Q 01/05

Which landlocked country swapped land with Ukraine for a route to the Black Sea?

A) Moldova

B) Belarus

C) Slovakia

D) Serbia

Answer · why

A) Moldova

Moldova: it gave up a stretch of road for a strip of riverbank only a few hundred metres long, then built a port there that seagoing ships can reach.

Q 02/05

Which strait, lined by Istanbul, connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara?

A) The Dardanelles

B) The Bosporus

C) The Kerch Strait

D) The Strait of Otranto

Answer · why

B) The Bosporus

The Bosporus: it cuts Istanbul in two, so ferries, three bridges and a rail tunnel carry commuters between Europe and Asia every day.

Q 03/05

The strait through Istanbul holds which distinction among the world's straits?

A) The narrowest for shipping

B) The longest in Asia

C) The busiest by tonnage

D) The deepest in Europe

Answer · why

A) The narrowest for shipping

The narrowest for shipping: well under a kilometre across at its tightest, it forces tankers through sharp turns in strong currents, which makes it a ...

Q 04/05

Istanbul's strait has a name meaning ox ford, traditionally tied to which mythical woman turned into a cow?

A) Europa

B) Io

C) Callisto

D) Daphne

Answer · why

B) Io

Io: loved by Zeus and turned into a white heifer, she was driven across the world by a gadfly Hera sent, swimming this strait on the way.

Q 05/05

The Kerch Strait links the Black Sea to which smaller sea?

A) The Sea of Marmara

B) The Caspian Sea

C) The Aral Sea

D) The Sea of Azov

Answer · why

D) The Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov: at most 14 metres deep, it is the world's shallowest sea, and river silt has left parts of its Taganrog Gulf barely a metre deep.