Thessaloníki – City and Ruins (Part 3)

Eptapirgio castle   

When we were on top of the White Tower we had seen the castle, the Eptapirgio, high up on the hillside. Our guidebook suggested that it was open daily from 0800-1500 and that from the castle there is a great view down over the city and a good walk meandering down through the old Turkish quarter, the area not destroyed by the 1917 fire.

We got the No 23 bus up the hill. Bus driver training through the narrow winding streets must be a hair-raising experience for novice and instructor alike! With the aid of a helpful English-speaking local we got off at the right stop and walked the final few hundred metres to the castle’s walls.

Eptapirgio castle   

The castle was apparently named Eptapirgio during Ottoman times, perhaps after the Heptapyrgion in Constantinople, a similar 15^th century edifice. [Ed: confusingly the Eptapirgio has 10 towers, not the 7 one might expect given the name!]. Trying to find the entrance, we walked around the walls, enjoying the views across the city. When we came to the castle’s gates we discovered that it wasn’t open for visiting that day. [Ed: Expletive deleted!].

View of the city from outside the castle   

So, we had to content ourselves with the view and the walk down through the Ano Poli, the Old Town.

Trigonio tower and Byzantine fortification walls stretching down into the modern city. In ancient times these walls were Thessaloníki’s eastern walls. At the bottom end, next to the sea, is the White Tower    

A little down from the castle was another line of the city walls and the Trigonio tower, one of the city’s 7 defensive towers. From here we got an even better panoramic view down onto the city. Outside the city walls, to the left of the photo above, is where St Paul the Apostle is supposed to have taught during his missionary work here around 49AD.

Vlatadon Monastery   

Near to the walls here we found the Vlatadon Monastery which dates back to the 14^th century and which is the only remaining monastery (actually now a convent) of the dozens which once existed in the city.

The great fire of 1917, which destroyed much of Thessaloníki, started up in Ano Poli but the strong wind fanned the flames down into the main heart of the city and this area was pretty much unscathed. Since then, many of the houses have been rebuilt or at least significantly modernised but they still keep the attractive old features and style and the original higgledy-piggledy street pattern also remains. In contrast the modern part of the city has a block layout based on an early 20^th century French architect’s plan and the housing is ‘best’ mid-20^th century pour-and-fill concrete apartment block.

Agios Nikolaos Orphanos   

We wended our way through the attractive, if convoluted, streets of the Ano Poli and amazingly managed to successfully arrive at the 4^th century Agios Nikolaos Orphanos church, just ahead of a large French tour party. Inside the church is decorated with superb Byzantine frescoes. Understandably, no photos are allowed, even without a flash, indeed, so protective are they of the paintings that candles are only lit inside the church during Sunday mass.

Alatza Imaret   

From there we came out into the more modern part of the city and walked along one of the main roads towards the Agios Dimitrios church. On the way we passed the Alatza Imaret, so called because it had a minaret decorated with multicoloured (Alatza) pebbles and was located next to a poorhouse (Imaret). Like the Rotunda, it has only recently been reopened to the public. Unlike the Rotunda it looks as if a lot more work is required here if it isn’t to be closed again fairly soon.

Yeni Hamam   

Our walking route then took us past the Yeni Hamam, as the name suggests a bath-house from Ottoman times. Built in the 17^th century, according to our guidebook it has great acoustics and is an ideal place for seeing a concert, but it’s not open for general viewing by nosy tourists like us.

Agios Dimitrios   

Agios Dimitrios   

Billed by our guidebook as ‘perhaps the grandest church in Greece’, Agios Dimitrios is dedicated to Thessaloníki’s patron saint. Dimitrios was a Roman soldier who was killed around 303AD on the site of the church (then a Roman bath) on the orders of Emperor Galerius, infamous for persecuting Christians. The saint’s relics are in a silver reliquery in the crypt which, predictably, wasn’t open when we visited.

Agios Dimitrios

The wall frescoes, however, are impressive, even if most are quite modern; the 1917 fire was very damaging. Nevertheless, five 8^th century mosaics around the altar have survived the 1100+ years since they were constructed partly, perhaps, because the Ottomans plastered over the church’s decoration when they turned it into a mosque.

Thessaloníki, Greece