The Vardar (or Axios) is the principal river of the Macedonia region in the Balkan peninsula of south-eastern Europe. It drains an area of around 25,000 sq. km. including 80% of the territory of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 388 km in length, it passes through FYROM's capital, Skopje, ultimately entering the Aegean Sea in Central Macedonia west of Thessaloniki in northern Greece.