Thessaloniki is not necessarily the travel hotspot in Greece. For those who have often traveled to the south of the country, a trip to the metropolis of northern Greece and its surroundings is still worthwhile.

The number of flight connections from Central Europe to Thessaloniki is significantly lower than to the south, and the travel public is also different: it is mainly members of the Greek community in Austria, students and transit travelers, but few holidaymakers who frequent the flights.

Nevertheless, the city (around 800.000 people live in the greater area) has a lot to offer that Athens doesn't have: The Roman Forum with the underground ancient shopping mall is an absolute hit, as is the domed Rotonda from the 4th century with almost mosaics like in Ravenna and a great archaeological museum, which is not divided according to eras but according to areas of life. And don't forget: Kemal Pasha Ataturk, who founded the Turkish Republic a hundred years ago, was born here. His birthplace is a place of pilgrimage for secular Turks.

If you drive south by car, after just under an hour you come to the western of the three finger-like peninsulas of Chalkidiki, the Kassandra peninsula, named after a daughter of Priam, known as a tragic figure of antiquity whose warnings no one wanted to listen to.

But this is not about the ancient beauty, beaches, or excavations, nor about a lake with turtles or holidaymakers, who come mainly from Thessaloniki, North Macedonia and Albania, but about the noticeably narrow access to the peninsula, which, strictly speaking, is a... island is.

Extremely narrow entrance

Different tectonic uplift processes as a result of plate shifts in the Miocene (from around 25 million years ago) led to partial uplifts. Mountains rose up as islands, mountains folded up, volcanoes changed the landscape, other parts remained almost at sea level.

Today the access to the (peninsula) island is quite flat and, above all, extremely narrow at 1,2 km. This gave people in ancient times the idea of ​​breaking through a canal here and helped the ships, which at that time were mostly traveling near the coast, to significantly shorten the route to Thessaloniki.

The canal may have been built as early as 315 BC. built, is up to 40m wide and approx. 4m deep. Over the course of history, the canal was repeatedly dug and improved and is still in operation today. If you exit the highway at Nea Potidea, you come straight to the shore.

A small town on the canal

In the 5th century B.C. In the XNUMXth century BC, long before the canal was built, Potidea even achieved considerable prosperity: some of the ships from Asia Minor unloaded their goods here, traders offered them at the local market and distributed them throughout Macedonia. Anyone who trades needs a good currency, and Potidea was able to offer that. What more do you need? What was definitely not needed in Potidea was the Macedonian King Philip II, who ruled the town

356 B.C. BC conquered and completely destroyed. The canal was probably built shortly afterwards, but the sources are uncertain. It was only in the 15th century that there are reliable sources that a Byzantine emperor had the waterway to Thessaloniki dug again. During the Ottoman rule, the canal was not mentioned for a long time, but in the 19th and 20th centuries there were historically confirmed renovation measures.

Of course, at over 80 km long, the Panama Canal is much larger than the 1,2 km long mini canal in Greece. But somehow, when you stand on the shore, you naturally think of your big brother in Central America.

But here, on the Isthmus of Kassandra, things are much more tranquil. A few sailing boats and even fewer fishing boats rock in the harbor, the usual taverns, a few beaches... and significantly fewer visitors than in other places in Greece.

By the way, if you fly from Thessaloniki to Athens, you will have a beautiful view of the Isthmus of Kassandra on the left shortly after take-off.

A winter tip: The Photo Biennale will take place at 11 locations in Thessaloniki until February 2024, 19. Topics vary depending on location. In the Photo Museum, for example, there is an interesting discussion by the Spaniard Daniel Mayrit about political fake photography (“One of Yours”). Ioustini Drakoulakou is exhibiting studies on the color turquoise at the Goethe Institute, and the Museum of Modern Art is showing until April 7.4th. “Nudes” by Man Ray.

This post was written by: Mag.Wolfgang Ludwig