1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Vodena

VODENA (Turk, and Bulg. Voden, anc. Edessa, q.v.), a city of European Turkey, in the vilayet of Salonica, western Macedonia; at the source of the small river Bistritza, which flows east and south into Lake Yenije, and on the railway from Salonica to Monastir. Pop. (1905) about 25,000, consisting of Turks, Slavs and Greeks. The town stands on a rocky height commanding views of Pindus and Olympus; the approaching slopes are richly wooded, and traversed by picturesque waterfalls, from which the name of Vodena (Slav. voda, water) is probably derived. Vodena is the see of a Greek archbishop, and possesses numerous churches and mosques, besides unimportant remains of Roman and Byzantine buildings. It has manufactures of cotton, tobacco and leather, and a large trade in wine, silk cocoons and red pepper.