Canals were dug to irrigate fields as well as provide drinking water. The Abu Musa canal, named for the governor of Basra, was a nine-mile (14 km) long canal which brought water from the Tigris to Basra. The Maqal canal was also dug from the Tigris. The Amir al-Mu'minin canal, named for a title created by Umar, was dug to join the Nile to the Red Sea. During the famine of 639, grain was brought from Egypt to Arabia through this canal, which saved the lives of millions. The Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas canal, named for the governor of Kufa, brought water to Anbar from the Euphrates. 'Amr ibn al-'As, the governor of Egypt during the reign of Umar, even proposed the digging of a canal to join the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. This proposal, however, did not materialize due to unknown reasons, and it was 1200 years later that such a canal was dug—the modern Suez Canal. Shuaibia was the port for Mecca, but it was inconvenient, so Uthman had a new seaport built at Jeddah. Uthman also reformed the city's police departments.