Thessaloníki - The Day Sign Language Failed Us

Monday 13 June was our day to pick up the hire car. We’d arranged to do that at 1500 for a couple of reasons: firstly, there were still a couple of sites we wanted to see in Thessaloníki and we wanted a bit of a slower start in the morning; and, secondly [Ed: and more importantly], the sites at Pella and Vergina don’t open until lunchtime on Mondays so we had planned to visit them on Tuesday en route to Meteora.

Bei Hamam   

So, at about 10 o’clock we took the bus into town and headed for the Bei Hamam, an Ottoman-era bathhouse which we had passed on Saturday and which we understood to be open in the mornings. Despite arriving within the opening times shown on the sign outside it was very much closed.

Giahoundi Hamam   

However, within a few blocks there a couple of other hamams shown on our map so we went exploring. The Giahoundi Hamam was also not open to the public but is a scenic centre point for the square, surrounded by cafés and small restaurants.

Modiano Market   

This part of Thessaloníki is the big market area and we spent an hour wandering past the stalls. With lovely looking, fresh fish, meat and vegetables on eye-catching display and the aromas of exotic and herbs, the market was an assault on our sense of smell, taste and sight.

Bezesteni Market   

Close by was an Ottoman building which we thought might have been a hamam or possibly a mosque. Whatever it was, it is now the Bezesteni Market and is filled with fabric shops. Here we bought netting to replace some of our mosquito nets; a project for when we are next at anchor.

By now it was lunchtime (and nearly raining!!) so we decided to find somewhere to sit down and eat (and get out of the weather). Previously we have had some excellent meals close to market areas because the ingredients are so fresh. We thought we’d try the same again and found a small restaurant specializing in traditional Greek food.

We were shown into the kitchen where the dishes were on display. They all looked and smelt delicious. There was a soup, which would be served along with a white fish steak, small fried fish which looked a little like anchovies or large whitebait, a vegetable and bean stew, 2 sorts of beef stews (‘only beef, no lamb or pork’!) and an open dish of oven baked lamb and potatoes (‘lamb with potatoes, very special, delicious’). The chef made signs like an opening book (‘open, cooked, open’) [Ed: I didn’t see the sign; I wish I had, I might have chosen differently but, then again, maybe not!]. It looked like chops or cutlets or parts of shank nestling under the potatoes; butterflied chops perhaps? But lamb and potatoes sounded very traditional Greek and so Nicky ordered that whilst I ordered the vegetable soup served with fish.

It all went very well – we were shown to a table, we were served water and bread – right up until Nicky’s meal arrived……..

Nicky’s lamb dish….. an exciting travelling experience!   

Hiding under the potatoes had not been delicate westernised cuts of lamb rather there were whole lambs heads! The opening book sign language was supposed to explain that the heads had been cleaved in two; mmmm, sheeps brains, not my favourite, nor Nicky’s either it turns out! [Ed: Reg could barely contain his smirking, I could barely contain my discomfort. How to eat this (or, more to the point, not eat much of this – particularly with all those teeth on display) and not offend the chef, who obvously thought this a prized dish?] Nicky can normally put a pirhana to shame when it comes to picking the bones of a meal clean but not today. That said, she did try the pièce de résistance but drew the line at the eyeball………..

Picking up the hire car was much more successful than lunch and equipped with a Fiat Punto we made our way back towards BV. Within 10 minutes we had done a full test of the brakes with a proper emergency stop; the other driver had just not looked and pulled out of a junction right across us. Ultra-defensive driving, we decided, would be the key to survival on our road trip to see Pella, Vergina and Meteora.

Thessaloníki, Greece