Original: It was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region -- the Mesopotamian , Egyptian , Phoenician , Carthaginian , Iberian , Greek , Illyrian , Thracian , Levantine , Gallic , Roman , Arabic , Berber , Jewish , Slavic and Turkish cultures .
Simplified: p206\/7 Thus , seawater flow is eastward in the Straits surface waters , and westward below ; once in the Atlantic , this chemically distinct '' Mediterranean Intermediate Water '' can persist thousands of kilometers away from its source .