Eva's garden: 10) Thessaloniki's Jewish and other historical sites

Thessaloniki's memorial to the community of Greek Jews killed in the Holocaust. 96.5% of the population of 49,000 Thessaloniki Jews were murdered. By the end of 1945, only a handful remained.

Also see Jewish Museum, below.

ARISTOTLE holds forth in the square named after him called Aristotelous Square.

The WHITE TOWER, "the monumental symbol of Thessaloniki, was once the southeast tower of the city's fortification walls. It was built in the late 15th century after the Turkish conquest of Thessaloniki, and replaced an earlier Byzantine tower. In the 19th century it served as a prison for those serving life sentences. In 1890, a convict whitewashed it in order to gain his freedom, and it's modern name has stuck with the Tower since then. It hosts the new permanent exhibition on the history of Thessaloniki from its founding down to the present." (www.visitgreece.gr)

A panoramic view of the White Tower keeping watch over the Aegean Sea.

The CITADEL, "part of which is the Trigoniou Tower, was built between the 3rd and 5th centuries. Although the city was attacked many times in the 14 or 15 hundred years which followed, it was only taken four times. The people living outside the Citadel would shelter inside the walls and could sustain a siege lasting several months." (Tony)

CHURCH OF AGIOS DEMITRIOS (patron saint of Thessolonika) Restoration of this 7th century church.

"Burned in the 1917 fire. The only preserved remains are from the church's brilliant sculptural and pictorial (mosaics, frescos) decoration, representing the various stages in its history."

(www.visitgreece.gr)

THE JEWISH MUSEUM OF THESSALONIKI

(4 postcard scenes below)

Very moving and well-curated display of photographs and artifacts concerning the history of the Jewish presence in Thessaloniki since the foundation of the city up to the Second World War. The museum library documents the history, traditions, customs and the language of the Sephardic Jews.