Dardanelles

The Dardanelles or Strait of the Dardanelles (in Turkish, Çanakkale Boğazı, in Greek, Δαρδανέλλια, Dardanellia) is a strait located between Europe and Asia. It is the ancient Helespont (Ἑλλήσποντος) of classical Greece. It connects the Aegean Sea with the inland Sea of Marmara and its archipelago. It measures 61 km in length, between 1,600 and 6,500 m in width and has an average depth of about 50 m.

Just as the Bosphorus Strait divides the city of Istanbul between the Asian and European continents, the Dardanelles Strait separates Europe (in this case the Gallipoli Peninsula, Gelibolu in Turkish). and Asia. The main town bordering the strait is Çanakkale, which takes its name from its famous castles (kale means "castle"). The name Hellespont by which it was known in classical Greece meant "Sea of Hele", because this is the place where, according to Greek mythology, Hele fell while fleeing together with his brother Frixo on the back of the ram of the golden fleece. The name of Dardanelles derives from Dardania, an ancient Phrygian city located on the Asian shore of the strait.

The Dardanelles Strait is an ancient river valley sunk during the Quaternary. Its coasts are not very rugged and fishing abounds there.

Toponymy

The contemporary Turkish name Çanakkale Boğazı, meaning "Çanakkale Strait", is derived from the medium-sized town of the same name adjoining the strait, which itself means "Pottery Fort", from Çanak (pottery) + Kale (fortress), referring to the area's famous pottery and ceramic products, and the historic Ottoman fortress of Sultaniye.

The name Dardanelles is an abbreviation for Dardanelles Strait. During Ottoman times there was a castle on each side of the strait. Together these castles were called the Dardanelles, probably named after Dardania, an ancient city on the Asiatic shore of the strait which itself is said to have taken its name from Dardanus, the mythical son of Zeus and electra.

The ancient Greek name Ἑλλήσποντος (Hellespontos) means "Sea of Hell", and it was the old name of the strait. It was variously named in classical literature Hellespontium Pelagus, Rectum Hellesponticum and Fretum Hellesponticum. It was named for Hele, the daughter of Athamas, who drowned here in the mythology of the Golden Fleece.

Geography

As a maritime waterway, the Dardanelles connects various seas throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Western Eurasia, specifically connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara. The Marmara connects further to the Black Sea through the Bosphorus, while the Aegean connects further to the Mediterranean. Thus, the Dardanelles allow for maritime connections from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean via Gibraltar and the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal, making it a crucial international waterway, particularly for the passage of goods entering from Russia.

Current morphology

The strait is 61 kilometers long and 1.2 to 6 kilometers wide, averaging 55 meters deep with a maximum depth of 103 meters at its narrowest point at Nara Burnu, next to Çanakkale. There are two main currents through the strait: a shallow current flows from the Black Sea into the Aegean Sea, and a deep, more saline current flows in the opposite direction.

The Dardanelles are unique in many ways. The very narrow and winding shape of the strait is more like a river. It is considered one of the most dangerous, crowded, difficult and potentially dangerous waterways in the world. The currents produced by the action of the tides in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara are such that sailing ships must wait at anchor for suitable conditions before entering the Dardanelles.

History

The Dardanelles Strait has played a strategic role throughout history.

First of all, we consider the possibility that the first Homo ergaster reached Europe by crossing the Dardanelles Strait, and constituted the first human population in Europe.^{[ citation required]}

In addition, the ancient city of Troy was located near the eastern entrance of the strait and the Asian shoreline of the strait, and was the focus of the Trojan War. It was also the setting for the legendary Greek story of Hero and Leandro. The Achaemenid army of Xerxes I, and later the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great, crossed the Dardanelles in opposite directions to carry out their invasions, in 480 BC. C. and in 334 a. C, respectively.

The Dardanelles were vital to the defense of Constantinople during the Byzantine period, and from the 14th century the strait was controlled practically continuously by the Turks. It is a divider between Europe and Asia.

Likewise, during World War I, the Battle of Gallipoli or the Dardanelles took place in 1915, during which British, French, Australian and New Zealand troops tried unsuccessfully to wrest control of the Strait from the Turks.