Sat Oct 12, 2024
Hi Gang! We are still in Greece today (4th straight day!) but we love it! Today we were docked in the port of Thessaloniki. We had a late excursion today so we slept in a little but also got off the ship and walked around the town before our excursion.
Thessaloniki is a Greek port city on the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Evidence of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman history remains, especially around Ano Poli, the upper town. The ruins of Roman Emperor Galerius’ 4th-century palace include the Rotunda that has been both a church and a mosque. Much of the city center was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1917. The rebuilt 20th-century city has a modern European layout. It is the second-largest city in Greece, with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capitalof the geographic region of Macedonia.
The city was founded around 315 BC by the King Cassander of Macedon, on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma and 26 other local villages. He named it after his wife Thessalonike, a half-sister of Alexander the Great and princess of Macedonia as daughter of Philip II. Under the kingdom of Macedonia the city retained its own autonomy and parliament and evolved to become the most important city in Macedonia.
Our tour started with a stop at the White Tower that was built in 1530. It was where the walls of the city started and encompassed the whole city at the time. They used the top of the tower to watch for enemies coming in from the ocean and the rest of it they used to house prisoners. Now it is the symbol of their city and where all the festivals are held.
We then went to the Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum and saw all the old gold pieces that they found here. There were some amazing pieces given how old they were.
After that we headed to the upper town (Ano Poli) to see some amazing views over the city. We also saw the Church of the Apostles where the apostle Paul preached to the people for three weeks and where he wrote his letters to the Thessalonians.
We then went to the church of St Dimitrios, who is the patron saint of Thessaloniki. The church was built in the 7th century and is so beautiful inside. His bones are housed in the church and there was a long line of pilgrims to see them.
After that we got back on the ship and had to get ready for dinner since we got a special invitation to have dinner with the Cruise Director Ray Solaire. Lah-Tee-Dah! Must have been since we’ve spent so much money on all our Regent cruises! Lol
I’ll do another update after dinner.
PS: Today’s factoid… did you know that Greece is # 11 on the list of having the most shoreline in world and that the USA is 10?? That just didn’t seem right??
The Wandering Italian 