By a Covid related twist of fate, my dad and I recently embarked on a last minute discovery of Greece. First stop, the ancient, bustling metropolis of Thessaloniki. Nestled between the mountains of Macedonia and the Aegean sea, this city of just under a million inhabitants, is Greece's second largest city, and the capital of Greek Macedonia.
This was my first time in Greece, and I instantly fell under the charm of this Mediterranean land and its fascinating culture. It seems I am not the only one to fall in love with this part of the world. Greece appears to have been coveted and occupied by almost every major empire in history. And this incredibly rich heritage is felt, seen, tasted, scrawled all over Thessaloniki's boulevards and waterfront, Byzantine basilicas and Roman ruins, ramshackle structures and mighty monuments. East meets West. Hellenic tradition intertwines with Ottoman narratives, modern art plays with Orthodox rituals.
The Thessalonians we met were warm, kind, chilled and exceedingly patient with our lack of Greek. It seems things have definitely improved since they kicked the apostle Paul out in the first century!
Below: The vista from our hostel's rooftop; a piece from the Museum of Modern Art; Thessaloniki's iconic White tower; golden hour on the waterfront; scrawls on a window; panoramic views of the Aristotelous Square from the Orizontes roof garden.
More tales from the Hellenic Republic coming soon!
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