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Greek and Gorgeous City Guide Greece

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Greek and Gorgeous City Guide Greece GREEK AND GORGEOUS CITY GUIDE GREECE A HONEYMOONING COUPLE DISCOVERS THE BYZANTINE HISTORY AND SEASIDE CHARMS OF GREECE’S A SALUTE TO SALONICA SECOND CITY, THESSALONIKI BY HUZAN TATA Reconstructed by the Ottomans in the 15th century from 12th-century Byzantine remains, the White Tower is an enduring symbol of Thessaloniki. (LANDSCAPE) VASILIS/SHUTTERSTOCK VERVERIDIS (COVER) SIAATH/SHUTTERSTOCK 3ACK NATGEOTRAVELLER.IN Media Pvt. Ltd. ACK Media Pvt. Ltd.ACK MediaJANUARY Pvt. 2021 Ltd. 4 CITY GUIDE GREECE I suggest to my husband that we visit Thessaloniki as 1 I part of our Greek History and hustle can be found in equal doses in Thessaloniki, be it by the statue of Alexander the Great (1), city markets (2,3), the buzzing Aristotelou’s honeymoon. He Square (4), or along Ano Poli’s (Old Town) historic structures (5). 2 3 sends my way 4 5 a questioning glare that I quell with enticing tales of all the food we could eat there—it is after all Greece’s second city and gastronomic capital. What we don’t know yet is that Thessaloniki will prove to be so much more HUZAN TATA (FLOWERS), COLORMAKER/SHUTTERSTOCK (CHURCH) COLORMAKER/SHUTTERSTOCK (FLOWERS), HUZAN TATA (SQUARE) (MARKET), TRABANTOS/SHUTTERSTOCK KRITIKOS/SHUTTERSTOCK HERACLES (STATUE), YK/SHUTTERSTOCK PAGE: FACING than that. 5ACK NATGEOTRAVELLER.IN Media Pvt. Ltd. ACK Media Pvt. Ltd. ACK Media Pvt. Ltd. JANUARY 2021 6 CITY GUIDE GREECE ANO POLI (OLD TOWN) IS MUCH QUIETER THAN ITS CITY CENTRE, SAVE FOR THE FRISKY STRAY CATS THAT JUMP OUT AT US AT EVERY TURN, LEADING THE WAY TO THE AREA’S BYZANTINE RUINS MUSEUM OF MEMORIES Salonica is Town). Built upon the ruins of old Byzantine palaces, the sogania (baby white onions stuff with minced Like Athens, graffiti graces almost every a graffiti- 14th-century church with its slightly tilted dome makes for a meat and nuts), kebab giaurtlu (lamb, veal and street wall in Thessaloniki (also known as splashed city. striking photo op. pork souvlakis), fava with toasted bread, grilled Facing page: Salonica), some socio-political, others full meatballs in a tomato sauce, and a platter of Don’t miss of artistic rigour that beautifies drab walls the intricate A STROLL AND THE SKYLINE traditional Greek sweets called halva, and end the in what we discover is a very walkable city. mosaic above Ano Poli is much quieter than the city centre, save for night with happy tummies. A minute’s amble from our hotel near the the altar at frisky stray cats that jump out at us at every turn. Our neighbourhood of Agiou Mina is the Jewish the Church of guide, Giorgos, leads us up and down steep roads, along AS ROMANS DO Hosios David (the city was home monasteries, statues, buildings, and even the ancient Fuelled by a hearty breakfast of Greek cheese, Museum of Thessaloniki (bottom); to the country’s largest population of Jews Savour Cretan Acropolis walls, belting out songs on his bouzouki. fruit, bread, cold cuts, juice and salad, we explore until the Holocaust). On the ground level is a dishes like We trudge up to a hilltop for the secluded Church of the city centre on our second day. If Ano Poli is passageway of headstones salvaged from the the sautéed Hosios David, whose pièce de résistance is an intricate home to Thessaloniki’s felines, the main area Jewish cemetery that was desecrated by the lamb with mosaic above the altar. is the abode of stray dogs (who sometimes lead traditional Nazis. We walk around and upstairs, taking The two-hour walk ends at the , our way). Starting at the ever-busy carob pasta Monastery of Vlatadon Aristotelous in the history of Thessaloniki’s Jewry from (top) at the where we’re treated to a gorgeous view of the port city, Square that’s a five-minute walk from our hotel, the 13th century until after the Holocaust. An restaurant, enveloped by the clouds of a gloomy winter day. “No man we wind through the streets and arrive at Kapani exhibit that leaves us without words relates Charoupi. will be without a homeland as long as Salonica exists,” and Modiano markets. Aromas of fresh meats and stories of the Jews, including over 2,000 Giorgos quotes