Greece Day 1 - Thessaloniki

After a gruelling 30 hours travelling, we have arrived in Thessaloniki (the proper Greek name for Thessalonica). We are tired, grimy and out of sorts. I guess St Paul would have felt like this when he landed here as well! Although he didn't get to stop over in Singapore, Dubai and Athens on the way here.

Thessaloniki is a beach-side town with a large port, and used to be one of the largest cities of the Byzantine Empire, second only to Constantinople. We visited the famous "white tower" ironically named because of all the blood shed by executions within it. We also walked along a small remaining part of the main road which connected the East and the West (Via Egnatia).

Sophia, our knowledgeable guide, explained the whole Greek/Macedonia issue to us while we were there. It seems to me to be mostly a "branding" issue, in that the country called "Macedonia" is only a part of the larger area also called "Macedonia" and that used to be part of the Greek Empire. The Macedonians also use the symbols of Alexander the Great and the White Tower, which is undisputedly in Greek territory. So the Greeks say that "Macedonia" (the word and symbols) belong to them, but confusing the issue is that some less-informed modern Greeks think that this means they have a territorial claim on the country calling itself "Macedonia" but which used to be Yugoslavia.

Confusing! Whatever the reasons, the whole issue runs very hot and we tried not to talk about it apart from among ourselves.

While we were here we caught up with Helen and Maria Lelidis, who moved to Greece from Australia about eight years ago. Funny to think that their parents moved to Australia to give their children a better life, and now Maria and Helen have moved back to Greece for the same reason! Of course, things have changed a lot in Greece since then, and now that Greece is part of the European Union and very modern it is a much better place to live and work than during the war against the Ottoman Occupation, or the Second World War. Come to think of it, Greece has basically been either occupied or at war for the last few centuries! Makes me realize all over again how fortunate I am to have never experienced war first-hand, and to live in a country as lucky as Australia.