About Thessaloniki

The city of Thessaloniki Greece was founded in 315 BC by King Cassander of Macedonia. It was named after Cassander’s wife and half-sister of Alexander the Great . Soon it became an important urban center because of its location, and after the Romans had conquered Greece, in the 2nd century BC, it became the capital of one of the four Roman districts of Macedonia. The Romans built a spacious harbor and set the foundations for the city’s flourishing. In the first century, Thessaloniki got a Jewish community. Later on, the Apostle Paul would preach in the Jewish synagogue, establish a Christian church and write two letters to the Christian community of the city, known as the Epistles to the Thessalonians.

After Constantinople was made the capital of the Byzantine Empire, Thessaloniki would progressively turn into the second largest city of the whole Empire. The population started to increase and trade was the main occupation of its residents. The Byzantine Emperors of the early 15th century were unable to protect the city from the Ottoman Empire and sold it to the Venetians. However, the Ottomans managed to siege Thessaloniki in 1430. They reformed the Castle and built many mosques and baths, some of which survive till today. Although the city was under Turkish occupation for five centuries, its development didn’t stop and people took advantage of the Ottoman reforms. The population continued to increase and consisted of Christians, Muslims and Jews Thessaloniki was liberated from the Turks on October 27th, 1912, during the First Balkan War. In 1941, during World War II, the Nazi Troops got into the city and their occupation lasted until 1944. When the war ended, the city was rebuilt and became a modern European city. The industry and trade developed in the decades that followed.. In 1988, the Early Christian and Byzantine sites of Thessaloniki were declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Monuments and in 1997, it became the European City of Culture.

Today Thessaloniki is an Important University City and hub of Medical Studies.

Ottoman monuments

The White Tower (15th century), the hallmark of the city.
The Mosques of the Hamza Bey Cami (15th century), the Aladja Imaret Cami (1484) and the Yeni Cami (1902).
Hamams (turkish bathhouses): The Pazar Hamam (15th century), the Pasha Hamam (15th century), Bey Hamam (16th century), Yeni Hamam and the Yahudi Hamam.
Bezesteni, a rectangular building with lead-covered domes and four entraces was built in the late fifteenth century and operated as a cloth market.

Archaeological sites

The ancient forum (dated to the late 2nd or the early 3rd century AD)
The Triumphal Arch of Galerius (Kamara), built in AD 305 to commemorate his military successes in general in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
The Rotonda is an early 4th century building which later was converted into a Christian church.

Museums of Thessaloniki

The White Tower (15th century), the hallmark of the city.
The Mosques of the Hamza Bey Cami (15th century), the Aladja Imaret Cami (1484) and the Yeni Cami (1902).
Hamams (turkish bathhouses): The Pazar Hamam (15th century), the Pasha Hamam (15th century), Bey Hamam (16th century), Yeni Hamam and the Yahudi Hamam.
Bezesteni, a rectangular building with lead-covered domes and four entraces was built in the late fifteenth century and operated as a cloth market.

Byzantine monuments

Thessaloniki, with its host of Byzantine monuments (due to it’s significance during the Byzantine period), justifiably is considered an open-air museum of Byzantine art. Wandering through the city, it is worthwhile to see:

The churches of Acheiropoietos (5th century) a three-aisled, timber-roofed basilica, the Holy Wisdom of God (Hagia Sophia) (7th century), the Panaghia (Virgin) Chalkeon (1028), Hosios David (12th century), St Panteleemon (late 13th or the early 14th century), is of four-columned cross-in-square type, Ayioi Apostoloi (1310-1314),Taxiarches (14th century), Panagouda a three-aisled basilica with significant icons, Agios Ioannis Prodromos (Nymphaion),Vlatadon monastery a 14th century foundation of which only the katholikon and two cisterns within the precinct survive, Ayios Demetrios asplendid basilica dedicated to the patron saint and protector of the city, etc.
The byzantine walls of the city
The byzantine bathhouse (late thirteenth century).
The Heptapyrgion castle was raised in stages, from the early years of the Byzantine Age into the Ottoman period.

14th Thessaloniki International Vitreo-Retinal Summer School