A significant part of Bulgaria'shydropower resources are located in the western areas of the range. There are a number of hydro-cascades and dams used for electricity production, irrigation, and as tourist destinations.
The name of the Rhodope Mountains is ofThracian origin. Rhod-ope is interpreted as the first name of a river, meaning "rusty/reddish river", whereRhod- has the same Indo-European root as the Bulgarian "руда" (ore, "ruda"), "ръжда" (rust, "rǎžda"), "риж" (red-haired, "riž"), Latin "rufus" (red), German "rot" (red), English "red", Greek ροδ- (rhod).[1][2]
Ingeomorphological terms, the Rhodopes are part of theRila-Rhodopemassif, which is the oldest landmass on theBalkan peninsula.[4] The Rhodopes are spread over 14,735 square kilometers (5,689 sq mi), of which 12,233 square kilometers (4,723 sq mi) are on Bulgarian territory. They have the greatest extent of any single mountain range in Bulgaria. The mountains are about 240 kilometers (149 mi) long and about 100 to 120 kilometres (62 to 75 mi) wide, with an average altitude of 785 meters (2,575 ft). To the north the mountain slopes descend steeply towards theUpper Thracian Plain. To the west, the Rhodopes reach the Avram saddle, Yundola and the valley of theMesta River. To the south and east they extend to the coastal plains ofGreek Thrace. The Rhodopes are a complex system of ridges and deep river valleys.
Fifteen reserves have been established in the region, some of which are underUNESCO protection. The mountains are famous for the largestconiferous woods in the Balkans, their mild relief and the lush vegetation in the western parts as well as the abundance ofbirds of prey in the eastern areas.
Autumn in the RhodopesView fromBelintash towards the village of Vrata
The location of the Rhodopes in the southeastern part of theBalkan Peninsula largely determines the climate in the region. It is influenced both by the colder air coming from the north and by the warmer breeze from theMediterranean.
The average annual temperature in the Eastern Rhodopes is 13 °C (55 °F), the maximum precipitation is in December, the minimum in August. In the Western Rhodopes, the temperature varies from 5 to 9 °C (41 to 48 °F) and in the summer rainfalls prevail.
The mild climate, combined with some other factors, works in favour of the development of recreation and tourist activities. ThePamporovo resort, where the microclimate permits a heavy snow cover to be preserved for a long time, is an excellent example.
Temperatures as low as −15 °C (5 °F) are common in winter, and due to this the Rhodopes are the southernmost place in the Balkans where tree species such as theNorway Spruce and theSilver Birch can be found.
The mountains have abundant water reserves, with a dense network of mountain springs and rivers. Nearly 80% of the mountain's territory falls within the drainage of the riverMaritsa. The natural lakes are few, the most renown of these being theSmolyan 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 theDospat Dam,Batak Dam,Golyam Beglik,Kardzhali Dam,Studen Kladenets,Vacha Dam,Shiroka Polyana and many others, while in Greece there are the dams of Thisavros and Platanovrysi. They are used mainly forhydro-electric power generation and for irrigation. There are many mineral water springs, the most famous being inVelingrad,Narechen,Devin,Beden,Mihalkovo,Lenovo (Village) and others. In Greece there are mineral water springs in Thermes, 40 km. north of (Xanthi) and in Thermia, 60 km. north ofDrama, at 620 m.
The Western Rhodopes are the largest (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 meters (6,562 ft) high) including the highest one,Golyam Perelik (2,191 meters (7,188 ft)). Among the other popular peaks areShirokolashki Snezhnik (2,188 meters (7,178 ft)),Golyam Persenk (2,091 meters (6,860 ft)),Batashki Snezhnik (2,082 meters (6,831 ft)),Turla (1,800 meters (5,906 ft)).
The town ofBatak is also located in this part of the mountains, as well as the popular tourist centresSmolyan,Velingrad,Devin,Chepelare, the winter resortPamporovo, theEastern OrthodoxBachkovo Monastery, the ruins of theAsen dynasty's fortress, and the Devil's Throat, Yagodinska, and Uhlovitsa caves. The highest village in Bulgaria, Manastir (over 1,500 meters (4,921 ft)), 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.
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 damsKardzhali andStuden Kladenets are located in this part of the mountains. The region is rich in thermal mineral springs. The waters aroundDzhebel have national reputation for healing various diseases.Belite Brezi is an important healing centre for respiratory and other ailments.
Major cities in the area areHaskovo andKardzhali, as well as the smallerMomchilgrad,Krumovgrad,Zlatograd andKirkovo. The Eastern Rhodopes, being significantly lower, are also more populated than the western part.
