Gallery39--of Greece--July 2007

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Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country.

The approximate area of Thrace is 8,578 km² with a population of 368,993 (2006 est.)

More than two-thirds of the population are Orthodox Christian Greeks, while the remainder (approx. 120,000) are Muslims who are an officially recognised minority of Greece.

The Roma of Thrace are also mainly Muslim, unlike their ethnic kin in other parts of the country who generally profess the Orthodox faith of the Greek majority.

The Muslim minority of Thrace has been a source of diplomatic tension between Greece and Turkey

Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia. Its honorific title is Συμπρωτεύουσα (Symprotévousa), literally "co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα (Symvasilévousa) or "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire, alongside Constantinople.

The Zealots (Greek: Ζηλωταί) were an anti-aristocratic political group with social demands that dominated political developments in Thessalonica from 1342 until 1350

The contemporary sources, notably anti-Zealot in sympathies, provide little information on the Zealots' government of Thessalonica. The Zealots managed to establish effective civic self-government for eight years

They confiscated the property of the aristocracy, and redistributed their wealth.

At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Byzantine Empire went into dramatic decline. There was a major civil war in the 1320s, accompanied with invasions from almost all sides. As the Empire became weaker and more impoverished, the misery of the great masses in the countryside and in the cities became almost unbearable

Both in the country and in the towns all wealth was concentrated in the hands of a small aristocratic class, and against them was directed the bitterness of the destitute masses.

while the aristocratic land-holders of Macedonia and Thrace, and the propertied classes in general supported Kantakouzenos, the lower and middle classes, both in the countryside and the cities, supported the Regency of zealots

In addition, contemporary Byzantine society was also divided on religious issues, between the mysticist Hesychasts or Palamites and the intellectuals or Barlaamites, who preferred to pursue the study of philosophy and cherished the inheritance of Ancient Greece.

Although the Zealots, throughout their existence, continued to recognize the legitimate Emperor John V Palaiologos, the city was effectively run as a commune and a people's republic. Under the new regime, the possessions of the aristocracy were confiscated.

The Zealots, who were regarded in conservative ecclesiastical circles as disciples of Barlaam of Calabria and Gregory Acindynus, were also violently opposed to the Hesychasts, who supported Kantakouzenos. The political Zealots were therefore enemies of the church Zealots.

"... They roused up the people against the aristocracy, and for two or three days, Thessalonica was like a city under enemy occupation and suffered all the corresponding disasters. The victors went shouting and looting through the streets by day and by night, while the vanquished hid in churches and counted themselves lucky to be still alive.

..when order returned, the Zealots, suddenly raised from penury and dishonour to wealth and influence, took control of everything and won over the middle class of citizens, forcing them to acquiesce and characterizing every form of moderation and prudence as "Kantakouzenism"." John Kantakouzenos, History

"...one after another the prisoners were hurled from the walls of the citadel and hacked to pieces by the mob of the Zealots assembled below. Then followed a hunt for all the members of the upper classes: they were driven through the streets like slaves, with ropes round their necks-here a servant dragged his master, there a slave his purchaser, while the peasant struck the strategos and the labourer beat the soldier [the land-holding pronoiars]." Demetrius Cydones describing the anti-aristocratic killings of 1345

At the end of 1349, the Zealots were defeated, and Andreas Palaiologos fled to Mount Athos. Negotiations followed, and in 1350, Kantakouzenos, accompanied by Emperor John Palaiologos and Palamas, made a triumphal entry into the cit

Barlaam of Calabria was a southern Italian scholar (Aristotelian scholastic) and clergyman of the 14th century. Humanist, philologist, and theologian. He brought an accusation of heresy against Gregory Palamas for the latter's defence of Hesychasm

Architecture in Thessaloniki is the direct result of the city's position at the centre of all historical developments in the Balkans. Aside from its commercial importance, Thessaloniki was also for many centuries, the military and administrative hub of the region, and beyond this the transportation link between Europe and the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine).

Merchants, traders and refugees from all over Europe settled in the city. The early Byzantine walls were moved to allow extensions to the east and west along the coast. The need for commercial and public buildings in this new era of prosperity led to the construction of large edifices in the city centre. During this time, the city saw the building of banks, large hotels, theatres, warehouses, and factories.

The city layout changed after 1870, when the seaside fortifications gave way to extensive piers, and many of the oldest walls of the city were demolished including those surrounding the White Tower.

Thessaloniki was rebuilt after the war with large-scale development of new infrastructure and industry throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s

During the 1890s, the fortress was converted into a prison of genti koule, which remained open until 1989. References to the infamous Yedi Kule prison abound in the Greek rebetika songs.

Although nowadays treated as a single genre, rebetiko is, musically speaking, a synthesis of elements of European music, the music of the various areas of the Greek mainland and the Greek islands, Greek ecclesiastical chant, often referred to as Byzantine music, and the modal traditions of Ottoman art music and café music..

The principal reliable testimony regarding the fortress is the inscription placed over its gate, which indicates that it was rebuilt by Çavuş Bey, the city's first Ottoman governor, in 1431, immediately after the Ottoman conquest of the city: “ This acropolis was conquered and captured by force, from the hands of the infidels and the Franks, with the aid of God, by the Sultan Murad, son of Sultan Mehmed, whom God never ceases to give the banner of victory. And about a month later, this tower was rebuilt and founded by Çavuş Bey, king of the emirs and the Great, in the month of Ramadan, the year 834 (1431 AD).

Forgoten places in the heart of saloniki

In general, men and women dress respectfully, typically wearing their "Sunday best" to enter the church. Often, women cover their heads as prescribed by Paul (1 Cor. 11:13).

