Cleopatra’s beachThe sand you see here gracing this rather ordinary beach on the Turkish islan

Cleopatra’s beachThe sand you see here gracing this rather ordinary beach on the Turkish island of Sedir did not originate here, and was not brought to its resting place by the action of waves or other natural forces but by the hand of man some 2,000 years ago in antiquity recording a romance that has fascinated people including Shakespeare, which is why this sand is protected by the government.During the civil war that followed the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March Octavian (soon to become better known as the first emperor Augustus) was pitted against Marcus Antonius and his ally Cleopatra, ending in his victory over the ill fated couple at the battle of Actium. The sand is made out of limey oolites, formed when supersaturated water starts to form a kind of natural pearly as grains roll in the waves and have calcium carbonate precipitated in layers over their central nuclei (see https://bit.ly/1WHE33i). They were transported by ship (legend says 16 large barge loads were needed) and hard graft from Egypt to make a perfect bathing spot for the amorous pair. The ruins of their local palace lie on the hillside opposite, and it may have been linked to the beach by a secret tunnel. Analysis has shows them to be identical to those on beaches west of Alexandria, at the time their main base, demonstrating that legend often contains a kernel of truth, however distorted and partially forgotten. .LozImage credit: shaimaa ahmed saleh -- source link

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