DESCRIPTIONS OF EGYPT. 
141 
mentions the names of Nable, Tuna, Samna, and 
Hesn-Almai, all of which could only be ap- 
proached by water. As these ruins emerge con- 
siderably above the level of the surrounding wa- 
ter, the natives in the vicinity of the lake give 
them the appellation of mountains. The isles, 
which are nearly level with the water, are barren, 
uncultivated, and void of every species of vege- 
tation, except marine plants. The water of the 
lake is extremely phosphorescent ; the bottom 
consists of clay, mingled with sand, mud, slime, 
and shells ; and, in some places, is covered with 
moss and reeds. As it communicates both with 
the sea and the Nile, it abounds with sea and 
river fish, and is the resort of innumerable aqua- 
tic fowls. The lake Menzala, towards the land, 
assumes the form of two large gulfs, divided by 
a promontory, while their basins are separated 
from the sea by a low and narrow bank, which 
seems to have been accumulated by the lateral 
action of the current that sets along the shore of 
the Delta. The lake communicates with the sea 
by two channels, which are supposed to represent 
the Mendesian and Tanitic mouths of the Nile. 
The first is situated at the distance of twenty-one 
G. miles from the Phatmetic mouth, or that of 
Damietta ; while the Tanitic or Saitic mouth lies 
about seventeen G. miles beyond it. The Mede- 
sian branch of the Nile, which enters the lake 
