After another great breakfast, Tony and I have ventured out to take a few pictures outside of our hotel. I haven't talked a lot about the food and I will later on but let me just say that there was always dessert - even at breakfast!!! My breakfast was typically American fare - bacon, eggs, and pancakes. That said, I never eat breakfast at home but when you're this active you work off your breakfast pretty quickly! Now, I never did visit the dessert table at breakfast that just seemed a little over the top! But Greeks can eat and can eat well!
The rear of the hotel backed up to the waterfront and was a popular walking avenue all the way around to the port.
A view of the back of our hotel. Breakfast was always in the glassed in room just behind the folded umbrellas. It provided a really nice view of the water.
At the end of this street you can see the Church of the Rotonda which was built in 306 on the orders of Galerius, who intended it to be his mausoleum. After Galerius's death in 311 (he was buried at Gamzigrad/Felix Romuliana near Zajecar), however, it stood empty until the Emperor Constantine I ordered it converted into a Christian church. The building was a church for over 1,200 years until the city fell to the Ottomans after which it was converted into a mosque and the minaret still stands. It remained a mosque until 1912when the Greeks captured the city during the Balkan War. Now it is a historical monument under the Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture. The Rotonda is the oldest of Thessaloniki's churches, and some publications in Greece claim that it is the oldest Christian church in the world, although there are a number of other claimants to that title. In the foreground you can see the Galerius Arch.
The Arch of Galerius was built in 305, to celebrate the triumph of Galerius over the Sassanids. The structure originally consisted of four main pillars and two smaller ones on each side, the former supporting a central dome. The two main pillars are covered with sculpted marble slabs, which depict the wars of Galerius against the Persians.
The Church of Saint Demetrius is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki, 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.
One of the notable features of the interior of the church, the largest in Greece, are the finely carved capitals of the antique columns in varicolored marble, the huge chandelier in the central aisle, and the small mosaics on the pillars in the apse.
Small shrine inside the church containing the remnants of Saint Demetrius.
Ciborium with sarcophagus of St. Demetrius. (There was a lot of gold in this church.)
A sarcophagus after the conquest and before the conversion.
One of many icons in the church. We all tried to be very respectful within the church because there were many coming in to privately worship. Your first clue would be that they would come in and kiss one of the many icons upon entering the church.
The tomb of Loukas Spantounis, a wealthy merchant and prominent citizen of Thessaloniki who was buried in the church of the city’s patron saint at some time after 1481. The marble funerary monument reflects the art of Renaissance Venice.
An olive tree on the grounds of the church. Needless to say, we saw many! And did you know that olives are a naturally bitter fruit that is typically subjected to fementation or cured with lye or brine to make it more palatable?! We took Andy's word for it and no one picked one. At this point most of us chose to walk back through the city to the hotel. We had time for a little shopping before lunch at the hotel.
Just a block away from the church we came across ancient ruins! In the 1960s, workmen digging to lay the foundations of new law courts for Thessaloniki came across the remains of the city's ancient Greek agora, which later became the Roman forum.
The ruins are interesting but our guide has gotten us thinking of other things...
This is a large pedestrian avenue that is lined with shops and cafes. It continues downhill to the waterfront and it ends in Aristotelous Square. Andy (our guide) has told us the best pastry shop in the city is down this avenue so many of us are on a mission to find it. She has mentioned it many times!
I can't believe I am posting this picture but it is the only shot we have of the pastry shop! I must be praying over my selection which I don't know if you noticed was not pastry but ice cream?! No one in the shop spoke English so it was an interesting purchase! Tony just wanted coffee!! We have a picture of Starbucks but I refuse to post it! It sat on a corner - who hasn't seen that?!
Further down the avenue we ran in to our friends, Jenny and Larry, sitting out in the avenue having coffee so we joined them. Suddenly, we felt very local!
This is Aristotelous Square looking back up the pedestrian avenue where we had just had coffee. Andy said that Greeks don't like to work and I believe her. It was Monday and no one seemed to be working. Of course, there was a truckers strike going on so perhaps all those people are truckers.
From the left: David and Karen from Florida; Larry and Jenny from Washington State; Me
The White Tower is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki. Originally constructed by the Ottomans to fortify the city's harbour, it became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. Due to the mass executions, the tower acquired the name "Tower of Blood" or "The Red Tower", which it kept until the end of the 19th century. When Thessaloniki was annexed from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek State in 1912 during the First Balkan War, the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name though it currently is a buff color.
