Pews, Views and No Time to Lose
We began our day, deep in the heart of Central Macedonia, in the famous town of Thessaloniki, which is really not a town, it’s a big city - not at all how I’d imagined it. Thessaloniki is actually the second biggest city in Greece!
Up front on our agenda today was a visit to the UNESCO World Heritage site of St Demetrios’ Church, with a Greek Orthodox mass in full swing. Entering through the heavy wooden doors and the red velvet curtains that framed the entrance, the first thing to notice was the row of impressive chandeliers lined up down the centre of the building. There was a whole posse of priests up the front, dressed in very snazzy robes of white and gold, complete with sashes and gold hats, wielding candles and incense balls on chains. Their loud, rumbling chanting filled the room and the acoustics were amazing.
Rather than a sit down church service, there were lots of people just milling around, some with head coverings and others in robes. There was a line-up that led into a little room to the side of the church, where people were taking turns to kiss the statue inside. There was also a lot of kissing of the amazingly intricate and colourful framed mosaics going on. There was a hive of activity inside. Just as we were about to make tracks, Amy asked me if I’d gone underground. I hadn’t realised it was even an option. This version of the church was built in 629-634AD, though its earliest incarnation was in the early 4th century. As we descended the stone staircase into the crypt, it felt like we were going back in time. There was none of the glitz and busyness of upstairs down there. The cave-like low ceilings (I didn’t have to duck) and heavy brick arches were a patchwork of different bricks and styles from each rebuilding of the place, starting with the Romans, then the Christians and the Byzantines. The whole crypt was infused with - as Marianna would say - ‘a l’il bit the strong scent of myrrh’, which, let’s face it, isn’t the most pleasant aroma out there. Amy and I wondered why they hadn’t opted to burn a few vanilla scented candles instead?
After the church, we headed uptown and Dimitris wowed us with his precision driving, negotiating the tiny little streets in his oversized bus, with consummate skill. At one stage, we all held our collective breath as he eased us skillfully around a truck. Mission accomplished, we rewarded him with a spontaneous, hearty round of applause.
Parking us next to the solid 4th century city walls, Dimitris released us out onto a Thessalonian suburban street where we walked the short distance to the only operating monastery in the city: Vlatades Monastery. Said to be built on the site of Jason’s house (Acts 17), this little monastery had spectacular panoramic views of the city and the Aegean Sea beyond. We were greeted by some loudly quacking ducks and a cock-a-doodling rooster, whose body clock was clearly somewhat askew, and some playful kittens. The animal-loving monks also had a huge bird aviary featuring peacocks, a house full of homing pigeons and a few deer roaming around in the front yard. When we arrived, the buildings were closed but Nicolet found a crack in the door of the little chapel and popped inside. I came in hot on her tail and had a quick squiz around the dark but ornate room. There was a monk standing near the entrance so I enquired about the age of the chapel. He looked at me like a deer in the headlights before grabbing a pen and scrawling ‘1351’ on his pad, holding it up for me to read. When I told Nic I thought he must’ve taken a vow of silence, she informed me that moments before I arrived, he’d told her sternly: ‘No photos!’
Heading back downtown, it was time to see the ocean up close. A leafy promenade with fountains and statues and a cycling track lined the shore. Marianna introduced us to the ‘White Tower’, now a museum, built by the Ottomans in the 15th Century. In it’s former life it was used, among other things, to hang out executed dead bodies, and was named the ‘Red Tower’. Once this macabre practice ceased, they scrubbed the blood off, gave it a nice coat of paint and renamed it the White Tower. You’d never know.
We also visited the well-preserved ruins of the centuries-old Agora, just sitting there, with its rooms and bricked archways, right next to the train station in the centre of town.
Marianna has been warning us constantly to look right and left diligently when crossing the road due to the fact that the zebra crossings in Greece are merely a suggestion. It’s such a rare occurrence that a car would actually stop to let a pedestrian cross so whenever a car has done this for me, I have popped my hand up in a wave to say thank you. I was shocked to find out, the whole-hand, static wave I have been giving these kind drivers is actually the Greek equivalent of flipping the bird. Oh boy. It’s a wonder I haven’t been run down by now. From now on I’ll be saluting instead.
This afternoon we were let loose in the city to do as we pleased. Toby had been scouring Instagram to find some cool things for us to visit in downtown Thessaloniki so he became the Jones family tour guide for the afternoon. Taking us to the cool end of town, we visited a couple of fantastic cafes, with delicious brews that more than satisfied our fussy coffee connoisseurs. When you get a glass of water with your coffee, you know it’s gonna be a good one. I tried a Greek ‘freddo’, recommended by Sam’s friend Pav and even though it didn’t involve any chocolate frogs, the iced espresso, whipped and shaken with milk and ice, was absolutely delicious. Tobes also expertly guided us to the Modiano Market - a central covered food market with all kinds of artisan Greek foods and treats. We found a touch of home when the record shop had a copy of Diesel and Dust by Midnight Oil in stock and one of the cafes stocked Bundaberg ginger beer!
After all of our adventuring, we reunited with the tour group around the rooftop pool for a lovely drink and a swim and some fun card games. Toby, Sam, Molly and Ross headed out for dinner to a local foodie favourite - MAMAΛOUKA - while Maisy and I stayed and had dinner with the crew,
