The smallest inland sea in the world is the Marmara Sea. Marmara means "shining stone". This 'shining stone' connects to the Black Sea in the Northeast through the Bosphorous Strait while the Dardanelles Strait joins it at the Aegean Sea. It is considered part of the Mediterranean Sea. Interestingly, it is both saline and fresh water. It was formed over 2.5 million years ago as a result of tectonic plate movements during the Miocene and the late Pliocene periods. It measures 280 km lengthwise and and 80 km at its widest point. Its deepest part is 1370 meters in the center and it is 494 meters toward the shore. It covers an area of 11,350 km squared. It does not freeze. Unique to this sea, is that it has varying levels of salinity. There is a constant flow of fresh waters from the rivers that flow into it. This keeps the salinity in check.
We stayed on the island of Erdek. But there is also the Island of Marmara. This island is known for its marble quarries on the western part. It is exquisite being shipped to Turkey and being one of the finest marble extracted in the Mediterranean region. This is also where it gets its name - the "crystalline rock" or "shining stone" as the marble was shiny.
During the 6th and 7th century, the Marmara Sea was used extensively by the Greeks. Byzantium was the most famous of its cities. Later, it became the capital of the Eastern Roman Emperor and a major city for the Ottomans in the 15th century.
The last time my sister Mary was in Turkey, she and her family visited a sea not too far from here. The sea was filled with 'Garra Rufa' otherwise known as 'doctor fish' or 'nibble fish'. These orange-colored carpa -fish eat the dead skin on the person's feet. These fish are native to the Middle East, but they are popular worldwide in spas for a "fish pedicure". My nieces and nephew were enthralled with this natural experience.
There are wild fruit trees and olive trees everywhere.
East meets West on this important trade route where crude oil and petroleum is shipped to Europe from East Asia and Russian ports.
In addition, the Marmara Sea is loaded with a large variety of fish giving the locals a livelihood.
This sea also lies in the North Anatolian Fault with seismically active zones. It was activated nearly 3 million years ago. There have been many earthquakes since - notably the one on September 10th in 1509 which claimed over 10,000 lives. This was known as "The Lesser Judgment Day" (Kiyamet-i-sugra). There was a huge Tsunami and 45 days of aftershocks.

Mary and Asuman on the Promenade
There are numerous gulfs here. Today, I would go swimming in the Gulf of Erdek. It was a warm day with a gentle breeze.

Asuman, Mary and I walked down where the hotels are along the coast. They were built in the 1960's. This is a popular vacation destination for the Turkish people. It is wall-to-wall people in the summer. Now, it was off-season, so we had the promenade to ourselves. We passed a neighbor who invited us for coffee. Ahmet told me that it was not like back home where one would just have a little chat and a cup of coffee. Here, it comprised several hours including a full-course meal. We had to decline this lady's offer because time would not permit. The folks here are warm and welcoming. They are hearty too. I believe that the citizens of Turkey are renown for longevity in their lives.
Kind Neighbor
Ahmet picked us up so that we did not have walk back up the hill. Then, he continued driving us up the mountain which took us up a narrow winding road to the top. There we feasted on a magnificent view of this "Shining Stone".

We passed many Kangral dogs sleeping along the way.
We returned to the house to get some things to take to the beach. Ahmet drove us back down to a beautiful secluded spot. He and his sister thought it was too cold to go swimming. But for someone who grew up on Lake George, this was just a balmy dip. It was beautiful! Moreover, I felt like I was connecting with an ancient civilization. The sun was trying to
Asuman, Mary and Ahmet
peek through the clouds. I was swimming in the Marmara Sea!

It was starting to sprinkle. We stopped at a little supermarket before returning to our abode. This was great. I picked out some nice apple filled cookies covered with powdered sugar. We would enjoy those later with some chai. Then, of all things, Mary and I found ourselves looking at underwear in the supermarket! Turkey is known for its nice cotton fabrics. Underwear is no exception. And they would easily fit in my backpack. As we were checking out, the lady in front of us decided to look over my selection. She looked at me, and then she held my chin in her hands, and she let out a hearty laugh. Mary and I looked at each other and we smiled. We got a kick out of this.

Apple Cookies
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