WHAT TO SEE IN THESSALONIKI

Archaeological Sites, Monuments, Byzantine Churches and Museums
THESSALONIKI ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
Thessaloniki: Roman market and theater The Palace of Galerius (300 A.D.) at Navarino Square.
Roman Market and Theatre.(photo) Ruins standing at the Law Court Square (Dikastiria).
Roman Baths. North of the church of Agios Dimitrios.
Nymphaion . An elegant monopteral, circular building.
Vergina, the ancient site of Aigai and the first capital of Macedonia has extensive ruins including the tomb of Phillip and the summer palace of King Antigonas Gonatas. Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 to 3:30 but stays open until 7 in the summer.
THESSALONIKI MONUMENTS - CHURCHES

Thessaloniki: Rotunda Galerian Arch (Kamara) erected shortly before 305 A.D.
The Rotonda ,(photo) a domed building of early 4th century A.D., served as a Pantheum or as a Mausoleum for emperor Galerius.Now the church of Saint George. Was a mosque during the Turkish occupation and the minaret still stands.
Church of Ossios David (late 5th century A.D.), the chapel of the Latomos Convent , an early Christian church that still stand in Thessaloniki's Turkish quarter known as Epimenidou or Kastra.
The City Walls were erected during the time of Theodossios the Great to guard the city from Democracy Square of nowadays across Eptapyrgio up to the site later occupied by the White Tower, a work of the architect Sinan (first half of 16th century).
Agios Dimitrios , was completely rebuilt in 1948 according the original plans. The church has been destroyed twice before by fire.
The Crypt , the most easterly section of the Bath, is the place where St Demetrios was imprisoned, tortured and buried.
Agia Sofia (8th century) marks the transition from the domed basilica to the domed crusiform church is a copy of the original Agia Sophia in Constantinople..
Panagia Halkeon , a cruciform church, was built in 1028 A.D. according an inscription of that era.
Agia Ekaterini (13th century) is very well preserved externally, with traces of frescoes inside.
Agfi Apostoli (14th century) retains a rich decoration both externally and in the interior, dating at the time of the Byzantine Pateologos imperial dynasty.
Agios Nikolaos Orfanos (14th century), 20 Irodotou Str. tel. 213.627 richly decorated with frescoes in the 17th century it became the chapel of Vlatadon Monastery.
Profitis Ilias was built in 1360 upon the ruins of a Byzantine palace by the monk Makarios Houmnos.
The post-Byzantine era has also left in Thessaloniki an important number of churches.

THESSALONIKI MUSEUMS

Archaeology Museum : Near the White Tower and fairgrounds, tel. 830.538. Displaying sculpture of the archaic, classical and Roman periods.
Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki: The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki was founded to honour the rich and creative Sephardic heritage as it evolved in the city after the 15th century consequent to the horrible expulsion from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492. The Museum is housed in one of the rare Jewish structures that survived the fire of 1917. Located in the very heart of Thessaloniki, this imposing building has at times housed the Bank of Athens and the offices of the Jewish newspaper "L' Independent" and is a silent witness to the great Jewish presence that once filled the streets of Thessaloniki. Open Tuesday, Friday & Sunday: 11:00am - 2:00pm and Wednesday & Thursday: 11:00am - 2:00pm & 5:00pm - 8:00pm. 13, Agiou Mina Street. For more info contact jctmuseo@otenet.gr (for more on the Jewish Community in Greece see www.greecetravel.com/jewishhistory)
New Museum of Byzantine Culture: 2 Stratou St., tel.: 868.570.
Ethnological and Popular Art: 68, Vas. Olgas, tel. 830.591 displaying costumes and objects of the last 250 years of Greek national life and culture. One of the best in Greece.
Museum of the Macedonian Struggle : 23, Proxenou Koromila Str. tel. 229.778. Exhibits from the years of local national resistance 1878-1912.
White Tower Museum : tel. 267.832. An exhibition of the history and art of Byzantine Thessaloniki covering the period between 300 and 1430 AD. There is a small cafe with a great view at the top.
Gallery of Fine Arts; 1, Nic. Germanou Str. inside the building of the National Theatre, tel. 238.601. Important works of Greek and foreign painters.
Municipal Gallery: 162, Vas. Olgas, tel. 425.531. Museum of the Crypt: Inside the church of Agios Dimitrios, tel. 270.591
Museum of the Society for Macedonian Studies: 1, Nic. Germanou Str. tel. 238.601.
Northern Greece Cultural Centre: 108, Vas. 01- gas Str., tel. 834.4o4.
Macedonian Centre of Modern Art: International Trade Fair grounds, tel. 281.567
Technical Museum of Thessaloniki: Thessaloniki Industrial Area, 2nd Street, Building no 47, tel. 799.773.
Museum of Attaturk . The founder of modern Turkey was actually born in Thessaloniki and his house has been turned into a historical museum. Don't be put off if the guard asks for your passport. No, it's not a small island of Turkish territory in the midst of Greece's second largest city, but with ocassional tensions between the two countries they don't want to take any chances of someone defacing the displays. The last time somebody blew up this house in the fifities it set off anti-Greek riots in Istanbul and the expulsion of several thousand remaining Greeks.
And if all this seems like a little too much culture you can always just go to the beach

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