Evening journal., 1921-09-12
WATERWAY OF
new ARGONAUTS
Black Sea and Cats Again
the Field of World
Events
is ROAD TO THE
GOLDEN FLEECE

the old Ottoman Empire to the bone.
and the Greeks who profted heavily
by the document, are fighting It out
in the Near East. the Black Sea and
its gates are again a field or world
events" says a bulletin issued by the
National Geographic Society.
The treaty which practically end
ed Turkish power in Europe made
an entirely new entity known as the
Zone of the Straits out of the mar
row waters that separate Europe
ana Asia Minor-the Dardanelles
the Sea of Marmora and the Bos-
phorus-and their shores. Over this
was placed an international commits
SION. The door which had SO long
neen kept closed by the Turks when
they desired, to the detrinent of
commerce, was to be flung wide
open TO permit the passage Of ships
% trade or war belonging to any ma
t'on' That this has already beer
accomplished in a measure is shown
lorcloiy by recent dispatches statins
mat creek warships-barred fror,
siie Black Sea since the prosnerors
uays OF Byzantium-are ae,ir .a,,
ing us waters and have sboI1aa
.sr trs neiu oy the rebellious Turks
OF thousands Of years history
anu tradition have been busy ahont
'ilis chain of waters, from the n,onth
ol the Dardanelles at the Tin of +ha
1aiilpoh peninsula to the noi,+
nearly 200 miles to the nortbesst-
ward where the narrower Rosnbor,,s
sucks It's mighty stream from the
Black Sea- Tradition has IL that To-
son and his fellow searcbers for The
soluen neece passed through the
straits; and later hardy Greek sea
Iarers and colonists, and after them
romans and Genoese, built great
clties on their shores and established
over their waters the world-impor-
tant trade routes OF their days.
me Dardanelles, or the Heue-
spont as the Greeks called II is the
longer of the two great saltwater
rivers that separate Eurone fror,
ASIA Minor 1t winds its way from
the Aagean Sea with two sharn
turns and numerous gentler curves
for 40 miles before it expands into
the Sea Of Marmora. the Grecian
Propontis. The strait varies in width
from a little over three-fourths NJ a
mile TO five miles. On the European
side rises the steep ridge of Gallipoli
where large numbers of Australians
and New zealanders perished while
seeking to seize the Dardanelles. on
the Asiatic side lies the plain in
which stood old Troy.
The Sea of Marmora, from which
the Hellespont leads. is about lao
miles wide at it's greatest width. II
is thus somewhat smaller than Lake
Ontario, the smallest Of our Great
Lakes. But though relatively small.
the Marmora in its time has been
the center of the world Probably
about no other body Of water Of such
size have so many important cities
stood. OF these, Constantinople
alone is OF Importance today; but
living and dead cities cover the
] shores OF practically every harbor
and headland of the little sea The
settlements that still exist are not
even the heirs os the great cities OF
yesterday. but rather in-kempt in
terlopers that under Turkish domain
occupied their sites
Typical OF the ancient Marmora
cities was Cyzious on the peninsula
Of that name on the southern shore
OF the sea- II was founded earlier
than Rome of Byzantium and had a
long life. possessed at various times
by Athens. Sparta. Persia, Macedon
Pergamus and Rome. II was one oi
the finest of ancient cities in its
prime and its gold coins were the
standard of their day ae the forms
of Florence became the standard In
Renaissance times. But when By.
zantium, thanks largely to its in.
comparable location on the Bos.
phorus. rose to power, the gloriei
OF Cyzicus faded. Today practical.
" nothing is left of the once grea'
city Its buildings were not left tC
fall they were torn down by BY.
zantines and after them by Turk,
and the stones used in the construc.
ton of the latest and stih flourish
ing metropolis Of the straits.
Though 1t is both narrower ant
shorter than the Dardanelles, the
I lBosphorus. third link in this chair
OF historic waters, is perhaps mos
important: for it is the immediate
gate to and from the great Blacl
Sea which reaches toward the hear
Of Europe. To command this strai
is to command one of the grea
trade routes of the world a fac
which has been written deeply int,
history from the days of the EARL
Greeks to those OF the waninl
Turks. The strait Is about 20 mile
long and varies in width from
third OF a mile to two miles. Darius
Persian king. who invaded Europe
took his army over a bridge of boat
which he had constructed across tn,
Bosphorus.
AT it's northern end the Bosphor
us expands suddenly into the Blacl
Sea. This is no small sea comparabl
to one OF our Great Lakes, but
great body of water $50 miles lonl
and from 200 to 400 miles wide. /
located in the northeastern portion
of the United States II would cove
all Of the New England States a
we'll as New York and Pennsylvania
More nations are now groupel
around the. Black Sea than perhap
at any other time in history. on tn
European side OF the mouth of tn
Bosphorus is the tiny patch that re
mains of Turkey-in- Europe. Mex
comes the now northern extension o
Greece. Bulgaria and Rumani
share the western end Of the sea
. Acrnss the north strefches the nl