Dardanelles

dar-da-nelz, the Hellespont of the ancients, a narrow strait connecting the Sea of Marmora with the Mediterranean and separating Europe from Asia. It is forty miles in length and from one to four in width. A swift current runs westward at all seasons of the year. Xerxes, the Persian, led his host across the Hellespont by means of two bridges, resting on boats. According to Herodotus the bridges groaned beneath the living tide of Asiatics for seven days and nights. In 1811 the poet Byron swam across from Abydos to Sestos in a little over an hour. This he did in emulation of the legendary Leander, who used to swim across to visit Hero, and who in so doing lost his life. The strait is wholly within the Turkish dominions and is strongly fortified on both sides by works and heavy batteries of Krupp guns. By treaties of 1841, 1856, and 1878, the powers have agreed that warships shall not be allowed to pass the Dardanelles. The measure is designed to protect the Porte, and especially to deny the Russians access to the Mediterranean. See Constantinople