"And may she be named Thessaloniki", said King Philip of his first daughter. Later, Kassandros, Alexander the Great's general who succeeded him on the throne, married the young princess and gave her name to the city he founded (316-317 B.C.).
From here, St. Paul, the Apostle of the Nations, spread the Word of Christianity (50 A.D.). And the Roman emperor, Galerius, made the city his headquarters (300 A.D.).
Here, too, Demetrios, a Roman officer, was martyred, thus becoming Thessaloniki's patron saint (303). The wealth and glory of Byzantium followed.
Along with a succession of enemies (Slavs, Avars, Saracens, Normans, Catalans and Turks), but each time, after each invasion, Thessaloniki survived, clad in the Byzantine and ancient garb for which she was predestined.
Her beauty was trumpeted far and wide. The magnificence of her landmarks: The Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda with its mosaics. Agia Sofia, the Ahiropitos, Ossios David, Agii Apostoll, the Vlatadon Monastery, Agios Dimitrios, Profitis Ilias, Agios Nikolaos - churches representing every phase of Byzantine architecture and painting - as well as Byzantine walls, castles and towers.
The White Tower, built on the site of an older tower, and the other tower, its twin, the Trigonio. The Archaeological Museum is a true surprise, the wealth and splendour of its contents fixes us like a magnet, while the Folk Art Museum entrances us with its lovely crafts from the 18th and 19th century.
Not far from the museum is a contemporary landmark, the International Fair Grounds, a crossroads where people meet in friendship and cooperation, while above it looms the University named after Aristotle.
All Thessaloniki pulsates with life.
The streets are bustling with activity. The streets are allow with cars.
Spacious avenues, parks, squares, trees. Streets lined with shops and alluring show-windows. Old, neoclassical houses next to modern apartment blocks.
And plenty of tavernas, ouzeris, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, bars, "bouzoukia" (Thessaloki was where rebetika, the Greek "blues", was born), cinemas, theatres, cafes whose chairs and tables fill the pavements and the piazzas.
Little dives and cellars specializing in Macedonian treats. Places to "hang out" and have an icecream cone or a "submarine" (a spoonful of something sweet dipped in a glass of ice water). And places where you can just be quiet.
Another world after the brouhaha of the city. The Upper Town with its poetry and charm. Old neighbourhoods with narrow alleyways and gardens. Courtyards draped with laundry. Wide-open doors and carefree children playing. Rebetika melodies and the scent of exotic flowers waft through the air.
With your every step you glimpse the heart of Thessaloniki. An immortal heart, a perpetual beat. An inseparable companion in joy and in sorrow.
What to see in and around Thessaloniki.
Inviting places nearby include the forest of Seih-Sou, Hortiatis, Panorama, Oreokastro, Asvestohori, and the Thermaic Gulf with its fishing villages and popular beaches.
Aretsou, Perea, Nei Epivates, Agia Triada, Nea Mihaniona, Epanomi, Nea Krini, Asprovalta.
Twenty kilometres north of Thessaloniki, Langadas has become famous for the Fire-Walking spectacle that takes place there each May.
Archaeological sites
The Palacec of Galerius (300 A.D.) in Platia Navarinou. The Roman Forum and Theatre in Platia Dikastirion. The Roman Baths in the crypt of the Church of Agios Dimitrios.
The Nymphaion, an elegant, circular, monopteral structure, now one of the cisterns in the chapel of Agios loannis Prodromos.
Monuments - Churches
The Arch of Galerius: Built a little before 305 A.D. in commemoration of Galerius's victory over the Persians in 297. (It stands at the junction of Egnatia and D. Gounari Streets)
The Rotunda: A circ
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