Vardar
| Vardar Вардар | |
|---|---|
 Vardar inSkopje | |
| Native name |
|
| Location | |
| Countries | North MacedoniaandGreece |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Vrutok,nearGostivar |
| Mouth | |
• location | Aegean Sea,nearThessaloniki |
• coordinates | 40°30′27″N22°43′3″E/ 40.50750°N 22.71750°E |
| Length | 388 km (241 mi) |
TheVardar(/ˈvɑːrdɑːr/;Macedonian:,Albanian:Vardar/-i,Turkish:Vardar) orAxios(Greek:Αξιός,romanized:Aksiós,Albanian:Asi (historically)[1]) is the longestriverinNorth Macedoniaand a major river inGreece,where it reaches theAegean SeaatThessaloniki.[2]It is 388 km (241 mi) long, out of which 76 km (47 mi) are in Greece,[2]and drains an area of around 25,000 km2(9,653 sq mi). The maximum depth of the river is 4 m (13 ft).
Etymology[edit]
The nameVardarfor the river may have been derived fromThracian,althoughDardanian,Paeonian,Ancient MacedonianandAncient Greekwere also spoken in the lands drained by the river.
The modern Vardar is thought to derive from an earlier *Vardários,which may ultimately derive fromProto-Indo-European(PIE) *(s)wordo-wori-"black water".[3][4]The nameVardários(Βαρδάριος) was sometimes used by theAncient Greeksin the 3rd century BC. The same name was widely used in theByzantineera.[5]
Vardar/Vardarios may be a translation of (or otherwise have a similar meaning as)Axios,which may be Thracian and may have meant "not-shining" from PIE *n.-sk(e)i(cf. Avestanaxšaēna"dark-coloured" ).[6]The oldest known name of the river,Axios,is mentioned byHomer(Il. 21.141, Il. 2.849)[7]as the home of thePaeoniansallies ofTroy.Pjetër Bogdaniwould use the formAsi,an earlier Albanian-language name for the river.[1]
This same hypothetical ThracianAxio-meaning "dark, not-shining" is theorized to be found in the name of a city at the mouth of the Danube, called Axiopolis in Greek andAxíopa(perhaps again meaning just "dark water" ) in Thracian, which may later have been translated into Slavic asCernavodă,also meaning "black water".[5]
Geography[edit]
The river rises atVrutok,a few kilometers southwest ofGostivarin North Macedonia. It passes throughGostivar,Skopjeand intoVeles,crosses theGreekborder nearGevgelija,PolykastroandAxioupoli( "town on the Axiós" ), before emptying into theAegean SeainCentral Macedonia,west ofThessalonikiin northern Greece.
The Vardar basin comprises two-thirds of theterritoryofNorth Macedonia.The valley features fertile lands in thePologregion, aroundGevgelijaand in theThessaloniki regional unit.The river is surrounded by mountains elsewhere. The superhighwaysGreek National Road 1in Greece and M1 and E75 run within the valley along the river's entire length to near Skopje.
The river was very famous during theOttoman Empireand remains so in modern-dayTurkeyas the inspiration for many folk songs, of which the most famous is Vardar Ovasi. It has also been depicted on the coat of arms of Skopje, which in turn is incorporated in the city's flag.[8]
Project to construct the Danube-Vardar-Aegean Canal[edit]
A proposal to construct a canal connecting the Morava river valley with the Vardar, and hence linking the Danube to the Aegean Canal, has been a dream for a long time.[9]Le Figaro published a project of Athens and Belgrade on 28.08.2017. The Greek-Serbian proposal made in Beijing is Pharaonic: 651 km. A project worth 17 billion.[10]
Vardaris wind[edit]
TheVardarisorVardarecis a powerfulprevailing northerlyravinewind which blows across the river valley inGreeceas well as inNorth Macedonia.At first it descends along the "canal" of the Vardar valley, usually as a breeze. When it encounters the high mountains that separate Greece from North Macedonia, it descends the other side, gathering a tremendous momentum and bringing cold conditions to the city ofThessalonikiand the Axios delta. Somewhat similar to themistralwind ofFrance,it occurs when atmospheric pressure over eastern Europe is higher than over theAegean Sea,as is often the case in winter.
Gallery[edit]
-
Map of the northwestern part of North Macedonia including the source of the Vardar -
Axios/Vardar river map -
Veles Gorge -
River Vardar near Gradsko -
River Vardar near Gradsko (2) -
Vardar (Axios) river inGreece -
Longitudinal hidrographic profile of the flow of river Vardar
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abArapi, Ina (17 December 2014)."Konferenca për Eposin e Kreshnikëve, Pjetër Bogdani dhe Dardania në gusht 2014 (rreth vendlindjes së arqipeshkvit Pjetër Bogdani)".Epoka e Re:6.
- ^ab"The rivers – Axios Delta National Park".axiosdelta.gr.Retrieved2020-08-05.
- ^Orel, Vladimir.A Handbook of Germanic Etymology.Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003: 392.
- ^Mallory, J. P. and D. Q. Adams.Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture.London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 147.
- ^abKatičic', Radoslav.Ancient Languages of the Balkans.Paris: Mouton, 1976: 149.
- ^Mallory, J. P. and D. Q. Adams.Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture.London: Fitzroy and Dearborn, 1997: 146.
- ^Axios, Georg Autenrieth,A Homeric Dictionary,at Perseus
- ^Official portal of the city of Skopje:City symbolsArchived2014-09-29 at theWayback Machine.– Retrieved on 13 May 2009.
- ^The Project to Construct the Danube-Aegean Canal(2013)[1]
- ^The Greek-Serbian proposal made in Beijing[2]
External links[edit]
- Proceedings of the 1st Axios Catchment Consortium MeetingArchived2011-07-22 at theWayback Machineby theEuropean Commission—DG Research
- PIM "Ivan Milutinović", Belgrade, Serbia;Morava - Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route—About 1,200 km shorter route (three days shorter time of navigation) fromBelgradetoPort of Thessalonikithan acrossDanube,Black SeaandAegean Sea.Electric power production, improvement of water quality and regulation of flooding wave.
- Morava—Vardar (Axios) Navigation Route map
- Hydropower and navigation system "Morava"—Concepts of regulation of rivers Great Morava and South Morava for navigation and hydropower production
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