A tideless, virtually landlocked sea, bounded by Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania, the Black Sea receives the waters of a number of rivers including, the Danube, Volga, Dniester and Dnieper, an inflo of fresh water that gives the sea's upper layers a low salt content. It is connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmora and the Dardenelles. Its area is 413,365 square kilometres and reaches a maximum depth of 2246 metres [7368 feet].

Map of the Black Sea

Dardanelles; Sea of Marmara; Bosphorus; Black Sea

Entry to the Black Sea from the Aegean Sea is accessed via a strait whose history is filled with controvercy and conflict. Known as the Dardanelles, the narrow body of water is wedged between two continents. To the north is the Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey and to the south, Asian Turkey. Linking the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles strait is 61 km (38 miles) long and 7km (4.2 miles) wide, narrowing at the area known as the Narrows to no more than 1,600 metres.

Entrance to the Dardanelles from the Aegean Sea photo by G. Wilson

The ancient name of the Dardanelles, Hellespont, comes from from Helle, the daughter of Athamas, who was drowned here in the mythology of the Golden Fleece. On May 3, 1910, Lord Byron swam the Hellespont in emulation of the mythical, Leander, who swam across the Hellespont each night to visit his beloved, Hero.

In WW I Turkey allied itself with Germany. As a result, on November 1, 1914, the three Entente powers. Britain, France and Russia, declared war on Turkey, which then closed the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits to their traffic. This action, a potentially mortal blow to Russia, cut off the flow of 90 per cent of its grain, half its exports and the most direct route to Russia for military supplies from the West.

By 1915 fighting had reached a bloody deadlock in the ditches of France with the slaughter leading to little land and the loss of thousands of lives. Disdainful of sending more new troops "to chew barbed wire," Churchill's fertile mind proposed that Britain and France attack Turkey. This would open a new, more fruitful front which could lead to the capture of Constantinople, draw Axis troops away from the fields of France and re-open the Straits to the flow of supplies to Russia.

In a secret treaty with Russia, Britain and France promised her the Straits and Constantinople.[*] Britain would capture Gallipoli and Russia would rule it. While Russia had some doubts about this ever occurring, they were sufficiently intrigued to continue the fight.

Initially, the assault on the Dardanelles was to be by ships alone, their big guns used to bombard Turkish fortifications. Following their demolition, the navy would push through the narrow passage (only a mile wide) and seize Constantinople. Thus Turkey would be removed from the war, communications would be re-opened with Russia and allied forces could move on another front towards Germany. This sensational scenario was undone by a line of mines. Most of the mines laid by Germany had been successfully swept, but a few that had been laid parallel to the shore remained and these wreaked havoc on the vessels venturing up the Dardanelles. Three of the ten ships were sunk and a number were put out of action. The decision to conquer by cannons alone was abandoned.

Naval Assault on Gallipoli

The plan to attack Turkey was revived, but this time it was decided that troops were needed to follow the fusillade and take the forts on Gallipoli. The earlier bombardment and the lengthy delays in implementing the operation alerted the Turks and Germans to the likelihood of another assault and Gallipoli was heavily reinforced. Of the 250,000 men who ultimately stormed the rough,rugged terrain in the face of reinforced, resolute resistance by Turkish forces, some 145,000 became casualties many of whom were Anzacs. This combined Australian and New Zealand force was front and centre thoughout the frienzied assault and they achieved lasting fame for their valor in the face of terrible odds. Poor coordination between the French and British and between the army and the navy resulted in another failure and the enterprise was ingloriously ended after a year. The wisdom or the waste of the Gallipoli campaign was widely debated at the time and is still a cause of controvery today. Churchill bore the brunt of the blame for its failure, but there was plenty to go around.

Australian and New Zealand Monument To Troop Valor at Gallipoli photo by G.Wilson

Monument to Turkish Troop Valor in Defence of Gallipoli photo by G. Wilson

Visible from our ship as we entered the Dardanelles was the site of the fabled city of Troy. Today it is but a hump on the horizon, an archeological dig close to the seacoast of northwest Turkey. The legendary city was the centre of the Trojan War as described in the Iliad, one of the epic poems attributed to Homer. The first word of the Iliad is 'Rage," a fitting epitaph for an area steeped in stories of tragedy.

