Everything about Rhodopes totally explained
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| image=Vucha PAN-HDR.jpg
| image_caption=The
Vacha Dam.
| country= Bulgaria (83 %)| country1=Greece (17 %)|
| unit=|border=
| geology= granite, gneiss, marble, quartz|orogeny=
| area=14735 | length=240 | length_orientation= west-east
| width=100 | width_orientation= north-south
| highest=Golyam Perelik
| highest_elevation=2191
| highest_lat_d=41|highest_lat_m=36|highest_lat_s=04|highest_lat_NS=N
| highest_long_d=24|highest_long_m=34|highest_long_s=27|highest_long_EW=E
| map=
}}
The
Rhodopes (
Rodopi, usually used with a definite article: Родопите,
Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа,
Rodopa or Родопа планина,
Rodopa planina;,
Rodopi, "red aspect") are a mountain range in
Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern
Bulgaria and the remainder in
Greece. Its highest peak,
Golyam Perelik (2,191 m), is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain. The region is particularly notable for the
Karst areas with their deep river gorges, large caves and specific sculptured forms, such as the
Trigrad Gorge.
Geography
The Rhodopes are spread over 14,735 km², of which 12,233 km² are on Bulgarian territory. The mountains are about 240 km long and about 100-120 km wide, with an average altitude of 785 m. 15 reserves have been established in the region, some of which under
UNESCO protection. The mountains are famous for the largest
coniferous woods in the Balkans, their mild relief and the lush vegetation in the western parts as well as the abundance of
birds of prey in the eastern areas.
Climate
The location of the Rhodopes in the southeastern part of the
Balkan Peninsula determines the climate in the region to a great extent. It is influenced both by the colder air coming from the north and by the warmer breeze from the
Mediterranean.
The average annual temperature in the Eastern Rhodopes is 12–13°C, the maximum value of precipitation is in December, the minimum is in August. In the Western Rhodopes, the temperature varies with 5° to 9°C and the summer rainfalls prevail.
The mild climate, combined with some other factors, works in favour of the development of recreation and tourist activities. The Pamporovo resort, where the microclimate permits a heavy snow cover to be preserved for a long time, is an excellent example.
Temperatures of −15°C are common in the winter, and due to this the Rhodopes are the southernmost place in the Balkans where tree species such as the
Norway Spruce and the
Silver Birch can be observed.
Waters
The mountains have abundant water reserves. There is a dense network of mountain springs and rivers. The natural lakes are few, the most famous of these are the
Smolyan lakes situated at several kilometers from the town of the same name. Some of the largest dams in the country are located in the Rhodopes including the
Dospat Dam,
Batak Dam,
Golyam Beglik,
Kardzhali Dam,
Studen Kladenets,
Vacha Dam,
Shiroka Polyana and many others. They are used mainly for hydro power generation and for irrigation. There are many mineral water springs, the most famous being in
Velingrad,
Narechen,
Devin,
Beden,
Mihalkovo and others.
Subdivision
Western Rhodopes
The Western Rhodopes are the larger (66% of the area of the Rhodopes in Bulgaria), higher, most infrastructurally developed and most visited part of the mountains. The highest and best known peaks are located in the region (more than 10 are over 2,000 m) including the highest one,
Golyam Perelik (2,191 m). Among the other popular peaks are
Shirokolashki Snezhnik (2,188 m),
Golyam Persenk (2,091 m),
Batashki Snezhnik (2,082 m),
Turla (1,800 m).
Some of the deepest river gorges in the Rhodopes are located in the western parts, as well as the rock phenomenon
Wonderful Bridges. Significant bodies of water include the
Chaira lakes and the dams
Dospat,
Batak,
Shiroka Polyana,
Golyam Beglik and
Toshkov Chark.
The town of
Batak is also located in this part of the mountains, as well as the popular tourist centres
Smolyan,
Velingrad,
Devin,
Chepelare, the winter resort
Pamporovo, the
Eastern Orthodox Bachkovo Monastery, the ruins of the
Asen dynasty's fortress, the caves
Dyavolskoto Garlo,
Yagodinska,
Vievo and many others. The highest village in Bulgaria, Manastir (over 1,500 m), is crouched in the northern foot of Prespa Peak. A number of architectural reserves, such as Shiroka Laka, Kovachevitsa, Momchilovtsi,
Kosovo, are also located in the area.
Eastern Rhodopes
The Eastern Rhodopes are spread over a territory of about 34% of the mountains' area in Bulgaria, constituting a much lower part.
The large artificial dams
Kardzhali and
Studen Kladenets are located in this part of the mountains. The region is rich in thermal mineral springs. The waters around
Dzhebel have national reputation for healing various diseases. Belite Brezi is an important healing centre for respiratory and other ailments.
Major cities in the area are
Haskovo and
Kardzhali, as well as the smaller
Momchilgrad,
Krumovgrad,
Zlatograd and
Kirkovo. The Eastern Rhodopes, being significantly lower, are also more populated than the western part.
Almost every species of the
European
birds of prey nestle in rocks and forests of the Eastern Rhodopes including the extremely rare
Black vulture,
Egyptian vulture and others.
