This is a map of the Mediterranean Sea, located within southern Europe, northern Africa, and Western Asia. The highlighted portions on the map depict the additional land space of what was supposed to be the Atlantropa project proposed in the first half of the 20th century.
Atlantropa was proposed by German architect Herman Sörgel in the late 1920s. The project, also known as Panropa, aimed to build dams and a new supercontinent within the Mediterranean area. The plan was met with heavy support during the ‘20s to the ‘50s. It was eventually scrapped when Sörgel died in 1952.
Had this massive engineering project pushed through, here are the European countries that would have become part of it:
- Spain
- France
- Italy
- Greece
- Cyprus
These African nations would have also been part of the Atlantropa plan:
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Tunisia
- Libya
- Egypt
Lastly, a few Asian countries were also included in this cancelled proposal:
- Turkey
- Israel
- Lebanon
- Syria
These reads explore the Mediterranean Sea and the big project that never was:
- The Open Sea: The Economic Life of the Ancient Mediterranean World from the Iron Age to the Rise of Rome
- The Great Sea: A Human History of the Mediterranean
- Atlantropa and Beyond: Magical Macro-Imagineering Mega-Projects
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