Christmas in Thessaloniki |
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I passed my Christmas vacation in Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia, the "Bride of the North" for us, the Greeks. I have never lived inside Thessaloniki but I have lived 7 years at the surrounding area. 7 wonderful years which stay as gems in my memory. For those who know the area. I have lived 3 years in Asprovalta, one year in Stavros one year in Agia Triada and 2 years in Veria but that period I worked in Thessaloniki... so I lived most of my day in Thessaloniki. At those 7 years this city hugged my family and helped me to grow up my children. I have this area in my heart and I feel to be also a part of it. I have missed Thessaloniki a lot and I planned to spend some time there. I spent my Christmas in Thessaloniki there and here I am today to present you some snapshots of its history, its culture and most of all its beauty. Enjoy Thessaloniki ! |
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Thessaloniki or Salonica is Greece 's second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia, the nation's largest region. The Thessaloniki Urban Area extends around the Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) and comprises 16 municipalities. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987, while the metropolitan population approximates one million inhabitants. Thessaloniki is Greece 's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. The country's Prime Minister traditionally gives his annual governmental speech outlining plans for the year to come from the city. Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman, and Jewish structures, as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. The city hosts an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival , and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora. Thessaloniki is commonly called the 'Συμπρωτεύουσα' 'Symprotevousa' (co-capital) of Greece since the National Schism , in much the same way as it was called the 'symbasileousa' (co-queen) of the Byzantine Empire. |
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The city was founded around 315 BC by the king Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and twenty six other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessaloniki, a half-sister of Alexander the Great . She gained her name from her father, Philip II, to commemorate her birth on the day of his gaining a victory (Gr. Nike, pronounced Niki) over the Phocians, who were defeated with the help of Thessalian horsemen, the best in Greece at that time. Thessaloniki means the " victory of Thessalians ". Thessaloniki developed rapidly and as early as the 2nd century BC the first walls were built, forming a large square. It was an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Macedon, with its own parliament where the King was represented and could interfere in the city's domestic affairs. After the fall of the kingdom of Macedon in 168 BC , Thessalonica became a city of the Roman Republic . It grew to be an important trade-hub located on the Via Egnatia , the Roman road connecting Byzantium (later Constantinople), with Dyrrhachium, and facilitating trade between Europe and Asia. When in 379 the Roman Prefecture of Illyricum was divided between East and WestRoman Empires, Thessaloniki became the capital of the new Prefecture of Illyricum (now reduced in size). Its importance was second only to Constantinople itself, and in 390 it was the location of a revolt against the emperor Theodosius I and his Gothic mercenaries. Thessaloniki passed out of Byzantine hands in 1204, when Constantinople was captured by the Fourth Crusade. Thessaloniki and its surrounding territory—the Kingdom of Thessalonica —became the largest fief of the Latin Empire, covering most of north and central Greece, and was given by the emperor Baldwin I to his rival Boniface of Montferrat , but seized back once more in 1224 by Theodore Komnenos Doukas , the Greek ruler of Epirus. The city was recovered by the Byzantine Empire in 1246 for the rulers of Thessaloniki in the Middle Ages. |
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The Byzantine Empire, unable to hold the city against the Ottoman Empire 's advance, sold it in 1423 to Venice. Venice held the city until it was captured after a three-day-long siege by the Ottoman Sultan Murad II on 29 March 1430. The Ottomans had previously captured Thessaloniki in 1387, but lost it in the aftermath of their defeat in the Battle of Ankara against Tamerlane in 1402, when the weakened Ottomans were forced to hand back a number of territories to the Byzantines. During the Ottoman period, the city's Muslim and Jewish population grew. By 1478, Thessaloniki had a population of 4,320 Muslims and 6,094 Greek Orthodox, as well as some Catholics, but no Jews. By ca. 1500, the numbers had grown to 7,986 Greeks and 8,575 Muslims, briefly making the latter the majority. Around the same time, Jews began arriving from Spain, fleeing persecution. In ca. 1500, there were only 3,770 Jews, but by 1519, there were 15,715, 54% of