Dardanelles

The Dardanelles (dɑːrdəˈnɛlz, ; Çanakkale Boğazı, Δαρδανέλλια), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula), and as the Hellespont (ˈhɛlᵻspɒnt, ; Ἑλλήσποντος) in Classical Antiquity, is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Asia and Europe and separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. Together with the Bosporus, the Dardanelles forms the Turkish Straits. One of the world's narrowest straits used for international navigation, the Dardanelles connects the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean and Mediterranean seas while also allowing passage to the Black Sea by extension via the Bosporus. The Dardanelles is long and wide. It has an average depth of with a maximum depth of at its narrowest point abreast the city of Çanakkale. The first fixed crossing across the Dardanelles opened in 2022 with the completion of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge. Most of the northern shores of the strait along the Gallipoli peninsula (Gelibolu) are sparsely settled, while the southern shores along the Troad peninsula (Biga) are inhabited by the city of Çanakkale's urban population of 110,000. The contemporary Turkish name Çanakkale Boğazı, meaning 'Çanakkale Strait', is derived from the eponymous midsize city that adjoins the strait, itself meaning 'pottery fort'—from چاناق (çanak, 'pottery') + قلعه (kale, 'fortress')—in reference to the area's famous pottery and ceramic wares, and the landmark Ottoman fortress of Sultaniye. The English name Dardanelles is an abbreviation of Strait of the Dardanelles. During Ottoman times there was a castle on each side of the strait. These castles together were called the Dardanelles, probably named after Dardanus, an ancient city on the Asian shore of the strait which in turn was said to take its name from Dardanus, the mythical son of Zeus and Electra. The name delivers from the Dardani in the Balkans, according to Papazoglu.