| The Mediterranean is the name for the sea in | | | | seas. The land around is called the Mediterranean |
| southern Europe. It is almost entirely enclosed by | | | | region, and it refers to Anatolia and Europe on the |
| land except a small corridor connection, which is | | | | north side, Africa on the south, and the Levant on |
| only 14 km (9 mi) wide, with the Atlantic Ocean, | | | | the east. |
| called the Strait of Gibraltar. On the east it | | | | The average depth is 1500 meters (0.93 mi) and |
| connects to the Sea of Marmara and the Black | | | | the deepest recorded spot is 5267 meters (3273 |
| Sea, via the Dardanelles and the Bosporus | | | | mi) - the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea. It |
| channels. The man-made Suez Canal in the | | | | covers an area of 2.5 million km². The history of |
| southeast connects it to the Red Sea. | | | | this region is vital for understanding the origins of |
| The name Mediterranean comes from the latin | | | | many modern societies, because in the ancient |
| mediterraneus (in Greek it is Mesogeios),which | | | | times it was the most important route for |
| means 'inland' or 'in the middle of the earth'. This is | | | | merchants and travelers for trade and cultural |
| due to the fact that it was the center of the | | | | exchange between various nations: the Greek, |
| known world, but also because completely | | | | Mesopotamians, Phoenician, Egyptians, Illyrian, |
| surrounded by land. It is often called the Eurafrican | | | | Carthaginian, Illyrian, Slavic, Levantine, Moorish, and |
| Mediterranean sea or the European Mediterranean | | | | Turkish. More information can be seen at The |
| sea to distinguish it from other Mediterranean | | | | Mediterranean. |