainly just sand.

I have no idea what this is.

The military presence is shown by "guard towers" and various installations.

       At one point there was a landing pad for a helicopter with a road leading to the canal.



















Originally the canal itself was only wide enough for one ship, except in the 2 lakes.  In 2015 a second parallel canal was dug, so the whole thing is now a "2 way street."

As we approached the Mediterranean Sea, more signs of civilization appeared.