Aegean Sea

The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Sea/Vr2pzVbM">Mediterranean Sea</a> between <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a> and <a href="/facts/Asia/4IToYrrQ">Asia</a>. It is located between the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a> and <a href="/facts/Anatolia/vMkrLrPr">Anatolia</a>, and covers an area of some 215,000 km2 (83,000 sq mi). In the north, the Aegean is connected to the <a href="/facts/Marmara_Sea/2EVtFBHk">Marmara Sea</a>, which in turn connects to the <a href="/facts/Black_Sea/M0rLKvge">Black Sea</a>, by the straits of the <a href="/facts/Dardanelles/rxUhLwvj">Dardanelles</a> and the <a href="/facts/Bosphorus/3Id0Pfum">Bosphorus</a>, respectively. The <a href="/facts/Aegean_Islands/bkgxgMqc">Aegean Islands</a> are located within the sea and some bound it on its southern periphery, including <a href="/facts/Crete/r6jWGjoQ">Crete</a> and <a href="/facts/Rhodes/07LazWIX">Rhodes</a>. The sea reaches a maximum depth of 2,639 m (8,658 ft) to the west of Karpathos. The <a href="/facts/Thracian_Sea/EzruA69F">Thracian Sea</a> and the <a href="/facts/Sea_of_Crete/9L0rvHfD">Sea of Crete</a> are main subdivisions of the Aegean Sea.
The Aegean Islands can be divided into several island groups, including the <a href="/facts/Dodecanese/Hnzj5H4o">Dodecanese</a>, the <a href="/facts/Cyclades/gmfV8jh9">Cyclades</a>, the <a href="/facts/Sporades/xswNMGo2">Sporades</a>, the <a href="/facts/Saronic_Islands/qAbYzKQu">Saronic islands</a> and the <a href="/facts/North_Aegean_islands/yXW4Bzom">North Aegean Islands</a>, as well as Crete and its surrounding islands. The Dodecanese, located to the southeast, includes the islands of Rhodes, <a href="/facts/Kos/eloYjDgB">Kos</a>, and <a href="/facts/Patmos/oQ56uy6N">Patmos</a>; the islands of <a href="/facts/Delos/xqnbmuCT">Delos</a> and <a href="/facts/Naxos/utJLfXFF">Naxos</a> are within the Cyclades to the south of the sea. <a href="/facts/Lesbos/oQ5x2FMC">Lesbos</a> is part of the North Aegean Islands. <a href="/facts/Euboea/YEvmF1Eb">Euboea</a>, the second-largest island in Greece, is located in the Aegean, despite being administered as part of <a href="/facts/Central_Greece_(administrative_region)/DHvYkwlz">Central Greece</a>. Nine out of twelve of the Administrative regions of Greece border the sea, along with the <a href="/facts/Provinces_of_Turkey/CN95vY68">Turkish provinces</a> of <a href="/facts/Edirne/Yv0IwFUQ">Edirne</a>, <a href="/facts/%25C3%2587anakkale/1L81QEcu">Çanakkale</a>, <a href="/facts/Bal%25C4%25B1kesir/3J7SChaQ">Balıkesir</a>, <a href="/facts/%25C4%25B0zmir/CUkMRT28">İzmir</a>, <a href="/facts/Ayd%25C4%25B1n/RcoJvXzW">Aydın</a> and <a href="/facts/Mu%25C4%259Fla_Province/x6FV8g9q">Muğla</a> to the east of the sea. Various Turkish islands in the sea are <a href="/facts/Imbros/W6S8YGDJ">Imbros</a>, <a href="/facts/Tenedos/cpoPb73b">Tenedos</a>, <a href="/facts/Cunda_Island/KqXmGYJD">Cunda Island</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Fo%25C3%25A7a_Islands/QM4j1azX">Foça Islands</a>.
The Aegean Sea has been historically important, especially regarding the civilization of <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greece/PTVBrWXq">Ancient Greece</a>, which inhabited the area around the coast of the Aegean and the Aegean islands. The Aegean islands facilitated contact between the people of the area and between Europe and Asia. Along with the Greeks, <a href="/facts/Thracians/JrSuD03j">Thracians</a> lived along the northern coasts. The <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Romans</a> conquered the area under the Roman Empire, and later the <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine Empire</a> held it against advances by the <a href="/facts/First_Bulgarian_Empire/3RCq0kUp">First Bulgarian Empire</a>. The <a href="/facts/Fourth_Crusade/XRUWt3xn">Fourth Crusade</a> weakened Byzantine control of the area, and it was eventually conquered by the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>, with the exception of Crete, which was a <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Candia/gL1gvHV2">Venetian colony</a> until 1669. The <a href="/facts/Greek_War_of_Independence/bIXHUpJ7">Greek War of Independence</a> allowed a Greek state on the coast of the Aegean from 1829 onwards. The Ottoman Empire held a presence over the sea for over 500 years until it was replaced by modern <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a>.
The rocks making up the floor of the Aegean are mainly limestone, though often greatly altered by volcanic activity that has convulsed the region in relatively recent geologic times. Of particular interest are the richly colored sediments in the region of the islands of <a href="/facts/Santorini/0mwy5FSA">Santorini</a> and <a href="/facts/Milos/AY0u0GCz">Milos</a>, in the south Aegean. Notable cities on the Aegean coastline include <a href="/facts/Athens/mBxlp8X1">Athens</a>, <a href="/facts/Thessaloniki/o3BFhhPR">Thessaloniki</a>, <a href="/facts/Volos/V0KkkRgk">Volos</a>, <a href="/facts/Kavala/XM1pyuXC">Kavala</a>, and <a href="/facts/Heraklion/084Yug9x">Heraklion</a> in Greece, and <a href="/facts/%25C4%25B0zmir/CUkMRT28">İzmir</a> and <a href="/facts/Bodrum/V4FmDb1l">Bodrum</a> in Turkey.
Several issues concerning sovereignty within the Aegean Sea are disputed between Greece and Turkey. The <a href="/facts/Aegean_dispute/2BpAJYsa">Aegean dispute</a> has had a large effect on <a href="/facts/Greece%25E2%2580%2593Turkey_relations/GMB79xyG">Greece-Turkey relations</a> since the 1970s. Issues include the delimitation of <a href="/facts/Territorial_waters/ss9s492R">territorial waters</a>, <a href="/facts/National_airspace/6FbRBRSu">national airspace</a>, <a href="/facts/Exclusive_economic_zone/UtMbSd3w">exclusive economic zones</a>, and <a href="/facts/Flight_information_region/R0cY8Qrk">flight information regions</a>.

Aegean Sea open-in-new

Aegean Sea