Troy Brownish Hump on the Horizon fabled Troy photo by G. Wilson

About to sail out of the Aegean Sea and enter the Dardanelles with Europe on the left Asia on the right photo by G. Wilson

Fort on the Gallipoli Shoreline photo by G. Wilson

Sea of Marmara photo by G.Wilson

Waters from the Sea of Marmara flow through the Bosphorus Strait. Bosphorus is 31 km long, has an average depth of 50-120 metres and ranges in width from 600 metres to 3.4 km where it meets the Black Sea. It has strong currents in both directions. The current from the Black Sea to Marmara Sea is at the surface, while the counter-current flows at a depth of 40 metres. Providing access to the Mediterranean for Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Russia, it is under the control of Turkey. Fifty thousand ships and tankers travel this busy strait annually.

Istanbul Skyline showing the Blue Mosque photo by G. Wilson

This was our first view of fabled Constantinople, a city unique in the world because it spans two continents. It was thrilling to enter the celebrated city of Istanbul whose skyline is pierced by minerets of the many mosques.

Shimmering waters highlight the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn photo by G.Wilson

On our visit to this fabled place, sunlight glinted off the minerats of mosques and the guilded church domes and spires, all enhanced by the shimmering Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus.

Constantine Saw the vision of a cross with the words "Through this win."

He ordered his soldiers to put Christian symbols on their shields.

As the barbarians besieged the Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome in AD 324 and built a fortified city , a "new Rome" in Constantinople. His Byzantine Empire flourished for nearly another thousand years.

In an extended period of frienzied fiendishness, the warring knights of the Fourth Crusade sacked Byzantium. Running amok among the people of Constantinople, these Christian gentlemen pillaged and plundered other Christians, the very folk they had pledged to free from the ravages of Muslim hoards that were holding them hostage in the Holy City of Jerusalem. They desecrated churches, burned the centuries-old contents of libraries and left the "greatest city in Christendom" in smouldering ruins.

In a belated attempt to justify this barbaric behaviour towards their kindred coreligionists, the culprit crusaders created horrendous accounts of treacherous Byzantine betrayals to prove beyond a doubt, that the sly and slippery Byzantines "deserved" the beating they got. Pope Innocent III ,who had dispatched the Crusaders on their mission of mercy, was apoplectic when he heard of the havoc they had wrought in Christian Constantinople. He simmered down when they slyly mitigated the magnitude of their crime, but assuring him they were simply seeking to re-establish the primacy of the Pope of Rome. The Pope now glad, gloried in being supreme Pontiff, the title and the tenure no longer shared with that eastern personification of the pope.

Sacking of Byzantium

Crusaders attacking Christians in Constantinople by Delacroix

Golden Horn From On High (shaped a bit like a horn)

Golden Horn The name for a body of water that separates the old and new European parts of Constantiople

Another view of busy Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn photo by G.Wilson

Hagia Sophia is a Roman monument constructed in 537 A.D. during the Byzantine era when the city was called Constantinople after the Emperor Constantine. It took five years, 100 masters and 10,000 labourers to construct. Hagia Sophia was used as a church for 916 years until Istanbul was conquered by the Ottomans and the city renamed Istanbul. It was used as a mosque for 481 years until the year 1934, when it was opened as a museum.

Hagia Sophia (Divine Wisdom) Museum

Balcony of the Hagia Sophia where Muslim women prayed. photo by G. Wilson

A Golden Mosaic of Justinianus, Virgin Mary Constantine Adorns a Doorway of Hagia Sophia photo by G. Wilson

Hagia Sophia and Its Fountain photo by G. Wilson

The Blue Mosque is the largest and most fabled of the many in Istanbul. Known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, it was constructed during the reign of the 14th Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I who ruled between 1603 and 1617. There are 21,043 blue tiles inside and the floor is covered with silk carpets. The stained glass windows contain no figures.

