August 3 is when these events occurred- Thessaloniki
The hotel provided a terrific buffet breakfast that we ate adjacent to the pool. Then we drove into the city and found free parking near the university. Probably only because school was not in session.
This city was named for a woman who herself was named for a military victory. Thessaloniki was the daughter of Macedonian king Phillip II (and thus the sister of Alexander the Great) who won the battle of Thessaly. She married one of Alexander's generals who named the city after his wife in 316 BC. It was the eastern capital of the Roman empire and the western capital of the Byzantine empire. After the Ottomans captured the city, they welcomed Sephardic Jews who were fleeing the Inquisition to resettle there, so there was a lot of population diversity. I read that the Ottoman Sultan questioned, how smart can King Ferdinand be if he exiles some of his most able and productive citizens? At some point in the 16th century, these Jews formed the largest population group in the city and on the eve of WWII they numbered 60,000. However, all but a few thousand of the Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps during WWII. Another population jolt was the 1923 forced deportation of people of Turkish ethnicity and the assimilation of tens of thousands of ethnic Greeks who were evicted from western Turkey.
We attempted to do a self-guided walking tour of the city. It began with a climb to the highest point in the old city, the tower and eastern end of the Byzantine walls. However, before we got there we had to pass a local cemetery which contained the graves of many local notables, and scores of cats. While the climb was hard and hot, at least we knew that it would be all downhill after that. The walls and tower ("pyrgos") offered expansive views of the city and the gulf. They were originally built during the 4th century by the Byzantines to resemble the walls of Constantinpole, and were rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 14th century. In 1821 in response to the Greek's war for independence, the Turks strengthened the walls using stones from the Jewish cemetery. I also saw an incredibly wrinkled and old woman up there.
After that we went to the Monastery of Viatadon (sounds like a computer game). It was an incredibly relaxing place with peacocks and flamingos on the grounds. The present structure was built in the 14th century, but its religious origins go back much further and St. Paul preached at the site in the first century. It also had a lot of well preserved frescos on its walls.
After that we got lost and missed several churches. However, we wandered through a seemingly prosperous and well landscaped neighborhood of winding and narrow streets. No sign of austerity here. We came out at the bottom at City Hall. We tried to get euros at a bank, but we were told that we had to go to a currency exchange. One would have thought that Greece would remove any impediments to obtaining foreign currency.
As we continued wandering around, we were approached by a stranger who helped us get back on course. He was a former cab driver and professed to know the city well. He directed us to a broad open area that was the Roman Agora. This was a large commercial market area that the Macedonians founded in the 3rd century BC and the Romans maintained. There were clustered shop walls and mosaic floor remnants. The English placard said that it is now the site of a city-sponsored urban picnic area with free food and music, but alas we missed that. Adjacent to the Agora is the Yeni Hamam, a large 17th century former Turkish bathhouse that now hosts concerts and art exhibits.
We walked down a broad main street that led to the water. It appeared to be the city's main shopping street and it was lined with fading multistory apartment buildings. We found a currency exchange and they offered a very bad rate, so we exchanged a small amount of money. Off on a side street, after much searching we found the Yed Lazikaron, the city's only surviving synagogue, but it was closed.
We walked to and then along the waterfront to the White Tower. This is the city's most famous landmark. It was initially built by the Byzantines and then added onto by various other rulers and now has six stories. It has been the scene of many bloody battles, most prominently in 1826 when the Ottomans massacred rebellious Islamicised formerly Christian teenage troops, and also in 1913, when the Greeks reconquered the city and the tower. After that battle the walls were whitewashed to remove the blood. The tower contained interesting interactive exhibits about the city's history.
We then started our walk back to the car and visited three Roman ruins. The first was the Palace of Emperor Galerius. Not much left except some mosaic-tiled floors, columns and walls. Then we went to the Arch of Galerius, which commemorated a Roman victory over the Persians. Lots of reliefs of lunging soldiers. Finally we went to the Rotunda. This huge structure was another Galerius project. It was intended to be his mausoleum, but he died while in retirement (I did not think that emperors got to retire) in Serbia, so it was made into a church. As they frequently did, the Ottomans converted it into a mosque.
We missed the Ataturk House and the Museum of Macedonian Struggle because these were closed on Sunday. Anyway, it was hot and we were pretty tired after all the walking, so we hiked back to the car and took off for Kastoria. GPS got us out of town without a problem and after about a two-hour drive on the toll road, we exited and began a drive through a forested area. Historically Kastoria has been deeply involved in the fur trade and it made the area rich. There are still many furs shops and factories.
We arrived at our hotel, the Esperos Palace Hotel, just before a big rainstorm. I went out on the balcony to our room and just soaked up the rain after a day in the heat. This is a terrific ski resort hotel, which unfortunately, we visited in the low season so its pool was closed. We went to dinner at a local restaurant down the street from the hotel. We each got a very good fish dinner with some good Greek wine. Initially we were the only ones there, but several couples came in after us. Lots of cats at the restaurant (the shutters at the windows were open). Again, there was no indication of austerity other than the fact that we were the only guests at the hotel.
