CHAPTER LXXXI.
THE NILE DELTA AND THE SUEZ CANAL.
A trip into Egypt would be incomplete without obtaining a view of the Delta of the Nile, which lies east and southeast of Alexandria.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the alluvial deposit at the mouth of their beloved river had been gained from the sea, but modern geographers believe it to have been formed by particles of earth, which in the course of ages have been deposited at the river's mouth.
The water of the Nile is usually of a deep blue color, which changes to a reddish brown during the annual overflow of its banks.
All the Nile countries, or those which border on its banks, receive a deposit of soil during the annual inundation. This deposit, which covers even the rocks, consists of earth or loam mixed more or less with sand.
Around the Delta we find very noticeable signs of the gradual sinking of the ground. What were known as the "Baths of Cleopatra" at Alexandria have already sunk below the level of the water.
Several changes, due to the annual inundation, have taken place. In 1784 a lagoon, or small lake, was formed at Aboukir by the invasion of the sea. The bed of what now constitutes Lake Menzaleh was once a densely populated region.