Marmara

The Marmara Region (Marmara Bölgesi), with a surface area of 67.000 km², is the smallest but most densely populated of the seven geographical regions of Turkey. It represents approximately 8.6% of the Turkish national territory.

This region was officially put in existence after the Geography Congress of 1941 in Ankara and is geographically divided into four regional parts, or areas.

Its name derives from the Sea of Marmara, which itself is named for the island of Marmara, derived from the Greek μάρμαρον (marmaron) and that from μάρμαρος (marmaros), "crystalline rock", "shining stone", perhaps from the verb μαρμαίρω (marmairō), "to flash, sparkle, gleam".