Getting around in the Nile Delta

Speaking of the Nile Delta, we obviously mean the embouchure of the river Nile where its waters mingle with those of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The problem, however, is to picture the ancient cities and harbors along that coastline. There are several elements to be taken into account. 

Historically, we best know the role played by Alexandria and Pelusium, situated on opposite sides of the Delta, roughly 250 km apart. 

[From Pinterest]

Pelusium, about 30 km south of modern Port Said, was looking to the East. This city was the entrance gate for conquerors coming from the east. Alexander entered Egypt through Pelusium, as did the Hittites and Persians before him. For the Egyptian pharaohs, it was their gateway to the lands on the eastern Mediterranean. The city played an essential role as a transit station for the goods coming from and going to the lands around the Red Sea (see: The fame of elusive Pelusium). 

Alexander founded Alexandria after he returned from visiting the oracle in Siwah. It arose on the most westerly end of the Delta, on the Canopic Branch of the Nile. The city was intentionally oriented towards Crete and Greece, creating a close trading route with his homeland.

The Greeks had already established thriving trade emporiums in the area. Best known is Naucratis, settled as early as the 7th century BC (see: Egypt, land of the free for ancient Greeks?) As mighty Egypt allowed them to operate a lucrative business, even granting them special privileges, Naucratis eventually became a melting pot of Greek and Egyptian art and culture where they lived in harmony with each other. In its heydays, it was home to at least 16,000 people who appear to have lived in high-rise buildings of three to six floors high, not unlike the mud-brick houses we encounter today in Yemen. 

Archaeological research has found proof that the Canopic Branch of the Nile was navigable all the way down to the heart of the city. However, Herodotus gave us the impression that the freight from the ships arriving from the Mediterranean was to be transshipped into barges which would sail to reach Naucratis (see: An update about Naucratis). 

A look at the above map illustrates that the vessels heading for the harbor of Naucratis had to sail an extra distance from the Mediterranean. Alexandria was obviously more accessible. 

[Mosaic from Madaba, Jordan, showing the Nile with Pelusium]

Another major port was Heracleion, which the ancient Egyptians called Thonis, founded back in the 8th century BC. Known more commonly as Thonis-Heracleion, the site has been discovered under ten meters of mud near modern Abukir Bay (see: Heracleion, ancient Greek port in Egypt and Underwater excavation at Heracleion still ongoing). The above map shows Thonis/Thanis on a more easterly branch of the Nile, closer to Pelusium. Recent excavations have exposed 64 ancient beautifully preserved shipwrecks and more than 700 anchors. Heracleion reached its peak between the 6th and the 4th century BC. 

Halfway between Alexandria and El-Alamein, Ptolemy II Philadelphus founded Taposiris Magna around 280-270 BC. The harbor played a significant role on the trading route for the goods from the east arriving over Lake Mareotis and overland from the Cyrenaica (see: Cyrene, founded by the Greeks). Alexandria, built on the headland between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis, claimed taxes on the goods that transited through the city until the 7th century AD at least (see: Taposiris Magna in Egypt). 

The Egyptians had founded the city of Marea, as highlighted on the map, in the 7^th century BC. It actually lies on the southern shore of Lake Mareotis, modern Lake Maryut, and 45 kilometers southwest of Alexandria. Speaking of strategic locations! 

The last major city in the Nile Delta is Heliopolis, the City of the Sun, which Alexander saw in full glory with its countless temples and at least 30 towering obelisks. The sunrise over Heliopolis must have been a sight for sore eyes when the first sunrays hit the golden pyramidal point on the obelisks (see: Buried secrets of Heliopolis)! 

This religious center was a meeting place where the priests studied philosophy, astronomy, and theology. Many Greeks like Homer, Pythagoras, Plato, and Solon consulted the available library that contained the entire history of Egypt. This seat of learning was eventually moved to Alexandria once the city was completed. 

For centuries, every single Pharaoh made it to the sacred city of Heliopolis, where the gods would confer him their power. When Alexander, who fully understood the importance of this ritual, followed suit, he was accepted by the Egyptians as their new Pharaoh.