The Southern Rhodopes are characterized by numerous peaks of relatively low altitude. Their highest peak is Delimposka (1,953m) in the mountain of Frakto, near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Nowadays the Southern Rhodopes is an area almost deserted. AfterWorld War II and theGreek Civil War most villages depopulated permanently and their inhabitants never returned. Even theSarakatsani stockbreeders abandoned the difficult life of the Rhodopes. The depopulation of the region, that has not been grazed for more than 50 years, combined with high rainfall and its geographical location, has contributed to the creation and maintenance of a biological paradise. There grow coniferous trees, such as theNorway Spruce and theSilver Birch, that cannot be found elsewhere in Greece.
In the forest of Frakto there are 300-year-old trees, more than 50 metres high, and the endangeredwild goat.
The remains of the ancient Thracian city and sanctuary ofPerperikon
The Rhodopes have been inhabited since thePrehistoric age. There have been manyarchaeological finds of ancient tools in some of the caves.
The first known human inhabitants in the mountains were theThracians.[6] They built many temples, cities and fortresses, including the sacred city ofPerperikon located 15 km northeast ofKardzhali. Thracian temples wasTatul near the village of the same name. Additionally, there are archeological sites throughout the region related to thecult of Dionysus, such as the ancient Thracian city ofPerperikon.
The frequent mention of the Rhodope in Ancient Greek and Latin sources indicates that the mountain had played an important role in the political and religious life of the Thracian tribes that lived on it. On the tops of the mountain there was an oracle, consulted byAlexander the Great and later by the father ofOctavian Augustus. On the mountain were also sanctuaries of other deities, includingApollo,Zeus, andMithras. Rhodope was the Thracians' last refuge of resistance against the Romans, so that Thrace became a Roman province about 200 years after Macedonia.[7]
In 2005 German scholars from the University of Heidelberg confirmed that the two rather small fragments discovered by archaeologistNikolay Ovcharov in the Eastern Rhodopes mountains are written in the MinoanLinear A script from about 15th century BC.[8]
In theMiddle Ages the mountain was part of the Bulgarian andByzantine Empires and often changed hands 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 includeLyutitsa,Ustra,Tsepina,Mezek,Asenova krepost and many others. Between 1371 and 1375 the Rhodopes fell underOttoman occupation in the course of theBulgarian–Ottoman wars.[9]
During the 16th and 17th centuries the Ottoman authorities began a process of Islamisation of the region.
The towns and the villages in the Western Rhodopes took active part in theApril Uprising in 1876. When the uprising was crushed the Ottomans slaughtered around 5,000 peoplein Batak alone.[10][11][better source needed][needs update] Thousands more died in Bratsigovo, Perushtitsa and other rebel villages which were also burnt and looted by the Ottomans.
The northern Rhodopes were ceded in 1878 to an autonomous province ofEastern Rumelia until its unification with thePrincipality of Bulgaria. The other part of the Rhodopes was annexed as a result of theFirst Balkan War (1912–1913) but after theSecond Balkan War (1913) and theFirst World War (1914–1918) the southern slopes of the mountain was occupied by Greece and the Bulgarian population of the area was forced to flee to Bulgaria.
The sparsely populated area of the Rhodopes has been a place of ethnic and religious diversity for hundreds of years. Apart from theEastern OrthodoxBulgarians andGreeks, the mountains are also home to a number ofMuslim communities, including thePomaks, that predominate in the western parts and a large concentration ofBulgarian Turks[12] andGreek Turks, particularly in the Eastern Rhodopes. The mountains are also one of the regions associated with theSarakatsani, a nomadic Greek people who traditionally roamed betweenNorthern Thrace and theAegean coast.[citation needed]Aromanians, aRomance-speaking ethnic group, also live in the Rhodopes,[13] and the Agupti who are a blend of Turks, Roma and Pomaks, but do not associate themselves with other Roma groups.[14]
^abDechev, Dimitar (1925). "Хемус и Родопи [Hemus and Rhodope]".Годишник на Софийския университет, Историко-филологически факултет [Yearbook of Sofia University, Faculty of History and Philology] (in Bulgarian). Vol. XXI.10. Sofia: Faculty of History and Philology,Sofia University. p. 31.
^Duridanov, Ivan (1985).Die Sprache der Thraker. Bulgarische Sammlung (in German). Vol. 5. Hieronymus Verlag. p. 41.ISBN3-88893-031-6.
^Rhodope offended the gods and along with her husband was turned into a mountain in Thrace [Ov.Met.6.83].
^The Rilo-Rhodope massif is sometimes referred to as the Rhodope mountains alone.
Asdracha, Catherine,La région des Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles: étude de géographie historique, Athen: Verlag derByzantinisch-Neugriechischen Jahrbücher, 1976, p. 294.
Evangelos A. Papathanassiou. "The Armenian Presence in and around the Rhodope Mountain in 11th C.: Rethinking over some new archaeological Finds", Περὶ Θράκης 7 (2010–2015), 59–97.In: auth.academia.edu/EvangelosPapathanassiou