Southern Rhodopes
The Southern Rhodopes are the part of the mountain range that's located in Greece. The
Rhodope Prefecture in the northern part of the country is named after the region.
History
The Rhodopes are inhabited from the
Prehistoric age. There are many
archaeological finds of ancient tools in some of the caves.
The first known people that inhabited the mountain are the
Thracians. They built many temples, cities and fortresses. The most famous town in the area is the sacred city of
Perperikon located at a few kilometers of Kardzhali. One of the most important Thracian temples was
Tatul near the village of the same name.
During the
Middle Ages the mountain was part of the
Bulgarian and
Byzantine Empires and often changed hand between the two countries. There was a dense network of castles which guarded the trade routes and the strategic heights. The largest and most important castles include
Lyutitsa,
Ustra,
Tsepina,
Mezek,
Asenova krepost and many others. Between 1371 and 1375 the Rhodopes fell under
Ottoman occupation in the course of the
Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars. The local population resisted stiffly against the superior Muslim hordes and many towns were seized after months of siege and after negotiations.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the Ottoman authorities began a process of forcible Islamisation of the region to compensate for the losses against the
Christian powers in the
Mediterranean. As a result many Bulgarian adopted the Islam and those who refused were killed. A large number of churches and monasteries were completely destroyed and reduced to ruins. The towns and the villages in the Western Rhodopes took active part in the
April Uprising in 1876. When the uprising was crushed the Ottomans slaughtered around 5,000 people
in Batak alone. Thousands more perished in Bratsigovo, Perushtitsa and other rebel villages which are also burnt and looted.
The northern Rhodopes were liberated in 1878 but remained in the autonomous state
Eastern Rumelia until its unification with the
Principality of Bulgaria. The other part of the Rhodopes was liberated as a result of the
First Balkan War (1912-1913) but after the
Second Balkan War (1913) and the
First World War (1914-1918) the southern slopes of the mountain was occupied by Greece and the Bulgarian population of the annexed areas was forced to flee to Bulgaria and those who remained were called by the Greek government "Slavophonic Greeks" after intense
Hellenization.
Mythology
The Rhodopes are widely considered to be the mythological birthplace of legendary singer and
lyre player
Orpheus and his wife
Eurydice. Additionally, there are archeological sites throughout the region related to the cult of
Dionysus, such as the ancient Thracian city of
Perperikon. In
Greek mythology,
Queen Rhodope of
Thrace, the wife of King
Haemus, was changed into the Rhodope Mountains by
Zeus and
Hera as a punishment.
People
The sparsely populated area of the Rhodopes has been a place of ethnic and religious diversity for hundreds of years. Apart from the Eastern
Orthodox Bulgarians and
Greeks, the mountains are also home to a number of
Muslim communities, including the
Muslim Bulgarians, locally called
Pomaks, that predominate in the western parts and a large concentration of
Bulgarian Turks, particularly in the Eastern Rhodopes. The mountains are also one of the regions associated with the
Karakachans, an Eastern Orthodox nomadic people of uncertain origin that traditionally roamed between
Northern Thrace and the
Aegean coast.
Economy
Services, tourism, industry and agriculture dominate the economy of the Rhodopes region.
Livestock breeding, forestry and tobacco are the most important agricultural activities. Due to the large Muslim population the number of pigs is relatively low but there are many sheep which are traditional for the Rhodopes. Tobacco is grown in the Eastern Rhodopes and forms a large part of the total national production.
The industrial sector is well-developed. One of the largest industries in the area is mining. There are around 80 mines for
lead and
zinc whose reserves are among the largest in Europe. They are situated mainly in central parts of the mountain and along the border with Greece as well as the to the east.
Kardzhali Province is rich in non-metalliferrous minerals and
gold. There are also small reserves of
chromite and
iron ore as well as significant impurities of rare metals in the lead and zinc ores. There are several flotation factories which enrich the ores before it's sent to the large lead and zinc refineries in
Kardzhali and
Plovdiv. Machinery is developed in Smolyan, Kardzhali, Devin, Bratsigovo, Ivailovgrad and others; there's a pharmaceutical plant in Pestera. Some of the centers of
textile industry include Zlatograd, Smolyan, Madan, Laki. Timber industry is developed mainly in the western parts where there are some of the most important forest massifs in the Balkan Peninsula. The Phodopes are one of the main hydro-power generation regions of the country with a number of major HPPs such as "Batak", "Peshtera", "Aleko", "Studen Kladenets", "Kardzhali", "Vacha" and others.
Nowadays
tourism is an important industry with even growing significance. Pamporovo and Chepelare are famous winter resorts and during summer there are a number of resorts, camp sites and refuges on the shores of the dams or in the green valleys. The caves along the Greek border such as
Yagodinska Cave,
Uhlovitsa,
Devil's Throat Cave,
Snezhanka (near Peshtera) and others are popular among speleologists with their spectacular forms and underground lakes and rivers. The ruins of castles, Thracian sites such as
Perperikon and Tatul, the villages in National Revival style and the monasteries are also visited by many Bulgarian and foreign tourists.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Rhodopes'.
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