Old town architecture from Gevgelija

The city of Gevgelija is located in the south-eastern part of Macedonia, on the right bank of the Vardar river. Being on the border with Greece, on the north-south road corridor and railway line to the Greek port of Salonika, Gevgelija is an important communication center in this part of the country.

Gevgelija is characterised with a Mediterranean climate and is the warmest city in the country. Thus, it is well suited for the cultivation of various kinds of fruits and vegetables, including some that are typical to the Mediterranean climate, like figs and lemons. Numerous plantations of wineyards with different types of grapes are also found here.

Apart from agriculture, Gevegelija also has a well developed light industry and trade. Tourism is also developed with the spa in the nearby Negorci village.

An ancient Macedonian helmet found in Marvinci near Gevgelija

About 25 km north of Gevgelija, on the left bank of the Vardar is the village Marvinci. Below the Isar is a Roman town and up on the hill there is a prehistoric necropolis with life in three other horizons: archaic, classical and Hellenistic. Recent excavations indicate that the ancient town's name was Dober, not Idomenae, as previously believed. Objects from the 6^th century B.C. to the Roman period have been discovered at the site, and are currently exhibited in the permanent set at the Museum of Macedonia. Excavations there in 1961 revealed the marble front (9.7 m wide) of an Ionic prostyle temple dedicated by the Macedoniarch in A.D. 181, according to an inscription on the fallen epistyle Makedoniarhonton na nontipatridi. A gate and part of the Roman city wall were cleared north-east of the temple. Much pottery and two sculpted reliefs of the late post-Alexandrine period were also found. Most recently, a helmet (pictured on the right), an iron cuirass, and metal tips of infantry pikes were found in a burial chamber, all from the 4^th century BC, closely resemling those found in, what was believed to be Philip II's tomb, but is now known to be the tomb of Alexander's half-brother King Philip III Arrhidaeus. A 5 meters wide tunnel and 60 meters of the newly discovered walls of the town opened a part called “castrum” or military camp dating them back to the 3rd century, at the time of the Roman Emperor Dioclecian. The north tower of the town was also well preserved.

The archeological site Isar Marvinci near Gevgelija

Gevgelija is known for the archeological site Vardarski Rid (Vardar Hill), located near the town. The archeological site is exceptionally interesting because of the numerous historic layers. In the late 5^th century B.C., the Valandovo and Gevelija region was known as the Amphacsitida. The area included several towns, such as Idomenae, Gortinia and Atalanta. Gortinia is located on the Vardar Hill site, which is east of Gevgelija, on the right bank of Vardar River. The site was protected by massive stone walls from the 5^th century B.C. onwards. Of the ancient town only a part of a palace and a small home shrine have been excavated. Interestingly, coins from all Macedonian rulers have been found in Gortinia, despite the fact that only a small part of the ancient site has been studied. The most common coins are the silver tetradrachmas. Other findings include ceramic objects, such as terracottas, imported ceramics from the 5^th to the 4^th century B.C., weapons, jewelry, tools, keys and cutlery.