Aegean Sea

Sightseeing refers to the following countries:TurkeyGreece

The Aegean Sea is a semi-enclosed sea with a huge number of islands (about 2000) in the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, between the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor and the island of Crete. Crete. The Aegean Sea is one of the cradles of antiquity, ancient Greek and later Byzantine civilizations. It washes the shores of modern Greece and Turkey. At different times there were many other, including Slavic states (Bulgaria).

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General information

In the northeast through the Dardanelles Strait it connects with the Sea of Marmara and further – through the Bosphorus Strait with the Black Sea, in the south – through several straits between islands – with the Mediterranean Sea. The area of the sea is about 179 thousand km². The coasts are mostly rocky, the sea is framed by numerous, but usually low mountain ranges with a semi-desert landscape.

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The Aegean Sea was formed as a result of the submergence in the late Pliocene and Pleistocene of the land (Aegean), the remains of which are numerous islands (in this regard, the Aegean Sea was formerly called the Sea of the Archipelago). The largest islands are Euboea, Crete, Lesbos, Rhodes, and Samos. Depths from 200 to 1,000 meters prevail (the greatest depth is 2,529 meters in the south).

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Currents in the western part of the sea are directed southward, in the eastern part – northward; their speed up to 0.5-1 km / h. Water temperature at the surface is 11-15 °C in winter and 22-25 °C in summer. Due to the global warming, the sea water temperature and its salinity are constantly increasing. At a depth of more than 350 meters, the water temperature does not change throughout the year (12-13 ° C). The Aegean Sea has a higher salinity than the Black Sea: 37.0-40.00/00, so after swimming in it must be washed with fresh water, otherwise there may be negative consequences for the skin and especially the mucous membrane of the eyes. Tides are semi-diurnal, their magnitude is from 30 to 60 cm.

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Fishing, sponge fishing and octopus fishing have long been developed in the Aegean Sea. Fishing has been declining in recent times due to its private (semi-artisanal) nature and the deterioration of the ecological situation in the sea, as well as its poverty of plankton, necessary for the nutrition of fish.

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The Aegean Sea is a traditional shipping region. A huge number of Greek and foreign ships are listed in Greek ports and under its flag. Greek shipowners are among the most powerful and famous in the world.

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The main ports are Piraeus (Greece), Thessaloniki (Greece), Izmir (Turkey).

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There have been a great number of civilizations in the Aegean basin: Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgarian Empire, the Latin Empire, Venice, and the Ottoman Empire.

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In the Aegean basin, there is still to this day a sluggish conflict between Greece (which controls almost all of the Aegean islands) and Turkey, which is attempting to dominate the region’s trade.

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The Aegean Sea is strategically important as a route for oil tankers from the Black Sea. Oil spills and sewage discharges are not uncommon here (especially in the Athens area).