Trip 12: Post 7a ….. GREECE: Day 6 = 13th May …. Thessaloniki

___________________________________________________________________________

Note: I would like  to share with  you  through  these few words, photographs and hyperlinked websites, a 3 Dimensional  experience as though you were  actually there with  us. Click on any photograph and it should enlarge to  different size ….. at least half screen or size full screen. It will be clearer in detail than the photo on the post. It will be as if you were  really there looking at the actual  scene. You are an arm chair traveller with us.

If you would also like  to see the post in a larger or smaller size, I suggest you follow this procedure: If you right-handed, with your left hand, press  down continuously  on the Control Function Key  with your left hand and with your right hand, move  the   little  cursor wheel either forwards or backwards to make the text in the post larger or smaller.

____________________________________________________________________________

See the previous post: Trip 13: Post 6 …. GREECE: Day ‎4 = ‎May 12th May … Dardanelles and Mt. Athos

The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon. An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire. Thessaloniki is home to numerous notable Byzantine monuments, including the Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as several Roman, Ottoman and Sephardic Jewish structures. The city’s main university, Aristotle University, is the largest in Greece and the Balkans.

Thessaloniki, is now the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Greek Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace.  Thessaloniki is Greece’s second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and the southeastern European hinterland. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece’s cultural capital. Events such as the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival are held annually, while the city also hosts the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.

For the history of Thessaloniki, see the  History  section in Wikipedia.

… The bus of our Colour Group arrived in at Thessaloniki ….

450

…. The seaside park we stopped and walked  through ….

451

White Tower of Thessaloniki …..

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The White Tower of Thessaloniki is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki, capital of the region of Macedonia in northern Greece. The present tower replaced an old Byzantine fortification which was mentioned around the 12th century and reconstructed 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. It was substantially remodeled and its exterior was whitewashed after Greece gained control of the city in 1912. It has been adopted as the symbol of the city.

The White Tower takes the form of a cylindrical drum 23 m (75 ft) in diameter with a height of 34 m (112 ft) above ground level, on top of which is a turret 12 m (39 ft) in diameter and 6 m (20 ft) high. Some of the embrasures in the outer wall of the tower are reached by a spiral ramp; others are accessed from a central room on each of the six floors. The turret houses a platform with a diameter of 10 m (33 ft), and the platform at the top of the main tower in front of the turret is about 5 m (16 ft) wide

The tower has been altered substantially over the decades. Early illustrations show that it was originally covered by a conical roof, like similar towers in the Yedikule Fortress and Rumelihisarı fortress in Istanbul. Until its demolition in 1917, a chemise stood at the foot of the tower, supporting the heavy guns and enclosing an area at least three times the diameter of the main tower. Octagonal turrets on the chemise and caponiers at ground level provided flanking fire around the tower. It is unclear whether the chemise was part of the original scheme for the tower or was a later addition.

For the history of the White Tower, see the  History  section Wikipedia.

Also see Images for white tower of thessaloniki greece

452

…. The seaside park, Nea Paralia,  in detail as we walked through it …. it had a  huge colonnade of vertical fin-like cast structures leading you to the sea …

455

…. after walking through the park, we came to  the seaside paving with the city in the background ….

… See  Nea Paralia, Thessaloniki – YouTube ….

460

…. men quietly fishing off the timber  boardwalk ….

462

From the website below:

The monument of Alexander the Great is located in one of the most popular areas of Thessaloniki, in Nea Paralia right by the sea. You will easily find it right after the city’s symbol, the White Tower and the Royal Theater, heading east.

It is an impressive, six meters (20 ft.) tall monument that represents Alexander while riding his horse “Voukefalas” (Bucephalus), one of the most famous actual horses of antiquity.

After an extended reconstruction that lasted two and a half years the entire waterfront area of Thessaloniki along with Nea Paralia transformed into a wonderful place, ideal for a relaxing walk, jogging or biking!

Read more: http://www.inthessaloniki.com/en/alexander-the-great-monument-alexander-the-3rd#ixzz3sDcHkdHb

See Images for alexander the great statue in thessaloniki

465

… Part of the  monument of Alexander the Great with larger shields and spears …

468

…. Entrance to the Museum of Byzantine Culture nearby ….

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

See the next post:

Trip 12: Post 7b …. Day 5 = 13th May GREECE …. Thessaloniki … the Museum of Byzantine Culture

_______________________________________________________________________________________________