Turkish resorts of the Marmara Sea: description, map. Sea of ​​Marmara

January 20, 2014

The Sea of ​​Marmara is an inland sea of ​​Turkey. It separates Europe from Asia. The sea is like a piece of a puzzle, without which it would be impossible to piece together the Aegean and Black Seas through the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits. It is located between Thrace and Anatolia.

Characteristics of the Sea of ​​Marmara

The length of the smallest sea on the planet is only 280 km. The width is even less - 80 km. But it is very deep. There are places where the depth reaches 1355m!
The salinity of sea water is almost 22%. This figure is higher than that of the Black Sea, but, compared to ocean water, it is much lower.

Interestingly, water at great depths has a salt concentration higher than in the upper layers - as much as 38%. And these waters do not move to the surface. In this regard, the sea resembles the Mediterranean.

Why is the salinity of the Sea of ​​Marmara quite low at the surface? The fact is that several rivers (Granik, Susurluk) flow into the sea and reduce the percentage of salinity. Most of these rivers flow from Anatolia, a peninsula in western Turkey.

This sea does not freeze even in winter, when the temperature near the surface is within +9 degrees. In summer the sea is very warm - up to +29 degrees.

On the shores of the sea there are small towns where tourists from different countries relax.

Seismic activity in the area of ​​the smallest sea

Many natural wonders appeared as a result of shifts in the earth's crust. In this case, the picture is the same. In ancient times, a deep rift formed that separated Africa from Europe.

The depression filled with water. This is how this small sea appeared.
The area around the sea is far from calm. Tsunamis and destructive earthquakes occur quite often here.

The North Atlantic Rift runs along the bottom of the sea. It is the cause of natural disasters. Over the last thousand years, about three hundred earthquakes of varying strengths have occurred.

After some of them, tsunami waves arose, of which there were more than 40.
In 1999, on August 17, the tsunami wave reached 2.5 meters! It caused numerous destructions and resulted in casualties.

Forecasts from weather forecasters and geological services in Turkey are disappointing. Around 2030, with a high degree of probability, a powerful earthquake may occur, the epicenter of which will be located near Istanbul. The consequences for the country could be catastrophic.

Islands of the Dangerous Sea

The island groups located in the sea area are called Princes, Pashalimans, Turkeli, Ekinlik, Khayirsyzada, Marmara.

On the Marmara Islands, in the giant marble quarries of Proconessus, a valuable material, marble, has been mined since ancient times. Tourists can visit the mining site. This is where the name of the sea itself comes from.

Imrali Island is famous for the fact that the leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Abdullah Ocalan, is serving his sentence here.

On the island of Genen there are thermal springs, the water temperature in which reaches +80 degrees, as in Znamenny hot springs.

And on the island of Pashalimani there are delightful bright green sycamore groves.

It is located on the Gelibolu Peninsula, the main attraction of which is the Salt Lake. There are also several monuments to Turkish soldiers who died in 1915.

The Sea of ​​Marmara is a blue spot on the map. Beautiful, amazing, bright and at the same time very dangerous, it is an integral part of the difficult history of this ancient country.

Sea of ​​Marmara photo

The smallest sea on Earth is considered to be the Sea of ​​Marmara. Its name comes from the island of Marmara, where white marble was once mined. This body of water is located between the Asia Minor and European parts of Turkey. In the south it is connected to the Aegean Sea and the Dardanelles Strait, in the east - to the Black Sea and the Bosphorus Strait. Length 280 km, width - 80 km, area - 11472 sq. km, depth - 1355 m, volume - 4000 cubic km.

Sea of ​​Marmara, Bosphorus and Dardanelles

What is the smallest sea in the world, you ask? The answer is very simple - Mramornoe, which was first described in the 19th century by the captain of the Russian fleet, Mangari. At the end of the same century, scientists Spindler and Makarov conducted biological and hydraulic studies. It was they who believed that this small body of water was formed as a result of the fragmentation of the Earth’s crust, which subsequently divided Asia, Europe and Africa. This happened 2.5 million years ago.

Now the reservoir is located in a seismically active zone, where earthquakes often occur. Also, this sea was often mentioned in Greek culture, since it was here that the famous Argonauts sailed, and this body of water was a springboard for Scythian battles.

What is the smallest sea in the world?

The Sea of ​​Marmara is framed by a coastline, along which there are several mountain ranges. The seabed consists of three basins, and the main part of the territory is the coastal zone. In terms of salinity, our sea can be compared with the Mediterranean. And closer to the surface - with Black. The salinity of this reservoir is not uniform.

On the map it has rugged shores, as there are a lot of coves here. The coasts in the north have a large number of underwater reefs, which interferes with shipping, but attracts tourists.

