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Click here to read more from this article published by The Athens News THESSALONIKI - STEEPED IN HISTORY Greece’s oldest metropolis has much to offer and its international trade fair takes place next month  Greeks are fond of ascribing complimentary epithets to Thessaloniki, the country’s second-largest city with more than 1 million inhabitants. “Nymph of the Thermaic Gulf,” “joint-capital,” or “gateway to the Balkans” are some of the nicknames that reflect its importance in the country's history, politics and economy. Like a nymph, Thessaloniki was always much sought after. Founded by King Cassander of Macedon in 315 BC, and named after his wife, who was Alexander the Great’s half-sister, Thessaloniki has always been a city in the true sense, a characteristic that is perhaps shared only by Rome for a longer period in Europe. This is largely attributed to its favorable location, as a port at a key point on the East-West route. Romans, Avars, Slavs, Bulgars, Saracens, Goths, Crusaders and Turks were all suitors throughout history, with varying degrees of success. When Greek troops entered Thessaloniki on October 26, 1912, it was probably Europe’s most multiethnic city, described as “a sponge of people and cultures.” Its population of 158,000 included 61,000 Jews, 46,000 Greeks, 40,000 Turks, 6,000 Bulgarians, 3,000 Roma and smaller numbers of Western Europeans. A devastating fire in the city center in 1917 erased a large part of this multiethnic heritage and the tumultuous history of the following years left Greeks as the overwhelming majority by 1944. After the fire, the city center was radically redesigned on the basis of a plan drawn up by Frenchman Ernest Hebrard -- “the first realization of European town planning in the 20th century,” according to town-planning historian Pierre Lavedan. Although the fire destroyed many historical buildings -- including churches, synagogues and mosques -- the majority either survived or were later restored, such as the 7th-century Byzantine Basilica of Aghios Dimitrios -- the patron saint of the city -- which hosts his relics. Hebrard used Thessaloniki’s numerous Byzantine monuments as the focal points of a network of public spaces (squares, pedestrian streets and thoroughfares), which explains why the Byzantine element dominates the city’s architectural heritage. But the plan was not fully adhered to, including a provision placing a five-story limit on buildings, which would have alleviated much of the present-day ugliness -- a lost opportunity still lamented by many. Nevertheless, the city’s welcoming and -- many insist -- exciting ambience is on the whole the product of that vast redevelopment, the greatest highlight of which is perhaps the expansive Aristotelous Square -- compared by Hebrard to Venice’s Piazza San Marco -- which opens onto the seafront with a breadth of 100 meters and the outline of Mt Olympus in the background. Thessaloniki’s surviving architectural heritage includes the impressive Arch and Tomb (Rotunda) of the Roman Emperor Galerius, two separate structures built in close proximity in AD 298-299. The Rotunda perhaps best encapsulates the city’s long history, having undergone numerous periods of use and modification as a polytheist temple, a Christian basilica, a mosque, and again a Christian church (of Aghios Georgios). The Upper Town survived the 1917 fire and, besides the dozens of Byzantine and Ottoman monuments, it hosts the city’s Modern History Museum in the Yedi Kule fortress which used to be an infamous prison. Thessaloniki’s selection as Cultural Capital of Europe for 1997 provided the impetus for a major overhaul of the city’s cultural infrastructure, including a concert hall, new exhibition facilities and cinemas, as well as extensive restoration works. The city hosts an international film festival annually in November and the Dimitria cultural festival between September and December, with more than 100 events including music, theater, painting, sculpture, graphic arts and conferences. From September 10 to 18, the limelight will be on the 76th Thessaloniki International Fair, Greece’s foremost business event which attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world. Greek  Credit traders and government officials maybe panicking about Greece but for the world's biggest hedge funds, the €360bn (£322bn) debt crisis is a unique investment opportunity. Click here to read more Could you do with a laugh? click here to listen to funny Olympic Airways video |
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