The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus (), is a river in

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

, south

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. 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 Tarsus Waterfall is located on the northern outskirts of the city of Tarsus, not far from the motorway O.51, in southern Turkey. Since the construction of the Berdan Dam, the water of the Tarsus River has been distributed in canals for irriga ...

Geography

The main headwaters are in the

Toros Mountains The Taurus Mountains ( Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a ...

. There are two main tributaries: Kadıncık and Pamukluk (its upper reaches are called Cehennem Deresi). Total length of the river is (including Kadıncık). Although the river is quite short, the average discharge is , which is higher than most short rivers in the vicinity. The

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

covers . The river flows to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

at . Just north of Tarsus there is a waterfall on the river, which is a popular picnic area for Tarsus residents.

Dams

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.

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. History has two very well known accounts of health problems caused by swimming in the river. In 333 BC

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

and in 833 AD Caliph

Al-Ma'mun Abū al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Hārūn al-Maʾmūn (; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name al-Ma'mun (), was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. His leadership was marked by t ...

both swam in the river and both fell ill (hypothermia or pneumonia?); Al Mamun died of the illness. In

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, the young

Comaetho In Greek mythology, Comaetho (; Ancient Greek: Κομαιθώ ''Komaithṓ'' means "bright-haired") is a name that may refer to: * Comaetho, a nymph of a spring who incessantly mingles her waters with those of the river god Cydnus, who in one pa ...

fell in love with the river-god Cydnus, and after the goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

transformed her into a spring, the two mixed waters forever.

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

sailed up the river (older watercourse) and first met

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

aboard her boat.

References

{{Mersin Province Rivers of Turkey Rivers of Mersin Province Tarsus, Mersin