Strategic transitions and waterways of the Mediterranean

From past to present, people have developed transportation systems to reach farther places from where they are for various purposes. The fact that maritime trade is more convenient than other types of transportation, has a higher load carrying capacity, etc. It has an important place in world trade due to factors. The fact that approximately 90% of world trade is carried out over the seas increases the importance of sea routes. For this reason, the straits and canals, which are considered as important seaway passages opened by natural or artificial ways, have a very important role in geopolitical, geostrategic and geoeconomic terms. The purpose of this research is to reveal the importance of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Strait of Messina, the Suez Canal, the Corinth Canal, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, which have geopolitical, geostrategic and geoeconomic importance in the Mediterranean. In the research, document analysis, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was used. According to the findings, the regional and global geopolitical contribution of the strategic waterways and passages of the Mediterranean (the Strait of Gibraltar, the Strait of Messina, the Suez Canal, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles) maintains its importance today, as it was in the past. Keywords: Transportation, Mediterranean Basin, Strait of Gibraltar, Strait of Messina, Suez Canal, Bosphorus Strait, Dardanelles, Corinth Canal