The Sea of Marmara is that small sea that is entirely within the Turkish maritime borders. It is a genuine Turkish heritage, and Turkey is the sole owner of this sea.
The Sea of Marmara is located in the northwest of Turkey and separates the Asian part from the European part of Istanbul. The Sea of Marmara is connected to the Aegean Sea through the Çanakkale (Dardanelles) Strait, and to the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait, which is closer in nature to the nature of the Black Sea.
The name Marmara came from the small marble islands It is found in, and originally goes back to the Roman word Marmarus, which was known in the period between 6500 and 7000 BC within the history of Istanbul.
The wrecks of the Byzantine port of Theodosius, the wrecks of Byzantine and Ottoman ships and ships belonging to Khair al-Din Barbaros, the famous Ottoman commander, were found at the bottom of the Marmara Sea.
The total area of the Marmara Sea is estimated at about 11,350 square kilometers, with a length of 225 km and a width of 65 km at its maximum breadth.
Its maximum depth is 1270 meters, and more than 600 species of living creatures live in the sea, such as black-backed seals, some sharks and sea turtles, which made it of great importance in the field of fishing at different ages, starting from the Byzantine era through the Ottoman and ending with the Turkish state, which witnessed its reign Significant decline in the value of production
The pollution factor is the most important factor influencing this decline.
The fish caught from the Marmara Sea accounted for only 8.38% of Turkey’s fish production in 2010.
With the decline of fishing and fisheries in the Sea of Marmara, interest in it has increased as a source of tourist attraction and reliance on it for transportation between the cities of Istanbul, Bursa, Yalova via tourist ferries and luxury yachts,
The Princess Islands also constitute an important center in the heart of the sea, as it has become the first tourist place and a main destination for a large number of tourists and foreigners.
The cities of Istanbul, Bursa, Yalova, Balikesir, Çanakkale, Kocaeli and Tekirdag surround the Sea of Marmara from the east and west, and all cities have ports for transporting travelers and goods and for fishing as well,
The Sea of Marmara feeds a number of rivers, the most important of which is the Susurluk River, which originates from the Anatolian Plateau.
In 1988, large quantities of gas were discovered in the sea and it became the first natural gas mine in Turkey. Marmara gas extraction projects were established for the first time in 1997.
