Exploring Thessaloniki's Iconic Landmarks

Hello, everyone! I've been away for two weeks which I used to visit Greece and it's seaside on Halkidiki peninsula. When travelling from Serbia, northern Greece is closest to us and so our citizens usually stay in this beautiful region of Greece. In fact, when you walk around some of these places, trust me when I say almost every other voice you hear is Serbian.

Same was the case in the town we stayed in which is Nea Kallikratia, relatively small place of 10000 inhabitants which is located half way from Thessaloniki to the three "legs" of Halkidiki. But I will talk about that in the next post - in which you'll see many, many photos of the sea I took. This time I'm sharing about Thessaloniki which was my stop on the way there.

My family travelled by car which was pretty crowded so I decided to go by bus, which operates every day between Belgrade and Thessaloniki. We arrived in the city at 5 o'clock in the morning which means I had almost two hours to spend in the city before sunrise. Even though I didn't get a minute of sleep I really wanted to explore the city and feel its atmosphere.

I immediately went to the docks and enjoyed the first view of the sea in the pure blackness of the night. Here and there you could see a fisherman throwing their hooks in the water, and even some runners got up this early and trained alongside the coast on well maintained pathways.

Practically no shops where open around this time so I couldn't try any of the local cuisine or visit interesting restaurants. Around 6:30 the black night turned into blue morning and so I started taking pictures of the landmarks along the coast. First on the way is White tower, which is the most recognizable one, it's huge and visible from afar as you walk by the sea. When the Ottomans took over the city in 15th century they built it as a watchtower and throughout the years it even served as a prison.

As you walk further along the promenade you'll see a beautiful statue of Alexander the Great, one of the most famous historic military leaders. He is riding the horse with the sword in his hand, charging forward, with spears and shields around him representing, likely, his army. I really enjoyed looking at it and tried different perspectives to take the ideal photograph. In my Kung Fu class, we are training with swords and spears so it's probably why I was really drawn to it. :)

Next on the way, before we turn away from the seafront and head towards the inner part of the city, is a sculpture of umbrellas. This is quite different and modern landmark, serving as a contrast to the historic monuments. A bunch of transparent umbrellas are suspended from huge diagonal metal poles as if they are floating in the sky. Against the dark blue of the dawn they look like medusas swimming in water. They say the sculpture looks amazing during the sunset which I didn't get to see this time. Visitors will grab one of the umbrellas and have their pictures taken inside this interesting piece of art.

I wasn't entirely following the maps yet I was lucky to stumble on all the monuments I wished to see during my exploration of the city. And so as I walked towards my bus stop for Halkidiki, I saw the outlines of the old church which is immediately recognizable. It is Rotunda, church built all the way back in 4th century and stands until this day. During its history it was church, mausoleum, mosque and church again, and you can see influences of different cultures which rained the city over centuries.

That was the end of my quick visit, I had to move towards the main destination and meet my family there. But the few hours I had to spend with the city where lovely and peaceful. Hope I was able to capture some of that energy for you. Photos taken with Fuji X-Pro2 + 35mm F/2 lens.