The Blue Mosque

Dome of the Blue Mosque photo by G. Wilson

Blue Mosque Interior photo by G. Wilson

Blue Mosque silk carpeting and hundreds of crystal oil lamps photo by G. Wilson

Occupying a prominent place in the heart of one of the city's main squares - an open air museum embellished by the Byzantine emperors - is a 300-ton, 3500-year old obelisk from ancient Egypt. Originally it marked the memory of victories of Pharaoh Tuthmosis. This name, which is Greek for 'born of the god, Toth', was given to the pharaohs during the 18th dynasty. Carved on the four faces of the pink, granite sides of the obelisk are Tuthmosis's cartouche and tales of his victories. This obelisk, like many others carried off by European leaders, was taken from the Temple of Karnak in Luxor by the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius I in 390 B.C.

Obelisque photo by G. Wilson

Topkapi Palace built on Roman Ruins by Ottoman Fatih Sultan Mehemet between the years 1475-78 photo by G. Wilson

Sultan's Room in Topkapi Palace photo by G. Wilson

Cascading Carpets photo by G. Wilson

Blue Domes Mark Tombs of Royal Families photo by G. Wilson

Grand Bazaar photo by G. Wilson

Crowded Corridor Within the Grand Bazaar photo by G. Wilson

Our next stop was Varna, Bulgaria, home to some 8 million people. Bulgaria's capital is Sofia. After five centuries of Ottoman rule and four decades of communist control, an independent Bulgaria has opened up to international visitors. Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, was the site of the most recent meeting of leaders of the NATO countries. Both Bulgaria and Romania became members of the European Union on January 1, 2007.

Cathedral of the Assumption, Varna, Bulgaria photo by G. Wilson

Selling Icons outside the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin in Varna, Bulgaria photo by G. Wilson

Horseman Carved on Face of the Cliff in Bulgaria A UNESCO World Heritage Site photo by G. Wilson

Horse Trainer in Bulgaria photo by G. Wilson

Odessa, Ukraine, located on the Black Sea, was founded in 1794 as a Russian naval fortress. Known today as the Paris of the Black Sea, Odessa is the chief trade and fishing port of Ukraine. Because of its mild climate, it is a popular resort.

Odessa, Ukraine photo by G. Wilson

The steps of the stairway were immortalized in a famous 1925 film, Battleship Potemkin. In 1905 a worker's uprising was supported by the crew of the Russian ship, Potemkin. Later when the sailors of the Potemkin mutinied to protest against their oppressive officers, the people of Odessa gathered on the steps to show their support. As they ran down towards the ship, they were fired on by Tsarist troops, their blood spilling down the steps. Battleship Potemkin has been called one of the most influential films of all time and was named the greatest film of all time at the World's Fair at Brussels, Belgium, in 1958

Famous Odessa Staircase photo by G. Wilson

When the Crimean Peninsula came under Russian control in 1783, it was made into a strongly fortified naval base by Catherine the Great and named Sevastobol. The Crimean War (1853-1856) was fought between Imperial Russia on one side and an alliance of France, the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. Most of the conflict took place on the Crimean Peninsula. During the course of one of the battles, a useless charge took place that is perhaps best known of any cavalry charge that has ever occurred - the Charge of the Light Brigade.

"Theirs not to reason why.
Theirs but to do and die.

SITE THEN

The Charge of the Light Brigade Balaclava, Crimea Peninsula, Ukraine

SITE NOW

Vineyards on the Site of the Charge of the Light Brigade, Balaclava, Crimea Peninsula, Ukraine photo by G. Wilson

The Charge by Richard Caton Woodville (1825-1855) Balaclava, Crimea Peninsula

Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, both the Ukraine and Russia claimed the Black Sea fleet stationed in Sevastopol. In 1997 an accord was signed that gave Russia 80 per cent of the fleet. It then agreed to drop its claim to Sevastopol, agreeing instead to lease its use of the port. The 20 per cent of the fleet belonging Ukraine also uses the port. The city is a major naval base and seaport.

Sevastapol on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. [Ukranian Naval Base used by Ukranian and Russian Navies] photo by G. Wilson

Two Russian Submarines at Sevastapol on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. photo by G. Wilson

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