Thessaloniki - Aristotelous square

Thessaloniki is Greece's second largest city. It is located in the Thermaic Gulf. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life. Events such as the Thessaloniki International Fair and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival are held annually. 

A potted history: the city was founded around 315 BC; from the first years of the Byzantine empire Thessaloniki was considered the second city in the empire after Constantinople; like all of Greece the city was occupied by the Turks for 400 years; soon after the turn of the 15th to 16th century, nearly 2,000 Sephardic Jews immigrated to Greece from the Iberian Peninsula following their expulsion from Spain; by 1500 AD the number of Christians had grown to 7,988, the Muslins to 8,757 and the Jews to 3,770; following the war of liberation Thessaloniki became Greek again in 1913. This rich history and multiculturalism are reflected throughout the city today, not least in its architecture.

In 1917, a devastating fire swept through the city and burned uncontrollably for 32 hours. It destroyed the city's historic centre and a large part of its architectural heritage, but paved the way for modern development featuring wider diagonal avenues and monumental squares. One of those squares, and the largest one, is Aristotelous Square.

Our hotel was situated on the waterfront, across from the harbour and it was a 3 minute walk to get to Aristotelous square. We knew when we had arrived by the red columns on the ground floor of the majestic buildings.

First proper view of the square as we were waiting for the lights to change.

At night.

The square was designed by Ernest Hebrard who envisioned a monumental axis for Thessaloniki that stretched from the square on the seafront all the way up to Dikastirion Square and the Roman Forum. On clear days one even see the city's Roman walls and Upper Town.

The architect used elements from Byzantine and Western architecture, rather than Ottoman architecture, to stress the city's connection with the Byzantine Empire.

The building on the left is Electra Palace, a hotel.

The buildings'  facades are most imposing.

The square is almost synonymous with the city itself. It plays an important role in the socio-political life of the city: numerous rallies and political speeches have been organised here and the square is used for many cultural events, such as festivals and Christmas and carnival celebrations. 

It is furthermore, full of cafes, bars and restaurants.

I love the buildings, and the detail: the red painted squares under the balconies, for instance

or these balconies

The square is cut diagonally by large avenues, and this is one of them with a solar clock in the middle

but it continues north

Woman on a Bus by Aristea Kritsotaki at the end of the square

and then we reach the largest of the avenues, Egnatia Avenue

with Dikastirion Square across at the other end. The statue of Eleutherios Venizelos dominates

On our right is Bey Hamam, constructed in 1436 - there may have been a complex of imperial baths during the Roman era in this location. Unfortunately we could not go inside as preservation work was being carried out.





Next to the baths are the ruins of a monumental marble fountain. The fountain was built with material from older Roman buildings during the transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era.

We continued on our way

This is a lovely park. When we reached the end, we came upon 

the Roman Agora.

It's a large two-terraced forum featuring two-storey stoas, dug up by accident in the 1960s. The forum complex also boasts two Roman baths, one of which has been excavated while the other is buried underneath the city, and a small theater which was also used for gladiatorial games.