It was an unusual postage stamp that first set Uriel Orlow on the trail of a bizarre episode in political history, whose many facets he explores and details he retells in changing installations. It is well known that the Six-Day War of 1967 led to the closure of the Suez Canal. Less well known is the fact that in the midst of the conflict, fourteen ships from different countries, laden with a variety of cargo, were trapped in the blockade between the Egyptian and Israeli fronts. Considering the brief duration of the war, it initially seemed as if the closure would remain merely an episode, but