the city's population. The invitation of the Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella, was an Ottoman demographic strategy aiming to prevent the Greek element from dominating the city. The Sephardic Jews, Muslims and Greek Orthodox remained the principal groups in the city for the next 4 centuries. The city remained the largest Jewish city in the world for at least two centuries, often called "Mother of Israel". Of its 130,000 inhabitants at the start of the 20th century, around 60,000 were Sephardic Jews. Some Romaniote Jews were also present. Thessaloniki, called Selanik in Turkish, became one of the most important cities in the Empire, viable as the foremost trade and commercial center in the Balkans. The railway reached the city in 1888 and new modern port facilities were built in 1896-1904. The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was born there in 188, and the Young Turk movement was headquartered there in the early twentieth century. Architectural remains from the Ottoman period can be found mainly in the Ano Poli ( Upper Town ) which has the only traditional wooden houses and fountains to survive the city's fire. During the First Balkan War , the Ottoman garrison surrendered Salonika to the Greek Army, on November 9 November 1912. This was a day after the feast of the city's patron saint, Saint Demetrios, which has become the date customarily celebrated as the anniversary of the city's liberation. After the Greek and Serbian victory in the Second Balkan War, which broke out among the former allies over the final territorial dispositions, the city's status was finally settled by the Treaty of Bucharest on August 10, 1913, becoming an integral part of Greece. In 1915, during World War I, a large Allied expeditionary force landed at Thessaloniki to use the city as the base for a massive offensive against pro-German Bulgaria. Most of the old town was destroyed by a single fire on 18 August 1917, accidentally sparked by French soldiers in encampments at the city. The fire left some 72,000 homeless, many of them Turkish, of a population of approximately 271,157 at the time. Venizelos forbade the reconstruction of the town center until a full modern city plan was prepared. One effect of the great fire was that nearly half of the city's Jewish homes and livelihoods were left destroyed, leading to massive Jewish emigration. Many went to Palestine, others to Paris, and still others found their way to America. Their populations, however, were quickly replaced by considerable numbers of refugees from Asia Minor as a result of the the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, following the defeat of the Greek forces in Anatolia during the Greco-Turkish War. With the arrival of these new refugees, the city expanded enormously and haphazardly, and came to be nicknamed "The Refugee Capital" ( Protevoussa ton Prosfygon ) and "Mother of the Poor" ( Ftohomana ). Thessaloniki fell to the forces of Nazi Germany on April 9, 1941, and remained under German occupation until 30 October, 1944. The city suffered considerable damage from Allied bombing, and almost its entire Jewish population was exterminated by the Nazis. Barely a thousand Jews survived. Thessaloniki was rebuilt and recovered fairly quickly after the war, with this resurgence taking in both a rapid growth in its population, and a large-scale development of new infrastructure and industry throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The architectural face of Thessaloniki has always a been an interesting and distinctive case, in its constant flux born of the city's position at the centre of all historical developments in the Balkans. Aside from its commercial importance, Thessaloniki was, for many centuries, the military and administrative hub of the region, and beyond this the transportation link between Europe and the Levante. The city layout changed after 1870, when the seaside fortifications gave way to extensive piers and unfortunately most of the ancient walls of the city were demolished including those surrounding the White Tower. During the subsequent 47 years, a period of great economic growth, the city's population exploded by 70%, reaching 135,000 in 1917. The city became an attraction for merchants, traders or refugees from across Europe, including Jews joining the city's earlier population. The authorities replaced part of the city's earliest Byzantine walls to allow it to expand, which it did, to the east and west along the coast. The need for commercial and public buildings in that new era of prosperity led to a marked shift in architectural direction and led to the construction of large edifices in the city centre, in lots formerly occupied by small, shabby one-family homes. During this time, Thessaloniki saw the building of banks, large hotels, theaters, warehouses, and factories. Thessaloniki is one of the most important university centres in the Southeastern European region, and is also host to a student population from across Greece. The city sustains two state universities — the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the largest university in Greece (founded 1926), and the University of Macedonia, alongside the Technological Education Institute of Thessaloniki. It also sponsors a range of private international institutions, either affiliated with universities in other nations, or accredited abroad. |
