Left of center at the top of the map below is Skopje, where we started our Balkan trip in North Macedonia. After meeting friends in Sofia, Bulgaria we drove clockwise through Veliko Tarnovo (both off top of the map) and Plovdiv, shown right of center at top. We left Melnik, Bulgaria at the border with Greece, where we hired a car and driver to take us a couple hours south to Thessaloniki, Greece (A) on the map below. After a three enjoyable days in this major city we rented a car and drove west to Pella (B), the former capital of ancient Macedonia, then to Vergina (C) and the tomb of Phillip II, King of Macedonia, and then spent a couple nights in the lakeside town of Kastoria (D). From there we drove south to Kastraki and the remarkable cliff monasteries of Meteoria (E). We ended our stay in Greek Macedonia at Ioannina (F) before our friends flew to Athens and on to Crete while we drove the rental car back to Thessaloniki to return home.
Regional map of mainland Greece showing driving route.
Thessaloniki, located on the Thermaic Gulf at the NW corner of the Agean, is the second largest city in Greece. We found it more real and interesting than Athens (located at bottom center of map above). Of course, Athens has the should-not-miss Acropolis, Agora, and a new excellent museum (elegantly reminding all that the British Museum has the Parthenon "Elgins"). But outside the tourist attractions the city is gritty, and the attractions don't feel like a part of it, but set museum pieces. Thessaloniki is well-used with the historic artifacts interwoven into the layers of the city and part of everyday life.
Our stay was northeast of Haigh Sofia, the large church image above the green center park.
Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BCE by the Cassandra of Macedon and named for his wife, the sister of Alexander the Great and daughter of Philip II, King of Macedonia, who, as previously noted, united the various tribes into Hellas. While the province of Greek Macedonia has several Classical Greece remnants, the majority in Thessaloniki are Roman and Byzantine.
View from our hotel in Thessaloniki
UNESCO site Hagia Sofia (holy wisdom) Byzantine church,
only a few blocks from our hotel, built in the 7th century CE.
Classic Orthodox church interiors with Iconostasis altar
We again signed up for a food tour. Our guide is a local chef who worked throughout Europe and took us to a variety of his favorite places to sample local food and drink. We started at a coffee bar for espresso, and moved through cheeses, salads, meats, pastries, and finally wine.
Kate, Robin, Aaron, slavic guest and Chef on food tour of Thessaloniki.
Couple that made wonderful flakey pastries for decades
When my friend Thom and I went to Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia in 2016 we learned to read Cyrillic after a while. I always cracked up when we'd see signs that said in Pectopah. Many words are similar, they just use different letters for the same sound. Once you understand that a P is an R, and C is an S, H is an N; you realize Pectopah is a sign for Restaran(t). They are everywhere. Likewise, I never understood in the sixties how CCCP on Soviet Union rockets could represent the Soviet Union. I've since learned it stood for Soyuz (Union) Soviet Socialist Republic.
Below is the local beer we drank in Thessaloniki. Translate if you can: (B is a V, P is an R, upsidedown L is a G. We're going to that town in a couple of days.
Vergina Beer
For our second day we took a historic walking tour with a company we've used in many cities. GURU is a free walking tour co., and their guides are entertaining and highly informed. After the tour you pay what you want. They've always been excellent and we highly recommend them. We learned on our tour that a great way to see museum quality artifacts in Thessaloniki is to take the subway.
Our guide was an engineer and archeologist on the recently completed Metro underground in 2015. The route of the Metro through the city center follows the main arterial Egnatia St., which was about 35' above the historic Roman Via Egnatia that connected Rome to Constantinople (remember that from a previous posts about Albania and Macedonia). Although they knew of its existence, hence the current name, they didn't know what they'd find. When Metro administrators discovered many Roman, Christian and Byzantine remains, they wanted to move them to another location. After much controversy, and expense, the city sided with the archeologist and adjusted the depth of the subway to preserve and expose the remains in stations.
Byzantine market place at Agia Sofia Station exposed to sidewalk above.
Called the Byzantine Pompey, this covered paved street with shops is adjacent to a subway station.
Our tour ended at the iconic White Tower, the emblem of the city. The tower was built in the fifteenth century by the Ottomans, replacing an earlier twelfth century tower. Originally, it had a chemise (skirt) surrounding the keep. In the early nineteenth century is was referred to as the Blood Tower or Red Tower due to the massacre of Janissaries by the Ottomans imprisoned there. It was named the White Tower in the late nineteenth century after the prisoners white washed the original brick construction.
White Tower
Our third day we wandered the neighborhoods on our own. We took a bus to the fortress above the town. (On the city map above you can find it at the top). The structure is a former Byzantine/Ottoman fortress named Heptapyrgion in Greek or Yedi Kule in Turkish.
Wave of crowds swelled and dispersed from arriving busses.
Commanding view of the city, Thermaic Gulf, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Rather than take the bus back, we decided to walk down the hill through residential neighborhoods and their local businesses.
Descent from the fortress
Through residential streets
Lunch at local restaurant
Along the way, we saw the cannibalized Greek ruins as building material in Roman ruins.
At the bottom of the hill we came across the Roman Rotunda, and the start the impressive Galerian Complex which extended through the city to the sea. This is the most important ruin in Thessaloniki built from the 4th century CE, and is the transition between pagan Roman era and Christian Byzantine. It was built by Caesar Galerious, and occupied by subsequent Caesars who used Thessaloniki as their administrative center. It includes a Rotunda, Palace with Octagon hall, Basilica, Hippodrome, Baths, Residence, and Apsidal Hall covering over 120,000 sm or over 1.2 million sf.