In winter, the water temperature is no more than minus 10 degrees, and in the summer it can exceed 30 degrees. These data relate only to surface waters, the depth of which is about 20 meters. Deep waters have a much lower temperature.

Who lives in these depths?

Due to the fact that this is the smallest sea in the world, the fauna is not so rich. Here you can meet such fish as:

• Horse mackerel.
• Mackerel.
• Pelamids.
• Lobana.
• Anchovies.

Most commercial fish migrate to the Black Sea when cold weather sets in.

Resorts and beautiful places of the Marmara Sea

Despite the fact that the Sea of ​​Marmara is the smallest sea in the world in terms of area, a lot of tourists come to these places every year. On its banks lies the most charming and beautiful city - Istanbul. This city with a rich history and culture will always be of interest to tourists. In these places you can see an amazing interweaving of living ancient history with modern technology. In addition to the great Istanbul, guests are attracted here by the mass of picturesque and colorful resorts located in these places. The surroundings of the city of Bursa can be considered one of the most heavenly corners.

The national color and incredible views of natural landscapes are clearly expressed here. In a short period of time you can visit snow-capped peaks and lie on the sea coast, see green plains and enjoy colorful waterfalls.

Erdek is deservedly considered the most popular resort of the Marmara Sea. Here is the most beautiful sandy beach, almost 12 km long. Thanks to the amazing nature and good service for tourists, interest in the coast grows every year, and it becomes first on the list of visitors. Business and trade are developing well in these places, even though this is the smallest sea in the world. But for such ardent attention to itself, the Sea of ​​Marmara pays a huge price - its waters are very dirty and require careful care.

The Sea of ​​Azov is the best place to relax

The smallest and shallowest sea in the world and of course the warmest is the Azov Sea. It belongs to the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and is located in Eastern Europe, washing some territories of Ukraine and Russia. The maximum depth reaches 13 m, length - 380 km, width - 200 km, area - 145,700 square kilometers.

This sea is characterized by bays, estuaries, sandbars and shallows, which is why in ancient times it was called a swamp or lake. The Sea of ​​Azov is connected to the Black Sea. The temperature in winter reaches 0 degrees and freezes for 2-4 months, in summer it warms up to 30 degrees.

Despite the fact that it is the world's smallest sea and shallow, sometimes strong storms occur. There have been cases when sea vessels disappeared during such severe floods. In addition, the sea waters are polluted by waste from factories and cities that are nearby. The seashores are sandy; on the southern coast there are hills of volcanic origin with steep mountains. Here you can find resorts, recreation centers with beautiful beaches.

Marine inhabitants of the Sea of ​​Azov

The reservoirs of the Azov Sea are dirty, the salinity is lower than in the ocean, since the water is desalinated by rivers, especially the Don and Kuban. There is a lot of marine life in it, these are:

• Gobies.
• Tulka.
• Flounder.
• Pike.
• Ram.
• Sterlet.
• Stavridka.
• Mackerel.
• Herring.

As for mammals, porpoises and the Azov dolphin are found here. In addition, the depths of the sea are rich not only in living creatures, but also in natural gas reserves and various other minerals.

Recently, tourists noticed that the Sea of ​​Marmara has turned orange. Everyone suddenly became worried, what happened and why? Some decided that these were chemicals from ships, others that they were household waste.

In fact, everything is simple: the water is colored due to the plankton Noctiluca scintillans living in it. This single-celled organism is somewhat similar to a jellyfish and has colored pigments. During spring activity, it multiplies quickly and changes the color of the reservoirs where it lives.

It was also noted that plankton can color water brown, pink, green, red, and it does not harm nature.

Sea of ​​Marmara

The Sea of ​​Marmara is an inland sea that is part of the Atlantic Ocean, located between Europe and Asia Minor. The sea is located on the territory of northwestern Turkey, separating its Asian part from the European one. The length of the sea is 280 km, width is 80 km. Despite the relatively small area (11.5 thousand sq. km), the sea is deep: the average depth is about 500 m with the greatest 1.35 km in the center.

The Sea of ​​Marmara is connected to the Black Sea by the Bosphorus Strait and to the Aegean Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea) by the Dardanelles Strait. The location of the Sea of ​​Marmara between the Aegean and Black Seas is reflected in its salinity level: the sea's salinity averages 22‰, which is less than the Mediterranean Sea (38‰), but higher than the salinity of the Black Sea (18‰). Winter water temperature averages 9 °C, summer – up to 29 °C.

As for the name of the Sea of ​​Marmara itself, it appeared a long time ago and characterizes the peculiarity of this region.

: The origin of the Sea of ​​Marmara is believed to be tectonic. The sea was formed as a result of faults in the earth's crust 2.5 million years ago, when the continents separated. This is an area of ​​frequent earthquakes.

