The Aegean Sea is a large, elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea positioned between the Balkans and Anatolia. Covering an area of approximately 215,000 square kilometers, it serves as a critical maritime corridor between Europe and Asia.
In the north, the sea connects to the Marmara Sea and subsequently the Black Sea through the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. The region is characterized by numerous islands, including Crete and Rhodes, and reaches a maximum depth of 2,639 meters to the west of the island of Karpathos.