The Suez Canal (Arabic: قناة السويس, "Qanā al-Suways", French: "Le Canal de Suez") is a canal in Egypt. It lies west of the Sinai Peninsula. The canal is 163 km long (101 miles) and, at its narrowest point, 300 m wide (984 ft). It runs between Port Said ("Būr Sa'īd") on the Mediterranean Sea, and Suez ("al-Suways") on the Red Sea. It was built by a French company. The canal was started in 1859 and finished in 1869.