Thessaloniki Day 2

the Roman ruins outside the hotel

Thessaloniki (also called Salonica) is a very vibrant city yet not many people who go to Greece make it there. It is the second largest city in in the country and is located in the north. It was first Macedonian, then Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, and then under Turkish occupation for 400 years, until 1912. It is also important in Jewish history. It had one of the largest Jewish populations in the world with mostly Sephardic Jews from Spain for over 400 years. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1917 and completely rebuilt and played a large role in World War I. It fell to the Nazis in 1941 and over 50,000 Jews were sent to death camps.

We went to the Jewish Museum. it was wonderfully laid out with English explanations and gave the history of Jews living in Thessaloniki since 3rd century B.C.

Thessaloniki is loaded with Byzantine churches. They were originally built between the 4th and 14th centuries. The churches sit lower than modern street level because that was the level of the earth at the time of construction. In the middle of a modern shopping street we would see their beautiful domes and red bricks, sunken into the sidewalks.

a glimpse of the 11th century

Unfortunately, pictures are forbidden inside. The small churches we went into were elaborately decorated with mosaics and icons protected by glass. Large golden chandeliers hang in the center and sandboxes filled with tall, thin, white candles burn as offerings to the saints. While taking a rest in some of these churches, we would see young women with shopping bags and men in business suits enter from one door, make a coin offering, take a candle, walk across the aisle kissing one glass covered icon after another, praying, then lighting the candle and leaving it burning with the others. Some churches had baskets with blank pieces of paper and people wrote down things they are asking of God. We were amazed by the young age of many of these people coming in to pray.

a relic from the 10th century




the neighborhood guys





market morning

After some churches (there would be many more to come) we went to the Modiano market. I did not bring shoes for cold rainy weather and I needed to get a cheap pair for the next few days. It was morning and the market was at its prime. You can buy anything at the market.

seafood, our favorite section




schools of fish




need shoes?




or ouzo?

We then took a walk down to the waterfront and down to the symbol of the city, the White Tower, built in the 1400s by the Turks.

the White Tower

On the waterfront was a warehouse housing the Photography Museum of Thessaloniki. There we saw a retrospective of a Greek photographer, Philip Tsiaras. The space is fantastic for photo exhibits. We took a break and had a coffee in the museum cafe with a view of the harbor. The waitress spilled a large glass of water all over me. She felt awful but I assured her it was no big deal as it was only water and good thing not lava-hot coffee.

cats love Roman ruins

From there we headed to the university area. Roman ruins were everywhere, ending with the 3rd century Galerius Arch and Rotunda. The Arch was constructed to celebrate a military victory and is still a famous monument of the city.

Galerius Arch

arch detail

The rotunda is a building similar in style to the Panthenon in Rome. No one knows if Galerius built the rotunda to be a temple or his mausoleum. Ironically because he was a persecutor of Christians, the building became a Christian Church, then a mosque under the Turks, and now today it is a historical monument sometimes used for mass.

makeshift altar in the Rotunda

It was now that I had my second foray into a meaty snack : the chicken souvlaki. So now after trying a gyro and a souvlaki, I gotta say I prefer the gyro. Ken picked up a spinach pie to go from a bakery.

dusk silhouette

The distance we walked today were long so at dusk we were ready for a rest. We read in the guide book that at 9pm every Friday a mass is preformed in the crypt of Saint Demetrios Cathedral.

St. Demetrios

In the crypt is supposedly the place where Demetrios was martyred and buried in the 2nd century. He is the patron saint of the city. We went down to the crypt just before 9 and there were a handful of people sitting around on the ancient stones.

a picture of the crypt in daytime from greeka.com

There were no chairs but people found nooks and crannies to sit on. It was lit but not brightly. Behind a stone wall, the priest performed the mass. Before it started, a man chanted Greek prayers that echoed throughout the crypt. The mass started and of course it was in greek so we didn't understand any of it. People were trickling in after it started. Next to us sat a woman, alone, in her late 20s. I would not dare disrespect the sanctity of the ritual with taking any photos but I did find these 2 on the internet which were not taken during the night mass.

we sat in the dark along this wall
(acquired photo)

There were some old people who brought chairs with them. There were men and women in their 30s and 40s. While we were sitting against a wall with some ancient rock to my left, an old man asked the young woman on the otehr side if she would grab something for him behind the stone. It was a piece of corrugated cardboard. There was as small stash of them behind there that people used to sit on to protect their clothes from the sandy, dusty stones. Heavy rain started to hit what sounded like a skylight or window. The sound created even more atmosphere. At some points in the service the priest came out from behind the altar wall and walked around the spot of martyrdom with an incense burner, followed by priests clad in traditional black robes, hats, and long white beards. We thought we were transported to the 3rd century. People were coming and going through out the service and after an hour we sneaked out. The rain was steady and we didn't have umbrellas so we ran back to the hotel to get them.

fantastic dinner and atmosphere

There was an ouzerie a few blocks from the hotel we wanted to go to for dinner. The place was smoky and loud. Every table was filled but some were finishing up. The host was very nice and spoke English as did all the waiters. He said it would only be a few minutes to get a table ready. This was a real local joint. There were tables of young and old and all but one, ours, were not smoking. The first few minutes were a bit intimidating and we got looks but soon that dissipated and we had a great time. We ordered tszaziki, grilled mackerel, fried mussels, boiled dandelion greens, grilled halloumi, and got a taramasalata on the house which was delicious and not over salty.

juicy fried mussels

perfectly grilled mackerel

tszaziki and a mound of boiled greens

what's not to like

I had white wine and Ken got an ouzo. I suggested we try retsina and Ken agreed so we shared a small one. It is wine that has been fermented with pine resin. It is not awful but an acquired taste. Just then another wine arrived on the house and needless to say we were a little hammered when we left after the complimentary dessert of ice cream with loukoumades (fried dough balls with honey).