Part 3: A City of History and Resilience
By John Thomsen
Thessaloniki’s rich history includes Byzantium, Ottoman rule, resilience after fires, vibrant culture, art, and beautiful seaside views.
After my experience at the museum, I wanted to learn a bit more about the overall history of Thessaloniki, so before falling asleep the first night I read all that I could. I discovered that in 395 A.D. the Roman Empire was finally divided into East and West. The East became the Byzantine Empire. Thessaloniki was the second largest and the wealthiest city in Byzantium. After approximately 1000 years of Byzantine rule, rich in history, architecture, literature, etc…the Ottoman Empire (Turkish Empire) captured Thessaloniki. During the Ottoman Empire the Jewish people made up a large percentage of the population and Thessaloniki became a major international center for Rabbinic studies.
Hundreds of years passed before the Greeks in 1912 took the city back. Unfortunately, only a few years later a major catastrophe hit the city, and Thessaloniki was 2/3 destroyed by “The Great Fire of 1917.” This fire left 72,000 homeless out of a population of approximately150,000. Many families found it necessary to emigrate elsewhere to rebuild their lives.
Astonishingly, the city regained its equilibrium quite quickly and hired a French architect, Ernest Hebrard, to design a new urban plan for the city. Some of the beautiful older homes still exist, but much of the new Thessaloniki was influenced by Art Deco, the aesthetic of the time. Thessaloniki now has a much lighter, more vibrant feeling which comes from a combination of architecture, the open sky and the sparkling waters of the gulf which stretch out in front of the city with the great Mount Olympus in the distance.
During the few days we were there, each evening we would choose a restaurant with a view of the gulf and a view of the many people reading, talking, hugging, simply enjoying their evenings on the pier. Later at night after a walk along the popular gulf promenade, we’d relax in the outdoor seats of one of the lively bars that face the port. A perfect place to chat and people watch…and believe me, in Thessaloniki there are a lot of beautiful people to watch while enjoying a cocktail or two, or sampling one or two of the wonderful wines from the region. This area of Greece is filled with vineyards and is known for its excellent wines.
After a beautiful evening of drinks, conversation and people watching, it was time to wander slowly back to our hotel, enjoying the store windows filled with stylish clothing. I did see a type of sneaker, Zegna brand, that I thought would be perfect for me…. But the perfection came at a price… 926 euros! Ouch! So back to my Nikes.
During the days we spent our time enjoying some of the major city landmarks and museums. Being an artist, one of the first places we went was to MOMus, one of three museums of contemporary art in Thessaloniki, where we saw some wonderfully original work. Next trip I’ll go to one or two of the other art museums in the city.
After soaking in some fine art, we were off to the most famous landmark in Thessaloniki, the great Lefkos Pyrgos (White Tower) built in the 15th century by the Ottomans. Don’t be disappointed by its current grayish color, even though I’m personally tempted to go back very soon, and in the still of the night give this great old tower a good whitewash so it can live up to its name. The tower has had many names over the centuries, but the story is that in 1890, when it was serving as a prison, one of the convicts whitewash the entire tower in exchange for his freedom. So, if I’m caught whitewashing the Tower again and am caught, it would be unfair if the officials throw me into prison. Right????
Join me next week for a stop at the famous St. Demetrius church.