Thessaloniki

While Athens undoubtedly pulls in the most tourists visiting Greece for the first time, Thessaloniki in the north is no slouch when it comes to history, culture and myth. It is the largest city in Macedonia, the largest region of the country. It has the advantage of being in close proximity to the mythical Mt. Olympus, Pella the birth place of Alexander the Great, the sacred city of Dion and can boast as being one of the preeminent cities of the Byzantine Empire. All this, plus the city enjoys scenic views of the Thermaic Gulf.

By virtue of our late arrival to the city, we headed straight to the Kastra and were promptly awed by the views over the city. It is actually the only part left of 19th century Thessaloniki and the streets are narrow and wind themselves over the hills where the remains of the city’s walls can be seen. Yedi Kule, the old Byzantine fortress that was left was used till recent history as a prison.

Funnily enough the city’s emblem and most prominent landmark is the Lefkos Pyrgos or the White Tower. It was built in the 15th century but was achieved notoriety in the 18th century when it was used as prison for insubordinate janissaries (the elite troops of soldiers composed of Christians forcibly converted into Islam by their Turkish masters). In 1826 the White Tower became known as the Bloody Tower when Sultan Mahmud II ordered the massacre of many janissaries at the tower. When the Greeks obtained their independence, the tower was white washed to symbolize the washing away its odious Turkish function. Nowadays it is a peaceful place, serving as a quiet backdrop to the many who fish along the Gulf.

This being a Greek city, there is no shortage of roman ruins around. We started with the Arch of Galerius, rambled off towards the Rotunda and finished with the Palace of Galerius. The Arch of Galerius was originally built to commemorate Greek victory over the Persians. The Rotunda on the other hand was designed to be a mausoleum for Emperor Galerius, but Constantine the Great later turned it into a church. As such it has the distinction of being the city’s oldest church. And because it was later occupied by the Turks, a minaret was later built on the Rotunda grounds to mark their presence. Inside, you have crane your neck to view the remains of the frescoes but here you get a good idea of its great age. Finally, to round off the roman part of our visit, we took a peek (literally since the site is in plain sight –pun unintended) at the remains of the Palace of Galerius. It is laid out much like ancient cities and there is enough left of the structure, notably its mosaic floor to make a visit interesting. What was especially nice was to see the juxtaposition of the remains with the modern buildings that surrounded it now. Thessaloniki is a thoroughly modern city but there are visible signs everywhere of its glorious past.

Roman ruins ticked off on my list of things to see, museums duly visited, what I particularly liked about this city was the all the hidden plazas with their little cafes where people calmly gather to drink and gossip. It seemed like every street we turned opened up into a plaza or square where people could gather. They were invariably bustling but still serene and I can imagine that copious cups of Greek coffee are consumed while the days news are parsed and digested. The relentless summer heat notwithstanding, people chose to sit outside under the cheerful parasols, all the better to see the world going by. That said, we ended our lovely visit by doing exactly as the locals do.