The statue of Alexander the Great stands on the waterfront of Thessaloniki. Alexander was the king of Macedonia who conquered much of the known world in the fourth century BC. He is probably the most famous Greek ever born!
View of our hotel as we continue our walk back for lunch. (And when I say lunch it is always a full meal - not just a sandwich and chips.) After lunch we will be driving to Vergina and then on to Berea
We are in the small town of Vergina which is about 49 miles outside of Thessaloniki. Archaeologists were interested in the hills around Vergina as early as the 1850s, knowing that the site of Aigai, the ancient first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia, was in the vicinity and suspecting that the hills were burial mounds.
Pictures were not allowed inside but I have borrowed several because what we saw was so amazing.
This box holds the bones of King Philipp II. The box is made of solid gold.
The White Tower is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki. Originally constructed by the Ottomans to fortify the city's harbour, it became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of Ottoman rule. Due to the mass executions, the tower acquired the name "Tower of Blood" or "The Red Tower", which it kept until the end of the 19th century. When Thessaloniki was annexed from the Ottoman Empire to the Greek State in 1912 during the First Balkan War, the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name though it currently is a buff color.
The statue of Alexander the Great stands on the waterfront of Thessaloniki. Alexander was the king of Macedonia who conquered much of the known world in the fourth century BC. He is probably the most famous Greek ever born!
View of our hotel as we continue our walk back for lunch. (And when I say lunch it is always a full meal - not just a sandwich and chips.) After lunch we will be driving to Vergina and then on to Berea
We are in the small town of Vergina which is about 49 miles outside of Thessaloniki. Archaeologists were interested in the hills around Vergina as early as the 1850s, knowing that the site of Aigai, the ancient first capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia, was in the vicinity and suspecting that the hills were burial mounds. The Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos became convinced that a hill called the "Great Tumulus" concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. Andronikos claimed that these were the burial sites of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Andronikos maintained that another was of Alexander IV of Macedon, son of Alexander the Great and Roxana, and this has now become the firm view of archaeologists.
So what your are seeing in the picture is the museum which was inaugurated in 1993 and was built in a way to protect the tombs, exhibit the artifacts and show the tumulus as it was before the excavations.
Pictures were not allowed inside but I have borrowed several because what we saw was so amazing.
This box holds the bones of King Philipp II. The box is made of solid gold.
There was so much gold exhibited here it took your breath away!
We left Vergina and traveled to Viera which is built on the ancient site of Berea. As we travelled through Viera our guide explained to us that the new mayor wanted wide sidewalks so he saw no problem with paving over the original Via Egnatia. We were obviously moving when this picture above and below were taken but I was fascinated by the glimpse of the original road.
Local tradition holds that Paul preached in the city from a small hill. Of course they are not certain if this is true or not as there is no archaeological proof of this but the tradition is very strong in Veira. A small shrine, known as the Altar of St Paul, was erected in this spot.
There were beautiful mosaics at the shrine for Paul but we were there for Kay to teach out of Acts 17 and to look at what Paul's "method of operation" was in preaching the gospel and if it is applicable to today.
It was a beautiful day and what a setting for what we were studying! The homes across the street all had balconies and there was a couple of older women who came out to sit and listen. (I wonder if they spoke English?!)
We left Vergina and traveled to Viera which is built on the ancient site of Berea. As we travelled through Viera our guide explained to us that the new mayor wanted wide sidewalks so he saw no problem with paving over the original Via Egnatia. We were obviously moving when this picture above and below were taken but I was fascinated by the glimpse of the original road.
"In Berea they received the Word with an eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so." Acts 17:11
The word of God is a power
Neither hell nor sin gainsay;
Fruit and blessing abound
In that life where it holds sway.
Local tradition holds that Paul preached in the city from a small hill. Of course they are not certain if this is true or not as there is no archaeological proof of this but the tradition is very strong in Veira. A small shrine, known as the Altar of St Paul, was erected in this spot.
There were beautiful mosaics at the shrine for Paul but we were there for Kay to teach out of Acts 17 and to look at what Paul's "method of operation" was in preaching the gospel and if it is applicable to today.
It was a beautiful day and what a setting for what we were studying! The homes across the street all had balconies and there was a couple of older women who came out to sit and listen. (I wonder if they spoke English?!)
Kay turns 77 in November but she never teaches from notes just the Word of God!
"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12
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