Saturday, November 3, 2012
Here are some photos of our second day in Thessaloniki, Greece -
These are the ruins of the palace of Roman Emperor Galerius from the 3rd century AD, which were apparently discovered when digging the foundations of these new apartment buildings. I can imagine the parents in these apartments telling their kids to go out back and play in the Roman ruins.
This is the White Tower on the waterfront, now the iconic symbol of Thessaloniki. It was part of the Byzantine wall and fortification around the old city, much of which has now been removed.
A view of the Aegean Sea waterfront, with the White Tower and the city extending off to the east.
Our first sighting of a Starbucks in Europe. Annette just had to try it!
A nice view of the Aegean while sipping our venti lattes, which were about 18 ounces larger than the cups of coffee we have gotten used to here in Kosovo.
We watched most of the Sunday parade celebrating the 100th anniversary of the surrender of the Turks to the Greek army. The parade included military units in period uniforms, nurses, mountain rescue teams, firemen and many other service providers. There were also some Greek Air Force jets buzzing the parade route at very high speeds and very low altitudes.
We were finally able to take the #50 tour bus route after the parade ended. The bus loops through many of the historic sights and museums in the city. This photo is from the upper part of the old city and shows a portion of the old protective wall, which is 30' to 40' tall in some places.
One final meal - a mixed grill plate, including the last pork we will see until we leave Kosovo again.
The visit to Thessaloniki was over, time to climb back into the UN bus for the ride back to Prishtina.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yay pictures!!! Was the photo of mom at Starbucks pre-coffee? haha. How tall do you suppose the tower is, 30ft or something? Also I'm so jealous that you were there for such a historic celebration. We talk about Thessaloniki a lot in my history class, although since it's from the Ottoman POV it's Salonica/Salonika.
ReplyDeleteI think the photo of Mom at Starbucks was taken after a few sips. I'd say the White Tower is at least 50' or 60' tall; it is a pretty big structure. It was once used as a prison and the sign said it is called the White Tower because a prisoner once negotiated his release by painting the whole tower white. Guess that's one way to get out of prison.
ReplyDelete@papa's post- wow, what a smart prisoner! I can't believe mama isn't beaming with excitement over a Starbucks, must be because it wasn't as good as she was hoping huh? That photo of the apartment complex w/ the ruins is just bizarre! Aegean sea looks beautiful as well, did you go wade in it?
ReplyDeleteI didn't wade in the Aegean,but I did find a spot to get down to the water and dipped my hand in it, just to say that I had done it. I guess there are actual beaches somewhere around Thessaloniki, but everything we saw in the city was just a concrete walk along the water's edge with a meter or so drop down to the water. Every few hundred meters there were a few steps down to the water, I guess in case someone accidentally falls in the water they would have a way to get out before they drown.
ReplyDelete