After taking a bus from Athens to Thessaloniki, we stayed in that city for two nights in order to experience the Greek Orthodox Easter. It was a deeply religious and fantstic expereince for us.
We were glad that we were able to experience it first hand in Greece!
We checked out of our hotel on the morning of the Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday in Thessaloniki with the intention of attending an English Sunday Service during this important time in the church calendar. After googling the information and finding the address of an English service, we called a taxi taking us there. The address was a downtown location but when we arrived there, we saw an office building instead of a church. Without the exact unit number and no information on the directory where the Egnlish congregation was, we tried but failed to find the location of where the English service would be held. We were disappointed that we were unable to attend a Sunday Service in Thessaloniki during the Greek Easter.
However, this gave us some extra time to wander around in the city`s waterfront and downtown area. Thessaloniki is indeed a beautiful city with a population of about 816,000 in its metropolitian area ( 2026); it is Greece`s second most important economic and commercial centre, and has the largest port in northern Greece.
Thessaloniki is a key Southeastern European hub for trade, energy and tourism. The port serves as a strategic gateway to the Balkans, the Black Sea and Central Europe.
We have learned Some interesting facts about Thessaloniki:
1. It is considered Greece`s cultural capital, famous for the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the International Trade Fair.
2. It is often referred to as Greece`s co-capital, reflecting its historical status alongisde Constantinople.
3. It is a city of students. Thessaloniki hosts two major universitites, including the renowned Aristotle University, making it one of the largest student populations in Greece.
4. It was the first Greek city to be named a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
5. The Apostle Paul visited this city and later wrote two of his epistles to the early Christian community there in the 1st century AD.
We had a blast at this great city and would love to come back and visit again!
RT, Thessaloniki, Greece
042026
We were glad that we were able to experience it first hand in Greece!
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