Architectural remains from the Ottoman period can be found mainly in the Ano Poli (Upper Town) which has the only traditional wooden houses and fountains to survive the city's fire,,, we can read in arabic calligrafy-everything start from the water

Thessaloníki, called Selânik in Turkish, became one of the most important cities in the Empire, viable as the foremost trade and commercial center in the Balkans. The railway reached the city in 1888 and new modern port facilities were built in 1896-1904

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The dervish lodge (tekke) of the Mevlevi order, better known as the whirling dervishes in upper down.

Dervishes of the Mevlevi sect simply dance a sema by turning continuously to music that consists of long, complex compositions called ayin. These pieces are both preceded and followed by songs using lyrics by the founder and poet Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi

Rumi (1207 – 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rūmī is a descriptive name meaning "the Roman" since he lived most of his life in an area called Rūm because it was once ruled by the Byzantine Empire

The main square of saloniki the plateia aristotelous in the heart of the polis

The city is famous for its food and its night life all over Greece. The food is heavily influenced by the culinary traditions of Asia Minor and Thessaloniki, since many of the refugees of the war of 1922, that ended the three thousand year-old Greek presence in Asia Minor ended up and settled here.

The popularity often of the rebetika songs attributed to the influence of asia minor reffuges but in fact rebetika it had been very popular in greece before smurna refugges brougth a far more emotionalhighly ornamented style with them and turne piraeus intoo the recording centre of the gerne

In salonica one of the finesst of all interwar rebetika singers Roza Eskenazy ,had been active since before the first war when she make an spectacular appearance at the age of 12 -unknown to her parents -in the grand hotel,,

By the time Roza left for athens other -like tsitsanis nad vamvakaris-were heading north to the welcoming tavernas of the citys refugge quarters

In 1915 the arrival of the army of the orient had turned the backstreets of bara(vardaris) itoo the largest red-ligth district in the balkans. it was drab ,dirty,the woman nearly of 30 years old ,and sitting on the steps of their shops with no drawers on,legs wide open showing eurithing that they had recalled a young english soldier

Never far from the girls as they sat outside their huts waiting for customers were the pimps,card shaps,hasish-dealers nargile-smoking dervishes and horse traders

The old nigth ottoman-era caffe of Malic-bey,who owned several bara brothels,survived until 1930 with its old fashined mirrors its nargiles and torn leather chairs....

...the flashily-dressed alkis petas,the king of bara(vardaris),and leader of costantinople gans in their perronial feoud with rivals from smurna and crete,had 2 pictures in his more modest establisment one of the "beautifuul constantinople"-where he had grown up,and the other icon of Venizelos flanked by 2 angels accompanied by the legend "savior of the race"

Driving in east makedonia

The village of Lekani near the river Nestos

Panorama of Salonika

While Murad(the turkish conqeur of the city) was asleep in his palace at Yenitsa, the story has it that, God appeared to him in a dream and gave him a lovely rose to smell, full of perfume. The sultan was so amazed by its beauty that he begged God to give it to him. God replied, "This rose, Murad, is Thessalonica. Know that it is to you granted by heaven to enjoy it. Do not waste time; go and take it". Complying with this exhortation from God, Murad marched against Thessalonica and, as it has been written, captured it.

Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC)

The Theotokos was chosen by God and freely co-operated in that choice to be the Mother of Jesus Christ, the God-man. The Orthodox believe that the Christ Child from the moment of conception was both fully God and fully Man. She is thus called 'Theotokos' as an affirmation of the divinity of the One to whom she gave birth.

The term 'icon' comes from the Greek word eikona, which simply means image. The Orthodox believe that the first icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary were painted by Luke the Evangelist.

Free-standing statues (three dimensional depictions) are almost non-existent within the Orthodox Church. This is partly due to the rejection of the previous pagan Greek age of idol worship and partly because icons are meant to show the spiritual nature of man, not the sensual earthly body.

Because of the holiness of the lives of the saints, their bodies and physical items connected with them are regarded by the Church as also holy. Many miracles have been reported throughout history connected with the saint's relics, often including healing from disease and injury.

The city is a railway hub for the Balkans, with direct connections to Sofia, Skopje, Belgrade, Moscow, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest and Istanbul, alongside Athens and other destinations in Greece.

Slavic-speakers are concentrated in the Florina, Kastoria, Edessa, Giannitsa, Ptolemaida and Naousa regions. Their dialects are linguistically classified variously either as slavic or Bulgarian, depending on the region and on political orientation.

Aromanians form a minority population through out much of Macedonia. They largely identify as Greeks and most belong to the Greek Orthodox Church. In the 1951 census they numbered 39,855 in all Greece (the number in Macedonia proper is unknown). Many Aromanians villages can be found along the slopes of the Vermion Mountains and Mount Olympus. Smaller numbers can be found in the Prespes region and near the Gramos mountains.

Megleno-Romanians can be found in the Moglena region of Macedonia. The Megleno-Romanian language is traditionally spoken in the 11 Vlach villages, Archangelos, Notia, Karpi, Koupa, Langadia, Perikleia, Skra and Kastaneri (the other three are found in the Republic of Macedonia). They are generally adherents to the Orthodox Church while the former majority in Notia was Muslim.

Arvanites communities can be found in Greek Macedonia. 5 Arvanite communities exist in Serres prefecture while many can be found in the capital, Thessaloniki. There are three Arvanites villages in the Florina prefecture (Drosopigi, Lechovo and Flambouro) with others located in Kilkis and Thessaloniki region

The Vardar or Axios (slavic: About this sound Вардар (help·info); Greek: Αξιός Axiós or Βαρδάρης Vardárīs) is the longest and major river in the Republic of scopia and also a major river of Greece. It is 388 km

Macedonians (Greek: Μακεδόνες, Makedónes) is the term by which ethnic Greeks originating from the region are known

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