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Vlatadon Monastery
As the last standing Byzantine monastery in Thessaloniki that is still functioning, Vlatadon Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated next to the Byzantine Portara in northern Ano Poli, the monastery is believed to be located at the site where Apostle Paul preached Thessalonians during his second voyage. Out of the original monastery, only a limited number of architectural elements have been preserved to date, including pediments, semi-columns, and curved arches.
There is a stone slab in the southeastern aisle of the church, which is said to be the seat of the saint. The building of the main monastery, the Katholikon of the temple, is a relatively newer construction and possibly stands on the skeleton of an older church. The monastery preserves several historical and religious Byzantine antiques, including scripts, codecs, manuscripts, Turkish firmans, patriarchal sigillum, and imperial golden seals. Some holy relics like the remains of Saint Athanasius the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, unmercenary healers Cosmas and Damian, James the Persian, and Saint Modestus are kept here. The monastery was founded by brothers Dorotheos and Markos Vlatades, disciples of the-then Archbishop of Thessaloniki, Agios Grigorios Palamas, in 1350 A.D during the directorship of Empress Anna Palaeologina. It has since survived all the natural and man-made calamities, including the Great Fire of 1917 and the Second World War.
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War Museum of Thessaloniki
An annexe of its Athenian counterpart, the War Museum of Thessaloniki is a preservation of Greece’s military history through time. It is located in the wider area of the Ares Field Camp, the headquarters of the 3rd Army Corps. The permanent exhibitions include more than ten thousand historical exhibits on display that give insight into the milestone military campaigns of Greece and Macedonia.
Starting from pre-revolution years and ending with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the galleries take one through the Balkan Wars, the Battle of Crete, the Asia Minor Campaign, the Greco-Italian War, Greek participation in the two World Wars, and Nazi Occupation and Greek Resistance during WWII. The museum also has exhibits from countries around the world that have been enemies or allies of Greece over the years. Originally a military stronghold of the Turkish, built in 1902 by Italian architect Vitalliano Posseli, it came under Greek forces after the liberation of 1912 and was opened up as a museum to the public in 2000.
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White Tower of Thessaloniki
Standing on the city’s waterfront boulevard at the point where Nikis Avenue meets Alexander the Great Avenue, the White Tower of Thessaloniki is rich in Macedonian history. The tower served as a communication centre for the Allied Forces during World War I and later accommodated Thessaloniki’s air defence and meteorological departments. Today, the tower houses the Museum of Byzantine Culture, with the country’s social, cultural, and political evolution through history on display.
The monument was reconstructed on top of an old Byzantine structure in 1430 to fortify the city after Ottoman Emperor Sultan Murad II’s invasion. During Ottoman rule, the tower saw a notorious amount of bloodbaths as the Empire used it as a prison and regularly mass-executed prisoners. This got the monument the name ‘Tower of Blood’ till Greece took back the city in 1912 and eventually whitewashed the tower.
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