| Lake Mariout | |
|---|---|
| بحيرة مريوط | |
| بحيرة مريوط | |
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  Lake Mariout | |
| Coordinates | 31°09′11″N29°53′55″E / 31.153056°N 29.898611°E /31.153056; 29.898611 |
| Lake type | Brackish |
| Basin countries | Egypt |
| Surface area | 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi) approx. |
| Settlements | Alexandria |
Lake Mariout (Arabic:بحيرة مريوطBoḥēret Maryūṭ,IPA:[boˈħeːɾetmɑɾˤˈjuːtˤ], also spelledMaryut orMariut), is abrackish lake in northernEgypt near the city ofAlexandria. The lake area covered 200 square kilometres (77 sq mi) and had a navigable canal at the beginning of the 20th century,[1] but at the beginning of the 21st century, it covers only about 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi).[2]
The name of Lake Mariout derives from the Hellenized name ofMareotis (Ancient Greek:Μαρεῶτις) orMarea, by which it was known in thePtolemaic Period.[1]
In antiquity, the lake was much larger than it is now, extending further to the south and west and occupying around 700 square kilometres (270 sq mi). It had no mouth connecting it to the Mediterranean, being fed withNile water via a number of canals. By the twelfth century the lake had dwindled to a collection ofsalt lakes andsalt flats[3] and it had dried up by theLate Middle Ages.[4]
Until the 18th century the lake was fresh water, though much of it would dry up annually during the period shortly before the Nile flooded it again. A storm in 1770 breached the sea wall atAbu Qir, creating a seawater lake known as Lake Abu Qir. The salt waters were kept separate from Lake Mariout by the canal that allowed fresh water to travel from the Nile toAlexandria. As part of theSiege of Alexandria, on 13 March 1801, the British cut the canal, allowing a great rush of sea water from Lake Abu Qir into Lake Mariout. Lake Abu Qir ceased to exist, and Lake Mariout became brackish instead of fresh.[5]
The salt-water flood also destroyed 150 villages[4] while refilling Lake Mariout so that it suddenly regained its ancient area and became too shallow for navigation. Alexandria's access to the Nile was lost, necessitating the opening of theMahmoudiyah Canal from Alexandria to the Nile in 1820.[6]
Lake Mariout is separated from theMediterranean Sea by the narrowisthmus on which the city ofAlexandria was built. The lake shore is home to fisheries andsaltworks. As far back as the early 1900s, it was documented that salt was being refined from the western part of the lake.[7]
According to some records, a homonymousnome was located on the shores of this lake.[8]
The seaside town of Abusir, known in the Graeco-Roman period asTaposiris Magna, lies on the shore of Lake Mariout. Ruins of an ancient temple and an ancient replica of theLighthouse of Alexandria are to be seen there. As of 2009, it was also suspected to be the burial place ofCleopatra VII andMark Antony.[9][10][11]
TheDe Vita Contemplativa, a description of a society of ascetics written in the first century CE, says that the community ofcenobitic monastics called theTherapeutae were widely distributed in the ancient world, but that "their country" was "beyond the Maereotic lake".[12] Some interpret the Therapeutae as early Christian monks.
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There was a bishopric of Mareotes, in theRoman province ofAegyptus Primus, which was asuffragan of the Metropolitan Archbishop of thePatriarchate of Alexandria. It faded like most of those inRoman Egypt, possibly at the advent of Islam.Two bishops are historically documented:
The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as thetitular bishopric of Mareotes. Although technically a Latin titular bishopric, it has had severalEastern Catholic incumbents, notably those of Egypt's nativeCoptic Catholic Churchsui iuris (Alexandrian Rite).
It has had the following incumbents, so far of the fitting episcopal (lowest) rank:[13]
In 2015 astele, resembling theRosetta Stone and dating back some 2200 years, was discovered in theTaposiris Magna Temple site at Lake Mariout. Measuring 41 by 25.6 by 7 inches (104 by 65 by 18 cm), its message commemorates twoPtolemaic pharaohs and Queen ConsortCleopatra I Syra. There are ancient tombs located on the shores of the lake.[citation needed]
The fish speciesNile perch lives in the lake although its principal habitat is fresh water, and the lake contains some salt. In 1939, a small lake, called the Nozha Hydrodrome was "isolated from Lake Mariout" and this allowed for the Nile perch to flourish there.[2]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Now this class of persons may be met with in many places, for it was fitting that both Greece and the country of the barbarians should partake of whatever is perfectly good; and there is the greatest number of such men in Egypt, in every one of the districts, or nomes, as they are called, and especially around Alexandria; and from all quarters those who are the best of these therapeutae proceed on their pilgrimage to some most suitable place as if it were their country, which is beyond the Maereotic lake.
