Another day we took a ‘Byzantine’ slice through the city, checking out its Byzantine Walls and the Byzantine Museum. This was a fantatstic day.
The wall painting ensembles, mosaics and frescoes of Thessaloniki’s Byzantine churches and monasteries are among the great masterpieces of Early Christian art, recognised as World Heritage Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments. This heritage stems from its strategic location, and its role as capital of the eastern Roman empire under Galerius. Thessaloniki morphed into being the ‘second city’ of the eastern empire (behind Constantinople) when east and west were permanently split by the Emperor Theodosius in 395 AD. Under Theodosius the city’s Byzantine Walls were commenced and the Roman Rotunda of Galerius was converted to a Christian Church and decorated with high quality mosaics.
We spent a day zigzagging between the ancient churches and monasteries, gradually climbing up to the old walls that sit high above the modern city.
On the way up we visited Agia Sofia (750 AD), Church of the Acheiropoietos (470), Agios Dimitrios (634), Latomou Monastery (Osios David, 490), and Vlatadon Monastery (14th C).
After a well-earned and delightful lunch behind the Byzantine Walls, we visited Agios Nikolaos Orfanes (14th C) on the way down to the Byzantine Museum.
