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The Vardar (Macedonian Вардар, Greek Αξιός Axios, Latin Axius) is the longest river in the Republic of Macedonia and a major river of Greece. It is 388 kilometres long, and drains an area of around 25,000 km².
The river begins at Vrutok, a few kilometers north of Gostivar in the Macedonia. It passes through Gostivar, Skopje and into Veles (city), crosses the Greek border near Gevgelija, Polykastro and Axioupoli ("town on the Axiós"), before flowing into the Aegean Sea in Central Macedonia west of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
The Vardar basin includes 2/3 of the territory of the Macedonia, which some have also called "Vardar Macedonia" after the river.
The valley comprises fertile lands in the Kilkis and Thessaloniki prefectures and Gevgelija and other parts. The river is surrounded by mountains elsewhere. The superhighways Greece Interstate 1 in Greece and M1 and E75 run within the valley along the river's entire length to near Skopje.
The river valley has given its name to the vardháris or vardarec, a northerly prevailing ravine wind which blows down the length of the valley to bring cold conditions to the Thessaloniki area of Greece. It occurs when atmospheric pressure over eastern Europe is higher than over the Aegean Sea, as is often the case in winter. It is somewhat similar to the mistral wind of France.
Vardar is also the name of two football (soccer) clubs - one in Skopje and another in Clarkston, Michigan.
Etymology
The origin of the river name is quite obscure and a few theories are in existence:
- The hydronym Vardar probably derives from the old Germanic word "Vordol", which could have been introduced to the region by Gothic settlers in the 5th century AD.
- Another etymology derives Vardar from the Thracian language, from PIE *sword(o)-wori-, "black water".
- A more plausible version for the origin of the river name is linked to the Bulgars led by Kuber who settled in the region during the 7th century AD. The first part of the name Var- may be linked to the Vedic god Varuna who from the lord of the underworld became the supreme god of the water, rain, rivers and oceans. The name Kuber also quite closely resembles Kubera, another Vedic god. The Bulgars were a tribe of obscure ethnicity but certainly originated in Central Asia, where some main rivers bear similar names - Syr Darya, Amu Darya and some minor ones as Chebdar in Russia,Shakhdara and Kudara in Tajikistan. The word darya is of Persian origin and means river, sea or ocean. The meaning of the second part of name -dar is therefore very clear and logical.
- Another interesting coinsidence is that Varuna is also indentified with the Slavic god Veles. A town with the same is situated today in Republic of Macedonia along the banks of Vardar. So the name of Vardar may have meant in the language of the Bulgars the river of Veles or the river of Varuna.
External links
Rivers of the Republic of Macedonia | Rivers of Greece | Paeonia
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"Vardar"