As an alternative, the harbor of Alexandretta finds favor among Russians. It lies at a distance of only 450 miles from the southern Caucasus frontiers. Moreover, it is part of the ancient land of Armenia, which sooner or later is destined to become a Russian province in its entirety. Such an extension of Russian territory to blue water on the Mediterranean has significance in two ways. It would redeem a land that has remained Christian in spite of centuries of Mohammedan yoke and it might effectively bar German access to the Persian Gulf. [Illustration: _Copyright by Underwood & Underwood_ FIG. 54--View of the harbor of Odessa.] [Illustration: _Copyright by Underwood & Underwood._ FIG. 55--Export wheat ready to be loaded at Odessa.] Russian influence in Turkey differs signally from the control exerted by its three western competitors. British, German and French encroachments on Turkish sovereignty have increased in proportion to the amount of capital expended by each of these countries for the development of Turkish resources. In this respect Russia, which is not a country of financiers, stood at a disadvantage. To overcome this handicap Russians resorted to borrowing from France and England, mainly the former, and invested the funds thus obtained in Turkey. Such transactions have in reality been the means of strengthening French and British ascendancy in the Ottoman land. The northeastern region of Anatolia, which, owing to its contiguity to Russia, was regarded as a sphere of Russian influence, has lately been looked upon often as a zone of French interests, owing to the participation of French capital in its development. But from a geographical standpoint this French zone is artificial. Its dependence on Russia cannot be altered as long as its position on the map remains unchanged. France’s natural sphere of interest in Turkey will be found in the Syrian vilayets. This is not due to the financing of Syrian public utilities and industries by French capitalists as is often alleged. It is the offspring of the Mediterranean which, since the dawn of history, has connected the southern French coast to Syrian harbors. Phœnician oversea trade in the first millennium before the Christian era had reached the coasts of Provence and Languedoc. Marseilles, a city born of this intercourse, has maintained commercial relations with Syria uninterruptedly down to the present time. [Illustration: FIG. 56--French states in Syria at the time of the Crusades. Scale, 1:11,500,000. Based on Pl. 68, Historical Atlas, by W. R. Shepherd, Holt, New York, 1911.]