Walking with Gods - Part 5 - Ancient History and Modern Vibes

Our final stop before heading home was Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki.  Widely considered to be the culinary capital, and having developed a taste for the delicious food we’d experienced so far, we were keen to explore and indulge!

Our “fly” by night stay a few weeks ago had given us a flavour of the place, and we were “buzzing” to be back at the Blue Bottle Central Hotel for our last few days (sorry….!)😁

That evening we headed out to the trendy Ladadika area for dinner and discovered a maze of cobbled streets full of bars and restaurants.  Named after the olive sellers who originally sold their wares here, this historic area eventually turned into a wholesale market with goods being brought in from the nearby port.  After the fire that devasted Thessaloniki in 1917, the area became rather run down, but in recent years it has been transformed into one of the most fascinating and lively parts of the city.

It was certainly interesting exploring the narrow alleyways, although we got the feeling that the real nightlife here started way after our bedtime!  However, we did find a lovely little restaurant tucked around a corner, and as luck would have it, a two-piece band were setting up for a performance of traditional music.  Sitting at our small table, enjoying another tasty meal, it made for an especially memorable and atmospheric evening.

Thessaloniki may not boast a Parthenon or Acropolis, but it was a real melting pot of historical and cultural influences.  The next day, we braved the heat and made our way along the Via Egnatia, which followed the route of the old Roman road.  This thoroughfare took us past the ancient ruins from Emperor Galerius’ reign in the 4^th century BC.  First up was Agora Square with its marble statues but we had to admire the red brick Byzantian church from the outside as it was closed for refurbishment.

We followed the metro stations (which were also closed for track refurbishment!) to the huge Roman forum, which was discovered when they were digging foundations for a new city hall. This impressive archaeological find comprised of a two terraced market place, underground storage areas, no less than two Roman baths and a small theatre or Odeon.  We could only imagine how striking an ancient arcade of statues depicting mythical figures would have been if they hadn’t been stolen by the Ottomans and transported to France, where they can be viewed in the Louvre…damn colonialists! Again, we had to admire these ruins from street level as the attached museum was closed, but were able to appreciate the scale of the site.

Passing several large churches, a mosque and an ottoman hammam, we reached the huge Arch of Galerius, built to commemorate the empire’s triumph over the Persians.  Originally four sided, only the one side remained, but it was nonetheless quite striking with its intricate brickwork and marble reliefs depicting the battle.  And quite a sight to behold in the middle of the modern boulevard.

Behind the archway was the imposing Rotunda, a huge domed circular building resembling Rome’s Pantheon (or to me, The Royal Albert Hall!). Originally built as part of Galerius’ palace complex, rumoured to be a temple dedicated to Zeus, or possibly a mausoleum, it had been home to three religions over the centuries.  Just our luck, it was also closed on Tuesdays – I kicked myself for not doing my research properly!

It was nearing lunchtime, but the area we found ourselves in was full of student bars, and café culture was in full swing.  We walked back down towards the coast past the remains of the main Palace of Galerius, much of which had been destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake in the 8^th century, but was strange to see slap bang in the middle of this large city.

After yet another storm, the rain put a stop to our plans to walk along the promenade the next morning. Dodging the puddles we eventually braved a quick walk through the atmospheric old covered Kapani market, the oldest traditional market in Thessaloniki.  Most of the lanes were dedicated to a specific item, and we held our noses as we passed by fish and meat sellers.  I did stop to buy some beans (not the magic kind!) and vowed to try to make the tasty bean stew that we’d sampled on our travels. 

It was still raining as we made our way down to the port which housed a couple of indoor museums. The Museum of Photography piqued my interest, and after getting our “senior” discount tickets, we found it featured an exhibition by the 1930’s Bauhaus photographer, Moholy Nagy.

Nagy’s unusual work combined photography with words and drawings, forming unusual photomontages way beyond their time. It was an interesting way to pass an hour or so and when we emerged the clouds were clearing.

We braved a walk along the waterfront, past the white tower which originally formed part of the old city walls.  It was later used as a prison, and an inmate could earn his freedom by whitewashing the walls (to cover the blood – yuk!).  Several piratey type boats (and bizarrely, one “Tiki” style) offered trips around the harbour, but these looked quite “touristy”, and we didn’t fancy being held to ransom by the high drink prices. 

We continued on to the new part of the prom (named the Nea Paralia – and a fairly recent construction), past a large statue of…you guessed it, Alexander the Great – although this one wasn’t a patch on the one in Skopje! Next, we came across a large water feature with fountains, and a large sculpture of dozens of umbrellas! Designed by Giorgos Zongolopoulos (that name alone deserves an award!) in the 90’s as part of the city’s designation as the European City of Culture, it forms an important meeting point for the locals and a good spot to watch the sunset…and shelter from the rain perhaps?

The sky was darkening once again, so we never made it up the hill to the giant church of Hagia Sophia or the old town, but we felt that we had explored a large part of this interesting and lively city.  It managed to seamlessly combine old and new, with unexpected sights around every corner.

A fitting end to our northern Greek Odyssey, and one of our most memorable and enjoyable short haul trips.