<P> The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and the deepest recorded point is 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea . The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia, and in the south by Africa . It is located between latitudes 30 ° and 46 ° N and longitudes 6 ° W and 36 ° E. Its west - east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, on the southwestern coast of Turkey, is approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles). The sea's average north - south length, from Croatia's southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km (500 miles). The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara (connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea), has a surface area of approximately 2,510,000 square km (970,000 square miles). </P> <P> The sea was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times that allowed for trade and cultural exchange between emergent peoples of the region . The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies . </P> <P> The countries with coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea are Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey . In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri and Dhekelia have coastlines on the sea . </P> <P> The Ancient Greeks called the Mediterranean simply η θάλασσα' the Sea' or sometimes η μεγάλη θάλασσα' the Great Sea', η ημέτερα θάλασσα' Our Sea', or η θάλασσα η καθ'εμάς' the sea around us' . The Romans called it Mare Magnum' Great Sea' or Mare Internum' Internal Sea' and, starting with the Roman Empire, Mare Nostrum' Our Sea' . The term Mare Mediterrāneum appears later: Solinus apparently used it in the 3rd century, but the earliest extant witness to it is in the 6th century, in Isidore of Seville . It means' in the middle of land, inland' in Latin, a compound of medius' middle', terra' land, earth', and - āneus' having the nature of' . The Latin word is a calque of Greek μεσόγαιος' inland', from μέσος' in the middle' and γήϊος' of the earth' (from γῆ' land, earth'). The original meaning may have been' the sea in the middle of the earth' rather than' the sea enclosed by land' . </P>

Which countries have coastlines on the mediterranean sea
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