Dardanelles:

Northwestern Turkey is divided by a complex waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea. The channel passing between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara is named the Istanbul Bogazi, more commonly called the Bosporus. Istanbul is positioned at the south end of the Bosporus. The Sea of Marmara is connected to the Aegean Sea by a channel called the Canakkale Bogazi, also known as the Dardanelles.

Importance:

Dardanelles and Hellespont are the old names of what is now Çanakkale. The word Dardanelles comes from Dardanos, a mythical ancestor of one of the survivors of Troy. It was called the Hellespont in ancient times and was the scene of the legend of Hero and Leander. Its modern name is derived from Dardanus, an ancient Greek city on its Asian shore. Controlling navigation between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Dardanelles and Bosporus straits have long been of immense strategic and commercial importance.

Stories About Dardanelles:

In ancient times the Dardanelles was called the Hellespont. On the European side of the Strait, in the city of Sestos, there was a large temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite and a beautiful priestess serving in the temple, Hero.
At a spring festival in Sestos, the handsome Leander from Abydos, a city on the opposite Asian side of the Dardanelles, on seeing Hero, was stricken by a lightning bolt of love when was presenting his offerings.
Hero, initially rejected this love but such was the passion of Leander that finally the priestess also succumbed to the fires of love.
Even though they were living on the two different sides of the Strait love proved it was more powerful than the seas.
Nightly, Leander would swim across the Strait, guided by a lamp Hero lit in a tower of the temple to help fishermen find their way. Each night the light burned and every night Leander and Hero met.
But the seasons started to turn and the waves began to assert their power. According to the ancient writer Heseidos, in his book "Works and Days", written in the 8th century BC, "Once winter came and the winds began blowing in all directions, instead of stepping into the sea that was turned to the colour of wine, pull the boat on land and surround it with stones. carefully warp up the sails, hang the steering oar on a corner over the fireplace and wait for the sea season to return." But would love wait?
Leander forgot about the promise he had made Hero that he would not return until spring and began swimming towards his lover. He fought against the storm and the waves. As he swam, the lamp lit by Hero was blown out by the wind and he lost his way.
The next morning, when Hero went to the shore she found her lover's body. Not being able to cope with that pain she committed suicide.
The two lovers were placed together in grave on the shore of the Strait and the mourners threw flowers into the sea.