The "Turkish Straits" are one of the most strategically important waterways in the world.The order of importance is generally set by the amount of oil that is shipped through a particular area. Other shipping is also important but oil is the most critical factor.
This image shows the Sea of Marmara near the bottom of the Black Sea.
Here is the Bosporus Strait again.
Here is the Dardanelle
In this image you can see the entire length of the Sea of Marmara.It would be difficult to explain the critical importance of this area of the world for the oil business, international shipping and international politics.
Just to give you an idea of how important this place is, consider that during a Military Style Strategic War Game exercise conducted at Harvard University in early 2008 to "simulate" a so-called "Oil Shockwave" event impacting the security of the United States, a simulated newsfeed supplying information to the panel of experts selected the Turkish Straits as the location for a simulated terrorist strike against international commerce. The news report begins by explaining that the event has occurred in the Sea of Marmara.
I think this is an excellent indicator of how important this area is, the fact that it was selected to be the key geographical and political focus point for a serious war games excercise.
You can check out this fascinating video here: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/Multimedia-Center/All-Videos/OIL-SHOCKWAVE-An-Oil-Crisis-Simulation
The Turkish Straits are considered to be the 5th most important "oil chokepoint" in the world behind #1 Strait of Hormuz, #2 Malacca Strait, #3 Suez Canal, #4 Bab el Mandab Strait where the Red Sea connects to the Indian Ocean.
About 2.4 million barrels per day of the world's 87 million barrel per day demand are shipped through the Turkish Straits.
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