"Propontida" (Premorye)

The ancient name of the Sea of ​​Marmara “Propontis” comes from the Greek propontis, from pro (in front) and pontos (sea), which translated means “presea”. This name arose in relation to the Black Sea, since the Greeks inhabiting the Mediterranean sailed across the Sea of ​​Marmara and reached the Black Sea.
In Greek mythology, a storm in Protontis drove the Argonauts back to the abandoned island, where Jason killed King Cyzicus during the battle. The name "Propontis" is found in ancient Greek writers of the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. Aeschylus, Herodotus, etc.

Marmara Island

The largest island in the Sea of ​​Marmara is Marmara Island with an area of ​​130 square meters. km. in the southwestern part of the basin.

The settlement of the island of Marmara occurred with the early colonization of the Ionian Greeks in the 8th century. BC e. The ancient name of the island of Marmara “Prokonnesos” (Greek Prokonnesos), translated as “island of the aristocracy,” arose in the 4th century, when the aristocracy from Constantinople settled on the island, with the beginning of the reign of Emperor Constantine.

The modern name of the island of Marmara comes from the ancient Greek marmaros (mermer in Turkish), which translated means “white, shiny stone”, “marble”. This name is due to the fact that the territory of the island is a long-standing deposit of marble. More than 2 thousand years ago, the Romans discovered a small island with “God material”. Soon the first stone craftsmen went to the island and began carving marble from the mountains.

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Why is the sea blue?

During the ancient civilizations (Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman) in this region, all countries bordering the Mediterranean appreciated the quality, beauty and properties of this natural stone and used it to build palaces, monasteries, sarcophagi, create columns, statues. Marmara Island has granite, slate, marble and other rocks that are still mined in the region. Marble extracted from local quarries was used in architecture, sculpture, and construction in the ancient world and later times.

It is considered the smallest among all seas existing on the planet. Scientists believe that it was formed more than two and a half years ago during the division of the earth's crust. The sea is surrounded by islands. It is noteworthy that even in the cold season, the water temperature does not drop below 8 degrees (unlike) and it does not freeze. The coastal zone is densely populated, but is not distinguished by the richness and diversity of flora and fauna.

Sea of ​​Marmara: description, photo, video

The natural object takes its name from the ancient Greek name of the island Marmara, which translated meant “light stone”. It was in this place that the inhabitants of ancient Rome, more than one and a half thousand years ago, discovered mountains of amazing stone, which they considered a gift from the Gods. Over a long period of development, people mined marble and granite on the island for the construction of palaces, sarcophagi, and pedestals. It is worth noting that a stone of similar quality and characteristics does not exist anywhere else in the world.

The reservoir is compared to, because its water is very salty. Moreover, the percentage of salt content at depth is several times higher than on the surface. This is explained by the fact that several rivers flow into it. Their waters reduce the percentage of salt. This region is characterized by frequent earthquakes and tsunamis.

Panorama of the Sea of ​​Marmara

The Sea of ​​Marmara borders two large components of the huge continent - Europe and Asia. The reservoir is adjacent to the coast of Turkey. It has access through the Bosphorus Strait and through the Dardanelles Strait. Its coastline is characterized by steep mountainous terrain, which gives way to beautiful sandy beaches that attract large numbers of tourists. The coast is not without comfortable hotels, cozy, picturesque bays.

The length of the reservoir is 282 kilometers, width – 81 kilometers. The sea depth is assessed as average. The maximum depth reaches 1359 meters, along the perimeter the depth generally does not exceed 300 meters. The total area of ​​the facility is 11,470 square kilometers.

Where is the Sea of ​​Marmara located?

The sea is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwestern coast of Turkey. The sea is surrounded on both sides by the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, as well as numerous islands. This natural site is valuable as a transport route along which ships sail from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.

Sea of ​​Marmara on the map

Coordinates of the Sea of ​​Marmara on the map:

• Latitude - 40°76′06″ north latitude.
• Longitude - 28°32′76″ East longitude.

The following rivers flow into the reservoir: Granikus, Susurluk.

How to get to the Sea of ​​Marmara

To get to the Marble Sea, you need to contact a travel company and visit it as part of an excursion tourist group. If you prefer to travel to your destination yourself, you will have several options to choose from.

• Take a plane and fly to the heart of Turkey.
• By water - by ferry or sea liner to. From there it follows through the Black Sea and the Bosphorus Strait to the Sea of ​​Marmara.
• There is an option to get there by rail. There is no direct train route. You will have to change planes in Sofia or Bucharest.

When is the best time to visit the Sea of ​​Marmara

The most favorable period for a tourist holiday here is from the end of May to the end of September. This is the time when the temperature of the air and water creates favorable conditions for relaxation. Tourists come here from all over the world. Clean air saturated with phytoncides is recommended for people with respiratory diseases.

