Suez Canal at 70: The music, films, art and literature that tell its story

With July 26 marking 70 years since Egyptian President <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/legend-of-gamal-abdel-nasser-lives-on-in-cairos-new-museum-1.26026" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/legend-of-gamal-abdel-nasser-lives-on-in-cairos-new-museum-1.26026">Gamal Abdel Nasser</a> announced the nationalisation of the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/07/24/middle-east-chokepoints-in-focus-as-us-iran-war-escalates/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/energy/2026/07/24/middle-east-chokepoints-in-focus-as-us-iran-war-escalates/">Suez Canal</a>, the man-made waterway remains etched in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2026/07/16/what-is-the-rosetta-stone-and-why-does-egypt-want-it-back/" target="_blank" rel="" title="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2026/07/16/what-is-the-rosetta-stone-and-why-does-egypt-want-it-back/">Egyptian culture</a> and national memory seven decades on. Nasser's decision was followed by an invasion by Britain, France and Israel three months later. The forces eventually withdrew, and the company remained under Egyptian control. Already celebrated as a feat of engineering, the canal became an enduring symbol of sovereignty and resistance. Often missing from this mainstream story of national history are the experiences of communities in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. The three cities grew around or alongside the waterway, while the lives of their residents were shaped and upended by labour, war and displacement.