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After the history lesson... time for sight-seeing . The present tower dates from the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1520–66). There was an older tower on the same site, probably built by French knights during the period of the Latin Empire in Constantinople . The Tower was used by the Ottomans successively as a fort, garrison and a prison. In 1826, at the order of the Sultan Mahmud II , there was a massacre of the prisoners in the Tower. Owing to the "countless victims of Ottoman torturers and executioners", the tower acquired the name "Tower of Blood" or "The Red Tower", which it kept until the end of the 19th century. The Tower was for centuries part of the walls of the old city of Thessaloniki (known as Solun in Ottoman times), and separated the Jewish quarter of the city from the cemeteries of the Muslims and Jews. The city walls were demolished in 1866. When Thessaloniki was annexed from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek State during the Balkan War of 1912 , the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name. King George I of Greece was assassinated not far from the White Tower in March 1913. The Tower is now a buff colour but has retained the name White Tower. It now stands on Thessaloniki's waterfront boulevard, Nikis (Victory) Street. It houses a Byzantine museum and is one of the city's leading tourist attractions. The Tower is under the administration of the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture. |
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The Arch of Galerius, (Kamara for the Greeks) stands on what is now Dimitrios Gounari Street. The arch was built in 298 to 299 CE and dedicated in 303 CE to celebrate the victory of the tetrarch Galerius over the Sassanid Persians and capture of their capital Ctesiphon in 298. The structure was an octopylon (eight-pillared gateway) forming a tripe arch that was built of a rubble masonry core faced first with brick and then with marble panels with sculptural relief. At present, only the northwestern three of the eight pillars and parts of the masonry cores of the arches above survive: i.e. the entire eastern side (4 pillars) and the southernmost one of the western pillars are lost. Extensive consolidation with modern brick has been performed on the exposed masonry cores to protect the monument. The two pillars flanking the central arched passageway retain their sculpted marble slabs, which depict the wars of Galerius against the Persians in broadly panegyric terms. |
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The Church of Aghios Demetrios is the most important church in the entire city. Lying above the remains of the agora and the Roman Forum, the church has three side-chapels, a museum, and underground catacombs that also include Saint Demetrios' imprisonment chamber; he is the patron saint of the city. The Church of Saint Demetrios , or Hagios Demetrios , is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, dating from a time when it was the second largest city of the Byzantine Empire . It is part of the site Palaeochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO since 1988. |
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The first church on the spot was constructed in the early 4th century AD, replacing a Roman bath that used to stand there before. A century later, a prefect called Leontios had this small oratory replaced with a larger, three-aisled basilica. The church was repeatedly gutted by fires, and eventually was reconstructed as a five-aisled basilica in 629-634. This was the church much as it is today. It was the most important shrine in the city, probably larger that the local cathedral, whose very location is now unknown. The church had an unusual shrine to the saint called the ciborium, a hexagonal roofed structure at one side of the nave, made of, or covered with, silver. This had doors, and inside a couch or bed. Also unusually, there were no physical relics of the saint, and the ciborium seems to have operated as a symbolic tomb. It was rebuilt at least once. The basilica is famous for six extant mosaic panels, dated to the period between the latest reconstruction and the inauguration of the Iconoclastic policies in 730. These mosaics, depicting St Demetrius with the officials responsible for the restoration (called the founders ) or children, represent a rare example of this art surviving from the Dark Age that followed Justinian 's death. An inscription below one of the images glorifies heavens for saving the people of Saloniki from a pagan Slavic raid in 612. |
