It was a long time ago: someone launched a "duck" in one respected print publication about an extraordinary phenomenon that exists in the state of Algeria, in North Africa. And this “bird” began to fly from one edition to another, etc. And then it returned to the original printed organ after about 30 years and a new round of the tale of the Ink Lake, also called the Eye of the Devil and poisonous, took place. Then they came up with the Internet, and the fairy tale continued its journey, acquiring new details… However, everything ends sometime.
I'll tell you a story, buddy…
In a distant country surrounded by sands, called Algeria, in ancient times there was a lake, in the birth of which the Devil himself took part. He somehow appeared in these places in order to buy the souls of the inhabitants of the town of Sidi Bel Abbes, and was very successful in his business. So much so that he didn't have enoughink in order to draw up and sign contracts with those who want to sell something that cannot be seen and touched, but to which, for some reason, the Evil One attaches such great importance. And then, in order to complete such a successful business on human souls, the Devil turned the water in the nearest lake into ink.
Since then, the Ink Lake has gained a bad reputation: its water is considered poisonous and dangerous to he alth, even if you don’t swim in it, but just be nearby, because the fumes rising from the surface of the reservoir poison all living things around. This is a dead zone: birds do not land near black water, fish do not live in it, and plants prefer to grow away from the damned place.
This fairy tale, invented about Ink Lake many years ago, has been haunting the minds of exotic lovers for many years (one can say a century and a half).
Modern version of history
The modern version of the fairy tale looks even convincing. In the state of Algiers, there is an amazing lake, the water of which is identical in chemical composition to ink.
The inhabitants of the nearby city of Sidi Bel Abbes have a bad reputation for the lake because of the legend associated with its formation, as well as due to its poisonous composition. There are no living creatures in the reservoir, since no living creature is able to withstand such conditions.
Scientists for a long time could not explain the phenomenon of the composition of the liquid that fills the Ink Lake. But carefulResearch has unraveled this mystery. The solution turned out to be simple: two rivers flow into the lake. One of them contains a large percentage of iron s alts, and the second carries in its waters organic compounds from the peat bogs through which it flows. Connecting in the lake, the two rivers form a chemical reaction, which results in ink.
The local population was divided into two camps. In one, there were adherents of the myth of the cursed lake, and in the other, practical residents, who, armed with vials, organized a mass filling of containers with ink, which are in great demand among tourists both in Algeria itself and abroad.
Objective reality
The inhabitants of the town of Sidi Bel Abbes, if they have heard about these terrible stories associated with the lake, they are clearly not going to follow the behavior that is attributed to them in these stories. Rather, on the contrary: on weekends, the shores of the lake are filled with suffering people who want to relax near a cool pond from hot city streets.
On Google maps, this body of water really looks like an ink blot. But not a single river that flows to the side flows into it. So, there is nothing from which to occur a chemical reaction. If you search for information about the lake in French, you can find a lot of videos where the local population, and not only, fish in the reservoir, children splash around there, different types of birds fly.
You might think that this is another lake, but the fact is that only this body of water exists within a radius of 5 km. It is sad, of course, that such a beautiful myth aboutThe ink lake is scattered, but the truth is more expensive.
A bit of history
The town of Sidi Bel Abbes owes its name to one of the descendants of the Prophet Mohammed, who served as Sharif. And his grandfather settled in the Maghreb in ancient times to preach the Word of Allah. Sharif died in 1780 and rests in a mausoleum on the banks of the Mekerra River. Around the grave of a holy man, people began to build their dwellings, as a result, a settlement was formed, and then a city.
In 1830, France colonized Algeria and began the gradual development of Sidi Bel Abbes, which the French called "Little Paris". The life of immigrants in the African country, as well as the exotic features of nature, were of interest to many readers of various publications. And newspapers did their best to satisfy the curiosity of readers.
The history of Ink Lake in Algeria began with a publication in one of the American popular science magazines dated April 15, 1876. It was an ordinary "duck", which was happily reprinted by other publications.
Today, unverified versions of some events or stories are also transferred from site to site on the Internet. And this is normal, but it requires attentiveness and a critical approach to information. That's all about the Devil's Eye or Ink Lake.
