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Berdan River

River in Turkey

Berdan River

River in Turkey

Berdan River from the south
Tarsus şelalesi}}) from the east

The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus (), is a river in Mersin Province, south Turkey. The historical city of Tarsus is on the river and it is therefore sometimes called the Tarsus River. Originally the watercourse passed directly through the city, but the section in Tarsus was changed to its present course in the 6th century. The river is also the location of Tarsus Waterfall.

Geography

The main headwaters are in the Toros Mountains. There are two main tributaries: Kadıncık and Pamukluk (its upper reaches are called Cehennem Deresi). Total length of the river is 124 km (including Kadıncık). Although the river is quite short, the average discharge is 42 m3/s, which is higher than most short rivers in the vicinity. The drainage basin covers 1592 km2. The river flows to the Mediterranean Sea at . Just north of Tarsus there is a waterfall on the river, which is a popular picnic area for Tarsus residents.

Dams

Main article: List of dams and reservoirs in Turkey

There are four dams on Berdan. These are used both for controlling floods and for producing electricity. But the lower reaches of the river flow in an agricultural area, and because of the pollution caused by fertilisers the dams in the lower reaches are not used for drinking water.

Name of the damConstruction dateInstalled power, MW
Kadıncık I197170
Kadıncık II197456
Berdan199610
Pamukluk200323.9

History and mythology

The Berdan River flows in one of the warmest regions of Turkey, but its upper reaches in the Toros Mountains make the water much cooler than the surrounding streams. Two prominent historical figures suffered severe health problems – possibly hypothermia and/or pneumonia – as a result of swimming in the river: Alexander the Great (333 BCE) and Caliph Al-Ma'mun (833 CE) both fell ill as a result and Al Mamun died,

In Greek mythology, the young Comaetho fell in love with the river-god Cydnus, and after the goddess Aphrodite transformed her into a spring, the two mixed waters forever.

Cleopatra sailed up the river (older watercourse) and first met Mark Antony aboard her boat.

References

References

  1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100331120115/http://www.dsi.gov.tr/english/congress2007/chapter_3/101.pdf A report by University of Mersin] (in English)
  2. (October 2016)
  3. 1 MW. = 106 W.
  4. Forbes Irving, Paul M. C.. (1990). "Metamorphosis in Greek Myths". [[Clarendon Press]].
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

rivers-of-turkey rivers-of-mersin-province tarsus,-mersin
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