<p><strong>On March 21,&nbsp;<a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/egypt-guide/">Egyptian</a> bride Manal Abu Shanar (shown above) took an unusual route to her wedding in the&nbsp;<a href="http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/map-machine#s=r&amp;c=31.447317332154235,%2034.30328178405764&amp;z=10">Gaza Strip (map)</a>: a smuggler's tunnel.</strong></p><p>Her Palestinian groom, Emad al-Malalha, told Reuters that Egyptian officials did not give Shanar permission to enter&nbsp;<a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/west-bank-text/1">Gaza</a>, part of the Palestinian territories, at a designated crossing point.</p><p>The couple resorted to their backup plan, the underground route. Hundreds of tunnels, up to half a mile (0.8 kilometers) long, burrow beneath the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip.</p><p>The tunnels are part of an enormous illegal smuggling operation that imports food, medicine, and construction materials—as well as weapons and drugs—into the territory.</p><p>Smugglers have used the Gaza tunnels since at least 1982, when the city of Rafah was divided between Egypt and Gaza. Traffic increased after Israel instituted a restrictive blockade six years ago.</p><p>Now a lifeline for the residents of Gaza, the tunnel economy involves tens of thousands of people. As much as two-thirds of the region's consumer goods are brought through the tunnels. (See&nbsp;<a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/gaza-tunnels/verini-text">"The Tunnels of Gaza" in <em>National Geographic</em> magazine</a>.)</p><p>—<em>Katia Andreassi</em></p>