Rotunda at far end at base of hill with Basilica in center and Hippodrome on right.
The Rotunda, built for Galerious' mausoleum, converted to a basilica, then mosque, and now a UNESCO world heritage site.
Part of the Palace
Arch of Galerious on Egnatia St.
On our last evening our traveling companions and we went our separate ways. We went back to the Jewish quarter, then walked along the waterfront promenade for dinner with a view.
Waterfront with White tower at end of Galerious complex in distance
Seaside restaurant with locals enjoying themselves by the water.
The following day we picked up our rental care and drove to our next destination, Kastoria. Along the way we stopped at a couple historic sites from pre Classical Greece. Our first was the ancient capital of Macedonia, Pella, established by King Archelaus I, before King Philip II, in 4th century BCE.
Fragmentary remains of the ancient capital, Pella
Beautiful depictions of life in floor mosaics.
After Pella, and prior to visiting the archeological site in Vergina, we stopped for lunch in this small town. In the summer you can tell it is quite busy as there are parking lots for busses and cars, but in October the location was virtually empty. After lunch we visited the historic site of the entombment of King Philip II and his several princes. The site is unassuming with only low burial mounds visible. However, upon entry through a tunnel underground into the chamber your breath is taken away. Though obviously we knew of the site, we had no idea what it contained. It was reverential in its dark quietude and lighting. Here we were in the burial chamber of one of the most influential kings of ancient times and, like the artifacts found in King Tut's tomb millennia before, his people prepared him for his journey in afterlife. Like so many religions, its purpose was to provide comfort for the living and preparation for the afterlife.
Burial mound of King Philip II and princes
Carved statuary and reliefs of prominent people
Silver artifacts for the afterlife
Battle garb left in the tomb for the warrior king.
Spear points still deadly
Entrance to the tomb of Philip II beneath the earthen mound.
Start of our peninsula walk near town and fall colors emerging.
Approaching the isthmus and town at end of the peninsula walk on bay side.
The only Byzantine church we saw as we passed on our walk to dinner.
Arriving in Kastraki
Mountaieers "friction" climbing on face of sandstone
The monasteries were built by monks in the 14th century atop 400' high rock sandstone pillars. Meteora means "suspended in air" and they are truly breathtaking, and even more so when built. The monks had to rock climb the faces to the pillar top, level the site, and haul all building materials up via a man powered windlass system. After the monasteries were functional they hauled each monk up the rock face in nets. Today, the six remaining monasteries are a UNESCO site accessed by a road along a back plateau and can be access them by pathways carved into the rock.
I'll let the photos speak for themselves in this stunning setting.
The village at left is Kastraki, where we stayed, and at right is Karbala.
From top of Plateau one can see the six monasteries.
The modern approach is carved into the hillside
Or cut into rock
Kate and Aaron's view from below
On the top of the pillar are religious complexes of plazas, chapels, living quarters and community areas
Hand powered windlass to haul supples and monks.
Netting to haul people and goods (need have faith in fellow man in addition to God)
They are still functioning as religious sites.
Hitchhiking to heaven as a thunderstorm passed with "God Beams" of light
View across pillars and chasms to other monasteries
Perched for isolated reflection
Town of Karbala below.
Our final destination in Greece was further west to the city of Ioannina, near the border of Albania. For centuries under both Ottoman and Orthodox rule, this city has been a center of education. When ruled by the Ottomans the population nevertheless remained Orthodox, and the city became the pivotal in the Greek War of Independence in 1828. Like any city with a strong university presence, there are plenty of youth, and the main city street is quite vibrant with cafes and restaurants.
Main pedestrian street Georgiou Averof with cafes and restaurants.
Robin loves cows so I photoed this art inside a restaurant.
Early morning fog on lake with fisherman.
Similar view but in late afternoon
Besides the cafes, lakefront and university, a main attraction is the Ioannina Castle. Early foundations indicate it's been occupied since Hellenistic Greece, with various constructions from Roman, Byzantine, Crusaders, and Ottoman periods. The structure was built and destroyed many times over the course of invasions. The most recent structure is from around the 14th century.
Ioannina Castle
Former mosque is now the Museum of Arslan Pasha, build in the 17th century
One of the reasons for going to this far corner of mainland Greece was their national park, Vikos Gorge, in the Pindus Mountains.
View back to switch back road to the village of Aristi and entry to the park.
Village square of Aristi
Overlook at top of gorge up to 1,350 m deep (4,500') running 32 km (20 miles)
Lunch break in small hamlet Monodendri returning on mountain back roads.
View back to Ioannina valley
Our final day we dropped Kate and Aaron off at the Ioannina airport for their flight to Athens then to Crete the following day. With our six week trip to London, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Northern Greece coming to an end we drove back straight for five hours to Thessaloniki. We arrived in time for a late lunch so went back to one of our favorite places, the waterfront. But before we ate we admired one more time their main plaza and pedestrian area. After lunch and walking it off, we stayed at the airport hotel and the car company picked up the returned car. A delightful end to a rewarding trip to the last of our Balkan countries.
Aristotelous Square and Avenue looking toward the Roman Forum and Turkish fortress on the hill.
Robin with waiter who made clear they still like Americans... their enemy are the Turks.
History continues to be lived by the past.
