Thessaloniki - A City with a Past
Kalispera! (Good afternoon!)
We've finished our first week in Thessaloniki and we already feel at home. It's a beautiful, clean city of marvelous people and incredible food. But most of Greece has this. What Thessaloniki also has is a fascinating past that permeates the culture, the people, and the food. It's worth spending a little time to talk about it.
KINGDOM of MACEDONIA and the ROMAN EMPIRE
Founded in 315 BC by the king of Macedonia, he named it after his wife, Thessalonike, who was the half-sister of Alexander the Great and the daughter of Philip II, the king of Macedonia. After the fall of the Macedonian Empire, it became a capital of one of the four Roman provinces. And like other parts of Greece, the ancient Roman presence is still visible. The Roman Forum above has been excavated just north of Aristotelous Square, the heart of the city. 
The Roman Emperor Galerius left his mark here with structures like the arch and rotunda that linked to his palace.
The Rotunda in particular has an interesting history. Built as a mausoleum (they think) for Galerius, it became a Christian basilica, a Muslim mosque ( the minaret remains from this time), again a Christina church, and now an archeological site.
But evidence shows up everywhere in excavations that have become part of the fabric of the city. Seeing the modern high-rises surrounding these sites shows the uninterrupted nature of Thessaloniki's presence and the layer upon layer of history.
One of the most interesting sights like this is the stations of the new Metro line. The line itself runs far below any layers of civilization but when they built the stations they uncovered large areas of Roman ruins. And they preserved them as museums in the stations! Free for anyone to go down and see.
Also at this time in history, as Christianity was first taking root, Thessaloniki was an important center for Christians. Paul's Letters to the Thessalonians for all you Bible-buffs, were written to the first Christian church here (~50 AD) and by 380 AD Christianity was declared the state religion of the Roman Empire in the Edict of Thessalonica.
CROSSROADS of CULTURES
The Via Egnatia, built by the Romans in the 2nd century BC to connect Byzantium (Constantinople) with the Via Appia to Rome crossed the whole of Macedonia and came directly through the middle of Thessaloniki. It is still one of the mainstream of the city. Similarly, the main north-south axis through the Balkans ended in Thessaloniki. The city has been at the crossroads of East and West since that time. During the Byzantine Empire (330-1453), it was second only to Constantinople in importance. And during the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922), Thessaloniki remained a city of major importance, especially for trade. I'll leave out the details that can easily be read on Wikipedia but these empires also left stark reminders of their time.
Byzantine/Ottoman Forts and Walls
As a stronghold along the Via Egnatia, the city required fortification and at one point was surrounded by a double wall with forts all along the wall. The remaining ones are at the top of the hills that surround the city.
Something we found fascinating was seeing all the recycled pieces of Roman artifacts in the walls and just laying out on the ground. 
In the 19th century, the Heptapyrgion (seven-sided fort) was converted into a prison. A chapel was built and the prisoners decorated it and declared their patron Saint, Saint Eleftherios, the patron saint of Freedom.
The walls continue all the way down to the Rotunda and beyond to the White Tower, an icon of Thessaloniki and a part of the old fortifications.
As you can see, the views from up here are amazing! The section of the city is called Ano Poli (old town) and is the one remaining area of the city that wasn't burned in the fire (see below) or knocked down for the new city plan. It's full of winding streets and small, old buildings dating from this period of Greece. We had a wonderful lunch at an outdoor cafe looking out over the city and water.
MODERN GREECE
Although modern Greece came into being in 1832, it did not include Thessaloniki until 1913. It remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until then. A fascinating tidbit is that the struggle for modern Turkey started in Thessaloniki and Atatürk was born and raised here.
There are very few reminders of the Ottoman rule of Thessaloniki save for some architecture and the Byzantine churches that were turned into mosques and are now Greek Orthodox churches.
There are also a few bathhouses and other buildings from this period scattered around but most are in disrepair and slowly being renovated.
One notable exception is the Konak building that was built at the end of the Ottomand Empire by an Italian architect and is now the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace. Directly in front of it is another excavation site of Roman ruins they found while building.
Perhaps understandably, given the animosity and struggle between the two countries, more effort was put into erasing these memories than preserving them like they have done with the Roman antiquities. Similarly, Thessaloniki has a rich history of Jewish migration and contribution over centuries. But it was the first major Greek city to fall to the Nazis and after the remaining 45,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belson concentration camps and murdered, little remains except two synagogues to show they were ever here.
Another factor to the "modern-ness" of today's Thessaloniki was the great fire of 1917. In that year a fire started that burned almost the entire city. We found some old photos in a favorite bar from that time.
The Waterfront before the fire showing the White Tower.
People evacuted to the waterfront during the fire.
After the fire, rebuilding was not allowed until a "European plan" could be put in place that resulted in the large boulevards and squares that remain to this day.
THESSALONIKI AS WE SEE IT
All of this history makes the city a fascinating place to get to know but what really matters is how livable it is today, right? Well let us say, it's wonderfully livable! It's so great to be back to city living - walking to everything, having hundreds of coffee shops and restaurants within just our neighborhood, and getting to know our neighbors and shop owners. And then there are the intangible things, like the ballet class above our coffee shop that leaves the windows open so we can hear the piano player accompanying them to classical music, the warmth and helpfulness of the people, like the pharmacist who told us he doesn't sell razor blades but came out of his shop to show us the place that does, and every person that rather than laughing at me or brushing off my attempts, smiles indulgently and gently corrects my fledgling Greek. These are the things that really make Thessaloniki special for us.
One of the best aspects of Thessaloniki is that even though it's July and temperatures are reaching 90-100 degrees, it's pleasant. In the morning, there is a breeze from the water, the humidity is low, and one side of every street is in shade.
We've been taking advantage of this to sit outside and enjoy a coffee or maybe lunch. Our favorite coffee is a Freddo Cappuccino, made by shaking Nescafe and water and adding frothed milk. (Don't judge! It's delicious!)
Best of all, the walking path along the waterfront is shaded in the morning so our walks are cool and pleasant. I don't have any photos of this but here are some others at sunset for you to enjoy.
In the middle of the afternoon, from about 3-6, we retreat inside to read or write or nap, as most Greeks do. One feature of Greek apartments that we love is the pull down shutters. 
They block out the sun and heat letting a small amount of light through the small holes. With them down, the apartment stays really nice and cool and the A/C doesn't work as hard when we get back and turn it on.
Around 6:00 pm, the wind picks up again and cools things off. And, of course, the other side of the streets are now in shade! So we normally go back out in the evening for a walk and dinner. We've eaten out almost every night since we've been here. Spinach pie is 4 Euros and currently my absolutely favorite snack food.
A simple dinner of souvlaki and spreads runs about 15 Euros without drinks and €30 with. A really special dinner, taking out all the stops was €90. 
Later, around 9:00, the winds die down and the humidity kicks up and it gets pretty sticky so we're normally heading back home around that time.
Maybe a drink on the balcony to wrap up the evening.
Much more to come on Thessaloniki and surrounds as we will be here two months so stay tuned!
This featured blog entry was written by mrb430 from the blog Arrr Adventures.
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