november-2011

FEATURES | THESSALONIKI
THESSALONIKI BASICS
THE CITY BY NUMBERS HAVE A WORD (OR TWO)
790,824
THE CITY’S POPULATION
111.7km 2
THE SURFACE AREA
OF THE CITY
11
THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE
IN CELSIUS IN NOVEMBER
250m
HIGHEST POINT OF THE CITY
ABOVE SEA LEVEL
16,000,000
ANNUAL CAPACITY OF THE
PORT IN TONNES
27m
HEIGHT OF THE ICONIC
WHITE TOWER
7
PERCENTAGE OF GREEK
CITIZENS WHO LIVE IN
THESSALONIKI
60 | TRAVELLER
THE THESSALONIKI TIMELINE
315BC
The city is founded
by King Cassander
of Macedon and
named after his
wife, Thessalonike,
Alexander the Great’s
half-sister
168BC
Thessaloniki becomes
capital of the new
Roman province of
Macedonia, following
the fall of the Kingdom
of Macedon, and is
known as Salonica
Despite increasing immigration, Thessaloniki is still a fairly homogeneously
Greek-speaking city. Although English is widely spoken, a few words uttered in the
local language are always appreciated.
HELLO AND GOODBYE (LITERALLY “YOUR HEALTH”)
YIASOU (“YA-SOO”)
PLEASE
PARAKALO (“PA-RAH-KA-LO”)
THANK YOU
EFHARISTO (“EF-HA-RIS-TO”)
GOOD MORNING
KALIMERA (“KA-LEE-MEH-RA”)
HAVE A GOOD MEAL
KALI OREXI (“KA-LEE OR-EX-EE”)
HOW’S IT GOING? (LITERALLY “WHAT’S HAPPENING?”)
TI YINETAI (“TI-YIN-EH-TEH”)
WHERE IS …?
POU EINAI (“POO EEN-EH”)
56AD
On his second visit to
the city, St Paul founds
a church to whose
early members he
subsequently writes
his two Epistles to the
Thessalonians
298
Roman Emperor
Galerius commissions
a triumphal arch
to commemorate
his victory over the
Persians. It still stands
on the Via Egnatia
1204
During the Fourth
Crusade, the city briefl y
becomes the capital
of the Latin Empire
of Salonica, before
being restored to the
Byzantine Empire