Temperature: 30+ but bearable
Photos: Alexander the Great on his horse Bucephalus; Aya Sophia; Arch of Galerius; The White Tower - 15th century fortress.
Weather: Sunny
Today was a later start with all the travellers assembling in the lobby of the Mediterranean Hotel at 10am. This was a day of ambling through the streets of Thessalonaki and scrutinising Byzantine churches and old ruins which somehow keep being discovered and halting any further progress on building.
The city of Thessalonaki, the second largest in Greece, is a very pleasant surprise after Athens. A catastrophic fire in 1917 destroyed 80% of the town. A Frenchman, Ernest Hebrard designed the town in the 19th century with wide streets and parks and the city is very neat and clean. The city nestles on the Aegean city with a lovely promenade which runs for several kilometres. We walked this way this afternoon discovering exactly what the guide book stated: the locals do not swim here due to pollution! We found a newly opened beer tavern and rested after our tiring day.
Firstly, I must add that Thessalonaki has numerous Byzantine churches which after visiting several became somewhat of a blur. We visited three today and passed many more….that was quite enough! I’m still tying to make sense of my photos and I’m making notes as I go.
This morning we commenced our walking tour with a visit to Ayios Demitrios. A church has been on this site since 303AD and it is the most important church in the region. It has been heavily restored since the fire of 1917.
Aristotle Square is a lovely wide mall running from the rotunda to the sea. We wandered the streets following our guide and trying very hard to keep up with him and the important information he was imparting. The next Byzantine church we visited was Aya Sophia. It suffered major damage in the 1978 earthquake however it is in wonderful condition with a combination of Christian and Muslim styles having been a mosque while the Turks were ruling for 400 years. The church has two wonderful chandeliers depicting griffins.
We paid a quick visit to the Church of the Little Virgin which was built in the nineteenth century on the way to the Arch of Galerius. The Arch was built around 305AD to celebrate a victory over the Persians.
The White Tower could be seen from where we decided to have lunch during our designated one hour ‘off’ from the tour. It is described as Thessalonaki’s answer to the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower and Big Ben. True to form, the tower is no longer white but stands solidly overlooking the Thermaic Gulf.
Our next stop was the original bronze statue of Alexander the Great near the White Tower. It’s a large statue of Alexander (356-323 BC) on his horse Bucephalus with the Aegean Sea as a backdrop.
To complete the tour we visited the Byzantine Museum. We had seen a vast collection in Athens so it was interesting to see what the Thessaloniki collection could present as a different focus- if any. Unlike the Athens Museum it concentrated on a thematic approach including a linear portrayal of Byzantine churches and houses. The icons displayed were once again vast. This museum also exhibited prints from earlier times – an interesting collection.
We headed back to the hotel after a long and tiring morning. I managed an afternoon nap before our afternoon promenade and drinks. Tomorrow we are heading off early for an out of town visit.
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