Despite the fact that the water in the sea never freezes, it is better to refrain from traveling here during the cold season. During the cold season, trips to the islands are extremely rare.

Peculiarities

A visit to the Sea of ​​Marmara, like any other natural site, has its own characteristics. They should definitely be taken into account when planning a trip.

• Thermal sea water strengthens the body, has a beneficial effect on the immune system, and helps with many diseases.
• The water of the Sea of ​​Marmara is not clean. It is polluted by a huge number of sea vessels that come to the port, and also travel through it from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and vice versa.
• Vacationers are recommended to choose four-star hotels for accommodation. The cost of living in hotels with three and four star status is almost the same. But the service is significantly different.
• The resort is considered an ideal place for a quiet, measured family holiday with children. There is no loud music, night parties, or discos here.
• The operating hours of boats that organize excursion trips to the islands change regularly.
• There are also many historical and religious places here.
• The resorts of the Turkish coast are famous for their low, affordable prices.
• The Sea of ​​Marmara is considered a turbulent place. Tsunamis and earthquakes of varying strength often occur here.
• For recreation, you should choose those coastal areas that are as far away from the port as possible. It's calmer there and the water is much cleaner.

What to see in the area

This part of the coast of Istanbul has a huge number of attractions that visiting guests definitely need to see.

Istanbul.

This is an incredibly beautiful city that amazes with its unique buildings, incredibly beautiful ancient monuments and rich vegetation.

Prince's Islands.

These are nine small islands connected to each other. They are located 15 kilometers from Istanbul. They are named so because the Byzantine sheikhs chose these very places for their holidays.

• In the southern part of the Sea of ​​Marble there is a very ancient city - Iznik.
• There are a huge number of ancient monuments and architectural structures here. The landmark of the city is the Orthodox Church of Hagia Sophia, which was allegedly built in the 6th century.

The famous island of Marmara.

A world-famous island where marble, which has no analogues anywhere in the world, is still mined to this day.

Despite the fact that the Sea of ​​Marmara is considered the smallest sea in the world, it is not inferior to large bodies of water in its uniqueness and attractions. Guests and tourists will find something to see and be surprised by here.

sea ​​of ​​marble

Mediterranean metro Atlantic approx., between Europe and Asia. The Strait connects. Bosphorus with Black Sea, prol. Dardanelles with the Aegean Cape. Area 12 thousand km2, greatest depth 1273 m. Islands: Princes, Marmara. Fishing. On the northern shore - Istanbul.

Sea of ​​Marmara

[tour. Marmara, from the name of the island of the same name in this sea, where there were rich developments of white marble; the ancient Greek name M. m. ≈ Propontis (Propontís, from pró ≈ before and póntos ≈ sea)], the Mediterranean Sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, between Europe and Asia Minor. Connects to the north-east. the Bosphorus Strait with the Black Sea, in the southwest. the Dardanelles Strait with the Aegean Sea. Area 11472 km2. Length 280 km, maximum width 80 km. The average volume is 4 thousand km3, depth up to 1355 m. It was formed as a result of large faults in the earth's crust that separated the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa. The shores are predominantly mountainous, strongly dissected in the south and east; There are many underwater reefs off the northern coast. Islands ≈ Marmara, Princes, etc. The sea does not freeze; the water temperature on the surface is 9 ╟C, in summer up to 29 ╟C. The hydrological regime of the Mediterranean Sea is mainly determined by the exchange of waters from the Black and Aegean Seas through the straits. Salinity on the surface is up to 26┴. The flora and fauna of M. m. are related to the Mediterranean. Fishing (mackerel, etc.). Important communications from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea pass through the sea. M. m. was studied mainly by Russian scientists S. O. Makarov and I. B. Spindler.

Lit.: Makarov S. O., On the exchange of waters of the Black and Mediterranean Seas, St. Petersburg, 1885; Spindler I.B., Materials on the hydrology of the Sea of ​​Marmara, collected during the 1894 expedition on the Turkish steamship “Selyanik”, St. Petersburg, 1896.

Wikipedia

Sea of ​​Marmara

Sea of ​​Marmara(from the name of the island of Marmara, where large-scale mining of white marble was carried out; – “Propontis”; from – “in front” + – “sea”: “presea”) - an inland sea of ​​the Atlantic Ocean, located between the European and Asia Minor parts of Turkey. In the northeast it is connected by the Bosphorus Strait with the Black Sea, in the southwest by the Dardanelles Strait with the Aegean Sea. The sea is elongated in the latitudinal direction; its length is 280 km, its greatest width is 80 km. Area 11,472 km². The average volume of water is 4 thousand km³, depth up to 1355 m.