The Church of St. Demetrios is the most important church in Thessaloniki and part of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage listing.
After being conquered in 1430, Thessaloniki endured 482 years of Ottoman occupation. Very few of these important structures that shaped the history and landscape of the city during that era, such as the Lefkos Pyrgos (White Tower), survive to this day.
Something that’s not easily noticeable when wandering through Izmir is the number of synagogues in Kemeraltı, especially around Havra Street (Havra Sokak). Much of the Jewish community of Izmir used to live in the area until recently. There were once 40,000 Jews in the city but that number is now down to less than 2,000.
From Konak Square (Konak Meydanı) there is direct access to Izmir’s historic bazaar district of Kemeraltı. A street with the funny name, Anafartlar Street (Anafartlar Caddesi), leads directly into the heart of the area.
A great place to start a day in Izmir is at Konak Square (Konak Meydanı), the busiest square in the city. It’s surrounded by government buildings and is full of street vendors, children feeding (and chasing) pigeons, and lots and lots of pigeons.
A good 25 to 30 minute walk from Konak Square is Karataş, a once heavily Jewish neighborhood of Izmir known to the Greeks as Melantia (Μελάντια).
Tholopotami (Θολοποτάμι) is a nice village located on the side of a mountain in southern Chios, Greece. It’s very special to me because my mom’s family is from this village.
I took a day and did a scenic drive in northern Chios, Greece, that took me through about two dozen small villages. You will notice a completely different landscape and vegetation than in the southern part of the island, and you can see a different natural beauty on this side of the island.
The Monastery of Agia Markella (Αγία Mαρκέλλα) is one of the holiest places in Chios, Greece. The patron saint of the island, St. Markella, was martyred there in the 14th century. It’s located just outside of the town of Volissos.