The hotel provided a terrific buffet breakfast that we ate adjacent to the pool. Then we drove into the city and found free parking near the university. Probably only because school was not in session.
This city was named for a woman who herself was named for a military victory. Thessaloniki was the daughter of Macedonian king Phillip II (and thus the sister of Alexander the Great) who won the battle of Thessaly. She married one of Alexander's generals who named the city after his wife in 316 BC. It was the eastern capital of the Roman empire and the western capital of the Byzantine empire. After the Ottomans captured the city, they welcomed Sephardic Jews who were fleeing the Inquisition to resettle there, so there was a lot of population diversity. I read that the Ottoman Sultan questioned, how smart can King Ferdinand be if he exiles some of his most able and productive citizens? At some point in the 16th century, these Jews formed the largest population group in the city and on the eve of WWII they numbered 60,000. However, all but a few thousand of the Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps during WWII. Another population jolt was the 1923 forced deportation of people of Turkish ethnicity and the assimilation of tens of thousands of ethnic Greeks who were evicted from western Turkey.
We attempted to do a self-guided walking tour of the city. It began with a climb to the highest point in the old city, the tower and eastern end of the Byzantine walls. However, before we got there we had to pass a local cemetery which contained the graves of many local notables, and scores of cats. While the climb was hard and hot, at least we knew that it would be all downhill after that. The walls and tower ("pyrgos") offered expansive views of the city and the gulf. They were originally built during the 4th century by the Byzantines to resemble the walls of Constantinpole, and were rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 14th century. In 1821 in response to the Greek's war for independence, the Turks strengthened the walls using stones from the Jewish cemetery. I also saw an incredibly wrinkled and old woman up there.
After that we went to the Monastery of Viatadon (sounds like a computer game). It was an incredibly relaxing place with peacocks and flamingos on the grounds. The present structure was built in the 14th century, but its religious origins go back much further and St. Paul preached at the site in the first century. It also had a lot of well preserved frescos on its walls.
After that we got lost and missed several churches. However, we wandered through a seemingly prosperous and well landscaped neighborhood of winding and narrow streets. No sign of austerity here. We came out at the bottom at City Hall. We tried to get euros at a bank, but we were told that we had to go to a currency exchange. One would have thought that Greece would remove any impediments to obtaining foreign currency.
As we continued wandering around, we were approached by a stranger who helped us get back on course. He was a former cab driver and professed to know the city well. He directed us to a broad open area that was the Roman Agora. This was a large commercial market area that the Macedonians founded in the 3rd century BC and the Romans maintained. There were clustered shop walls and mosaic floor remnants. The English placard said that it is now the site of a city-sponsored urban picnic area with free food and music, but alas we missed that. Adjacent to the Agora is the Yeni Hamam, a large 17th century former Turkish bathhouse that now hosts concerts and art exhibits.
We walked down a broad main street that led to the water. It appeared to be the city's main shopping street and it was lined with fading multistory apartment buildings. We found a currency exchange and they offered a very bad rate, so we exchanged a small amount of money. Off on a side street, after much searching we found the Yed Lazikaron, the city's only surviving synagogue, but it was closed.
We walked to and then along the waterfront to the White Tower. This is the city's most famous landmark. It was initially built by the Byzantines and then added onto by various other rulers and now has six stories. It has been the scene of many bloody battles, most prominently in 1826 when the Ottomans massacred rebellious Islamicised formerly Christian teenage troops, and also in 1913, when the Greeks reconquered the city and the tower. After that battle the walls were whitewashed to remove the blood. The tower contained interesting interactive exhibits about the city's history.
We then started our walk back to the car and visited three Roman ruins. The first was the Palace of Emperor Galerius. Not much left except some mosaic-tiled floors, columns and walls. Then we went to the Arch of Galerius, which commemorated a Roman victory over the Persians. Lots of reliefs of lunging soldiers. Finally we went to the Rotunda. This huge structure was another Galerius project. It was intended to be his mausoleum, but he died while in retirement (I did not think that emperors got to retire) in Serbia, so it was made into a church. As they frequently did, the Ottomans converted it into a mosque.
We missed the Ataturk House and the Museum of Macedonian Struggle because these were closed on Sunday. Anyway, it was hot and we were pretty tired after all the walking, so we hiked back to the car and took off for Kastoria. GPS got us out of town without a problem and after about a two-hour drive on the toll road, we exited and began a drive through a forested area. Historically Kastoria has been deeply involved in the fur trade and it made the area rich. There are still many furs shops and factories.
We arrived at our hotel, the Esperos Palace Hotel, just before a big rainstorm. I went out on the balcony to our room and just soaked up the rain after a day in the heat. This is a terrific ski resort hotel, which unfortunately, we visited in the low season so its pool was closed. We went to dinner at a local restaurant down the street from the hotel. We each got a very good fish dinner with some good Greek wine. Initially we were the only ones there, but several couples came in after us. Lots of cats at the restaurant (the shutters at the windows were open). Again, there was no indication of austerity other than the fact that we were the only guests at the hotel.
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