See You On The Other Side Trivia Quiz

Answer: Asia Minor

Historically Anatolia is considered to roughly correspond to the western two-thirds of Asian Turkey. Many ancient peoples lived there before the Greeks arrived, including the Hittites, known for their iron-making skills, and the Lydians, who, according to Herodotus, made the first gold and silver coins.

The land was part of the great Assyrian and Persian empires; as with most of the nearby area, Anatolia was eventually incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Answer: Bosporus

The Bosporus Strait forms the boundary between Asian and European Turkey. Today it is the world's narrowest strait that is used for international navigation. The northern part of the strait is approximately 17 nautical miles long and 1.798 nautical miles wide; it is even more narrow than that at the southern entrance.

The ancient Greeks who colonized on both sides forged an iron chain, which restricted traffic to only those who would pay a toll, and helped protect from a seaborne invasion.

Answer: True

Chalcedon was a trading town, and definitely profited by having such a thriving neighbor across the strait; however, it was a flourishing town in its own right. After the Greek era, it was ruled by many different people. The famous pontoon bridge of the great Perisan king, Darius, stretched from Chalcedon to Thrace, and the Romans eventually gained the territory from Nicomedes, the king of Bithynia, who willed it to them upon his death.

Answer: Byzantium

Actually, there are two stories that point to Chalcedon being the "City of the Blind". One comes from Persia, and the other from the leader of the Greek colonists from Megara, Byzas, who named the city after himself. According to the legend, when Byzas asked the Oracle where to establish a colony, he was told to establish his colony opposite the blind.

He really didn't know what the directive meant, but later realized that his site was so much better than Chalcedon's across the strait. The city could easily be defended by water on three sites, and it was situated at a busy crossroads for trade between Europe and Asia. Perfect!

Answer: Mount Parnassos

The ancient Greeks believed that Zeus sent two eagles from the ends of the earth to find the center of the universe; they met at the site where the Oracle was built, which they believed was the "navel of the world". Mount Parnassos became associated with Apollo because of its proximity to the sacred Oracle. Also associated with the Muses, the mountain was considered to be their home, as well as the home of their sacred domains, such as poetry and music.

Answer: It was shaped like a horn.

The Greek name for the Golden Horn, "Keras", literaly means "horn shaped gulf". It is a natural harbor that, through history, has been used by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, as well as modern-day Turkey. The reason it was "Golden" is unclear, and its Turkish name simply means estuary, which is what it really is.

Answer: Seven

The Roman emperor Constantine, took the city as his eastern capital, and set out to make it as beautiful as Rome. He built a forum, temples, and a palace. Throughout history, this city as been known as the Second Rome, and it continued to thrive for nearly a thousand years after the fall of Rome.

Answer: Sea of Marmara

The Sea of Marmara is named for the island of Marmara, which was rich in marble, from the Greek "marmaron". The ancient Greek name is derived from "pro" (before)and "pont" (sea), because they had to sail through the small sea before reaching the larger sea in the north.

Answer: Black Sea

Colonization was a way of life for the ancient Greeks, due to the nature of the thin, rocky soil on the mainland. It is estimated that at least eighty Greek settlements were established on the shores of the Black Sea, and they became so properous that the Black Sea was known as "Euxinus Pontus" or "hospitable sea".

Answer: True

Chalcedon suffered under the rule of the Romans, who used it as a marble quarry for Constantine's beautiful buildings. It fell repeatedly to invading armies from the east, including the Persians and Arabs. Both Chalcedon and Constantinople were heavily damaged during the Fourth Crusade, but Chalcedon fell to the Ottomans about a century before Constantinople did.

The last Byzantine emperor was killed in May of 1453, when the Ottomans made the city the capital of their empire and changed its name.