Hi again and sorry for the late update of the blog
In this post I will suggest a few sights that you could visit in Thessaloniki. I realized in this blog that is quite difficult to be a travel guide for a city that I lived most of my life! For me most of the sights are so common now that I considere them as just meeting points. In addition I feel quite sad because I realize that the local authorities of Thessaloniki have done very little to promote the city.
The city’s landmark is the White Tower (photo), which also houses a Byzantine museum. This is a 15th century circular tower built by the Ottomans to form part of the shore defense system, which was dismantled during the 19th century. The Ottomans used it as a jail and execution site which is why it was know as the "tower of blood" or "red tower". When Thessaloniki was liberated by the Greek army the tower was whitewashed as a symbolic gesture of cleansing, and acquired its present name. The museum of the white tower contains findings which present the history and art of Byzantine Thessaloniki covering the period between 300 and 1430 A.D.
The archeological museum of Thessaloniki exibits finds from all over Northern Greece and in particular: Prehistoric finds from all over Macedonia and Thrace, and finds belonging to the Geometric Age from the Vergina burial ground. Archaic and Classical Age sculptures from ancient Thermi and from other parts of Macedonia. There is also a collection of finds from excavations on the site of ancient Olynthos. A series of Roman sculptures which is one of the richest collections of the 1st to the 5th century A.D. A collection of sarcophagi and glass Roman vases as well as some mosaic floors, discovered during excavations at Thessaloniki. Noteworthy are the finds from 4th century BC tombs and Derveni ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derveni_krater ).
The museum of Byzantine culture ( http://www.mbp.gr/html/en/index.htm ). It's probably the most important museum of Thessaloniki. It houses 2900 artifacts very cleverly presented. I would suggested because the byzantine period is very higly linked to the history of Thessaloniki.
The Arch of Galerius and the Tomb of Galerius are neighboring monument tha are located in Egnatia Street in the centre of the city. The Tomb of Galerius is better known as Rotonda. The arch was built in 298 A.D. and dedicated in 303 A.D. to celebrate the victory of the tetrarch Galerius over the Sassanids Persians. The Rotonda is a circular building erected in 306 A.D. as the Pantheon of Mausoleum of Galerius. Over the years it had various uses (church, museum). Its mosaics are unique for the era.
Due to the importance of the Thessaloniki in the byzantine period it is full of byzantine churches. The most important ones are Hagia (Saint) Sophia and Hagios (Saint) Dimitrios. Hagia Sophia was built in the 8th century and was inspired by the 6th century Hagia Sophia of Costantinople. Hagios Dimitrios is the patron saint of Thessaloniki. Like Saint Sophia the church of Saint Dimitrios was heavily restored, actually almost rebuild after the fire of 1917 which destroyed a large part of the city. Consequantly, even though Saint Dimitrios church has a unique place in the mind of the people of Thessaloniki, most of its artwork are restorations. However the history of Saint Dimitrios is quite interesting ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Demetrius_of_Thessaloniki) and is the favorite saint of most Thessalonians!
I will stop this post now (very late and I am working tomorrow) but will continue it tomorrow! Still quite many sights to cover!
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