Byzantine scholar Nikephoros Choumnos, as produce, candles, Greek cheeses, herbs, fruit, and children, who were sent to Auschwitz. we take in the beauty of the city’s skyline. The blues of the flowers mingle with each other in the aisles. Two A sombre hour later, we stop for a quick Mediterranean Sea in the distance complete the portrait of streets down lies the Roman Agora, a second- lunch at Kebab Grill in the city centre, where posterity. A stone’s throw from the monastery is Byzantio century ruin. We try to get used to Roman or we gorge on scrumptious lamb and chicken Café, where cups of hot chocolate and strong Greek coffee Byzantine structures popping out of every other gyros packed with fries and tzatziki. A mark the end of our Old Town journey. lane. A 10-minute stroll from the markets takes us 15-minute uphill climb is all we need to walk Hungry for local fare, we head to Ladadika, the nightlife to the imposing fourth-century Arch of Galerius it off, for it’s time for our afternoon tour at district, and check out a local favourite, Full tou Meze. We try built to honour the Roman emperor’s victory the Church of Profitis Ilias in Ano Poli (Old small plates of dolmadakias (vine leaves stuffed with rice), (GRAFFITI) HUZAN TATA (FOOD & CHURCH) HUZAN TATA PAGE: FACING XXXXXXXXXXXX (XXXXXXXXX) against the Persians. There’s also the Rotunda, 7 NATGEOTRAVELLER.IN ACK Media Pvt. Ltd. ACK Media Pvt. Ltd. JANUARY 2021 8 CITY GUIDE GREECE Sunsets along the built as a mausoleum for Galerius and later waterfront are converted into a church. Two streets away, doubly special when Essentials we come upon the ruins of the Palace of witnessed beside the Galerius built at the turn of the Roman- “The Umbrellas”— The best way to reach Byzantine era, when the emperor chose an installation by Thessaloniki is by flying into sculptor George Thessaloniki as the seat of the eastern part Athens and then taking a 1-hr Zongolopoulos. of the Empire. domestic flight to the city. A 20-minute walk away is a gateway to The two cities are connected Cretan cuisine: the restaurant Charoupi, by train and bus too (4.5- and which sources ingredients from Greece’s 6-hr journeys respectively). largest island. After a welcome drink of the anise-flavoured local spirit, raki, we dig into an appetiser of cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and herbs, served with a creamy yogurt cheese and olive oil-lemon sauce. My husband savours ravioli stuffed with lamb and egg lemon sauce, while I go for the melt- in-the-mouth sautéed lamb with traditional carob pasta, Graviera cheese and staka (Cretan butter). The fare is nothing like we’ve tasted and only leaves us wishing for more. TOWER BY THE WATER We spend our last day in Salonica along its gorgeous three-kilometre waterfront, Nea Paralia, staying close to the city’s beloved symbol—the 112-foot-tall White Tower. In the 15th century the Ottomans reconstructed it from a 12th-century Byzantine fortification to use as a garrison and prison. Called the Tower of Blood, it was renamed ‘White Tower’ after it was whitewashed in the 1890s. We walk up the steep stairway straight to the roof and are greeted with unparalleled views of the city. Back on the ground, a few feet away lies a 20-foot statue of Macedonia’s most famous king Alexander the Great riding his faithful horse, Bucephalus. Nea Paralia thrums with buskers, cyclists whizzing by on rented bikes as is the norm in Thessaloniki, and locals fishing along the waterfront. We wonder whether we should take the 30-minute harbour cruise around the Thermaic Gulf or sit at a bench enjoying the seaside view, hoping for a glimpse of Mount Olympus. Finally, we decide to treat ourselves to our final Greek sunset at “The Umbrellas”—an art installation along the harbour that lights up at night. As we click our share of romantic photographs under sculptor George Zongolopoulos’ stainless- steel umbrellas in the moonlight, I remember Choumnos’ words: everyone will have a home as long as Salonica exists. And I send out a wish to the city, hoping it’ll beckon us back again, to uncover more secrets. ❚ ISTERGIO/SHUTTERSTOCK 9 NATGEOTRAVELLER.IN ACK Media Pvt. Ltd. ACK Media Pvt. Ltd.ACK MediaJANUARY Pvt. 2021 Ltd. 10.
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