Images in this photo gallery are from Thessaloniki also known as Salonika or Salonica, principal city of the northern Greek region of Macedonia and the 2nd largest city in Greece. It's a vibrant lively cosmopolitan city with spacious avenues, exciting nightlife, rich history and diverse attractions. Several Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments in Thessaloniki are included as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
516 km north of Athens and built on the edge of the Thermaic gulf,...
more »Images in this photo gallery are from Thessaloniki also known as Salonika or Salonica, principal city of the northern Greek region of Macedonia and the 2nd largest city in Greece. It's a vibrant lively cosmopolitan city with spacious avenues, exciting nightlife, rich history and diverse attractions. Several Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments in Thessaloniki are included as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
516 km north of Athens and built on the edge of the Thermaic gulf, Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC and is named after King Phillips II oldest daughter (the half-sister of Alexander the Great. It is the city that St Paul spread the world of Christianity in 50 AD. The Roman Emperor Galerius made the city his headquarters in 300AD and Demetrious, a Roman officer, was martyred here thus becoming Thessaloniki's patron Saint in 303 AD.
Thessaloniki is one of oldest cities in Europe. Numerous Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman ruins, monuments and churches are scattered in and around the city. On its seafront, the best known and most imposing monument is the 16th-century Venetian circular White Tower, built in the time of Ottoman Empire as part of the city's defences. Sitting beside it is a magnificent statue of Alexander the Great.
Churches that are definitely worth seeing include the 4th-century Rotunda, Agios Dimitrios with its 7th-century mosaics, and the 8th-century Agia Sofia. The main ancient sites were built during the Roman occupation and they are the Arch of Galerius built in AD 297, and the ruins of the Roman Agora. A must see is the archaeological museum, which is considered one of finest in Europe.
« less
