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Great Bitter Lake




For other places called Bitter Lake, see Bitter Lake .

The Great Bitter Lake ( and Lake Timsah .

As the canal has no locks, sea water flows freely into the lake from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea , replacing water lost to Evaporation . The lake acts as a buffer for the canal, reducing the effect of tidal currents.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, the canal was closed, leaving 14 ships trapped in the lake until 1975. These ships became known as the " Yellow Fleet ", because of the desert sands which soon covered their decks. A number of local Postage Stamps (or rather, decorative labels, since they had no postal validity) were created by the crews, which are sought after by collectors.


EXTERNAL LINKS

  • Melampus in Suez - the tale of a sailor of the ''MS Melampus'', one of the ships trapped in the lake in 1967.