Thessaloniki markets

Near the end of Aristotelous Square on either side, are the two main markets of the city. They are amazing. We visited a few times. On the right

is the first market

which is dominated by tavernas. We ate at this one (it takes up both sides of the street) once for lunch and then during our last evening - a big regret that we had not discovered this much earlier, as we had such a great time.

The tavernas here are very popular at lunchtime and in the evenings

but look inviting even during the day,

 even when it's in the morning when there's hardly any customers

Fruit and veg are obviously sold here

but what dominates are shops that sell spices and herbs

I spent quite a bit of time here looking at all the herbs some of them known for their medicinal properties

What is Bee Herb? Official name Melissa Officinalis

Aaah! So this is what echinachea looks like

And this is Calendula. I used to take that a lot when I did homeopathy

Just amazing stuff.

Lots of posters for political events all around

We came upon this lovely square, had a walk around, and then re-joined the market

Chairs, wooden spoons, tables

baskets

Pickles, olives, etc

Another taverna

Natural cosmetics. I have seen more natural cosmetics shops in Thessaloniki than anywhere else in the world - they are everywhere

 

We eventually ended up in Aristotelous Square again, walked across 

and entered the second  market

fish 

meat

biscuits, cakes, halva

Greek sweets like kourabiedes

more halva, chocolates

booze

This place was amazing, and such good value. I bought a kilo of melomakarouna (pictured at front) for 5.80 euros a kilo. In our local bakery they sell for 20 euros a kilo. And they were delicious

cheese

more homemade cakes and biscuits

olive oil and beans

clothes and bags

Aaaahhh!!! Such cute suits for little boys

How about that? Face cream made out of donkey milk

A meze bar

So much to see and enjoy!

Another market in the centre is the Modiano market. This is the posh market. Unfortunately, it was closed when we visited - apparently there's been a change of management and it's going to be a few months before it opens again.

Pier A - Thessaloniki

We spent quite a bit of time on Pier A, which was across from our hotel. We used to come here most evenings for our pre-dinner drinks. We also spent a whole morning here, exploring, and this is what this post is about. 

This is the pier as seen from the promenade of the waterfront.

The Naval Museum's Cafe was always busy. We managed to get a front seat on our first evening and really liked it here - wonderful views of the bay and the whole city along the waterfront

It's a long pier and very wide

A nursery

a lot of waterhouses, most of them converted

MOMus Museum of Photography

The Kitchen Bar, which became our favourite for the early evenings - we loved it here, the views were breathtaking and the vibes were good

The warship Velos

I tried, but could not get all of it in one photograph

We turned right, heading for the museums, all housed in converted warehouses

This is one of the four MOMus museums, there were two exhibitions here, 

We saw both and really enjoyed them.

Then, the MOMus Museum of Photography

with a Frieda Kahlo exhibition.

I was disappointed by this exhibition. I thought that it would be about photographs Kahlo had taken, (which would have been news for me, so very exciting), but instead it was about photographs she accumulated in her lifetime. Kahlo intervened in the photos, painting them, leaving imprints of kisses on them, cutting them up and writing her thoughts on them.

I had seen most of these photos before and all the facts about her life were not news to me, as I went through a phase (before she became so very famous) of obssessively reading about her, and looking and learning about her paintings, so there was nothing new there for me.

We were not allowed to take photos of the exhibition.

On leaving we admired this gorgeous Art Deco building

and then decided to visit the warship.

The proper name of the waship is The Museum of  the Struggle against Dictatorship. It is one of 25 ships whose commanders and officers decided to try and overthrow the military dictatorship that was imposed on Greece by the army in 1967. They were against the loss of democracy, the loss of freedom, the imprisonment, exile, abuse and torture of Greek people who were against the regime. 

A counter coup was organised for the 22nd of May 1973, but unfortunately, they were betrayed and most of those involved were arrested, imprisoned and tortured. The Velos Commanding Officer who was participating in a NATO exercise at the time,  withdrew from the exercise and with the agreement of his crew sailed to Italy to continue the anti-dictaroship struggle.

We walked around the ship

This is a 12-bumb starter

Looked at the views - this one is of the harbour

and this one is of the city stretching along the coastline

and of the pier

Had a look inside

Had a look at the Boatman, which dominates the pier. It's used to haul materials from another ship or shipwreck rescue.

You can see its tracks all over the pier.

After our visit to Velos, we went for some lunch and chose the Kitchen Bar which is right next to the warship. The sun was very strong and there was no cover outside, so we sat inside.