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| The triangular layout of Thessaloniki 's fortification wall has not changed since it was built in the middle of the third century A . D . and rebuilt in the fifth century consequently; Thessaloniki covered the same area in the late Byzantine period as in the Roman and early Christian periods. Like Constantinople and Nicaea, Thessaloniki did not shrink as did most of the ancient poleis when they were converted into medieval kastra after the end of antiquity. That life continued without interruption from late antiquity to the middle ages and that the size of the city did not change explain why Thessaloniki was described as the second city. |
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| Parts of the unified fifth-century fortification of Thessaloniki were rebuilt at a later date, towers were built or repaired, gates constructed, and its defensive capacity continuously strengthened. The later interventions are frequently covered by more recent Turkish ones. However, some isolated and limited fourteenth-century interventions, mostly in the acropolis area, are mentioned in inscriptions, together with the names of the persons who carried them out. |
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| OTE Tower is a 76 metres tall TV tower at Thessaloniki, Greece . OTE Tower is located inside the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair in central Thessaloniki, which is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe. From OTE Tower, which was completed in 1966, the first black and white broadcasts of the Greek State Television took place in the same year. OTE tower has a revolving restaurant in its top. The tower first openend in 1966 and was totally renovated, transforming it into a modern tower, in 2005. |
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| Aristotelous Square is one of the main squares of Thessaloniki , Greece. Aristotelous Square extends all the way from Nikis Avenue on the waterfront to the Church of Panayia Halkeion . The square, shaped like a bottle, is lined with tall archondika , or mansions of the affluent, that have now been converted to shops and hotels. A large park lies at the north end of the square, and Thessaloniki's thriving old market is just one block away to the east and west. It is located in the western part of the city, and crosses the three main avenues. The Christmas festivals are always held there and it commonly serves as the site of music concerts and political speeches. |
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| A "young" orchestra make its contribution at the Christmas atmosphere of the Aristotelous Square. They sing old Greek songs with the traditional greek music organ... bouzouki. Bouzouki lives inside our blood and give us the tempo to dance and be happy. |
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The Christmas ship of Thessaloniki . It is there... at the Aristotelous Square for Christmas. Every December, Thessaloniki , erects a huge, illuminated metal structure in the shape of a three-mast ship next to the Christmas tree and celebrates this way with the Greek traditional way Christmas. The Greek Christmas boats are made of paper or wood, decorated with small, colourful lamps and a few, simple ornaments. They are usually placed near the outer door or by the fire and the bow should always point to the interior of the house. With golden objects or coins placed in it, the ship symbolizes a full load of riches reaching one's home. And the Christmas boat is making inroads into mainland Greece . |
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Christmas time at the magic town is the best I can recommend you. The "Bride of the North" is a gorgeous city and the nights there don't look to a night anywhere else in this planet. The Greek's of the North, the Macedonian's have achieved miracles the period of Great Alexander but they could also enjoy life. Thessaloniki has an amazing night life and you can find whatever you like here. We have chosen a nice small tavern in Ano Poli and my partners in this trip, my aunt Yiota and my friend Lucy had a special night there. The tavern was really small but had a warm atmospere and George, one of our friends who lives in Thessaloniki, the best company for us. |
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I understand... this blog was too big but Thessaloniki is a city that exists for centuries. Its history and culture is huge and the nations who had passed from it at her long history have given a special character... a color, a taste and a smell that offers to the city a rare exceptionality. There is something more that I have to highlight at this blog. I have to make a reference to the people who live at Thessaloniki. They know how to laugh from the bottom of their heart and that is what is the most important for me. I have lived close to them for 7 years and I can assure you... you can not find anywhere else people like them. I came back from Thessaloniki but... I have prepared again my suitcases. I am ready to travel again in order to reach the Mountain of the Centaurs and celebrate there the New Year's Eve. Of course... you are always with me and you will have my full report of my days there. Have a wonderful start of the New Year and enjoy it as much as you can! |