MUSEUMS IN GREECE'S SECOND LARGEST CITY

Today was a museum and city tour day in Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city, and in the province of Macedonia.  There is also a country of Macedonia to the north, next to Bulgaria.

The museums did a very a good of taking a visitor from the early civilizations to modern day.  This part of Greece was a natural trade route between Asia Minor (Turkey) and the rest of Europe and has had a lot influential visitors/conquerors.

The area's claim to fame began  around the time of Alexander the Great, a Macedonian who conquered the Persian Empire and pushed as far east as Pakistan or India, and south to Egypt.

The museum is famous for their Macedonian gold collection of this period.  Primitive goldsmith work, but impressive.

Conquered by Rome, the area enjoyed the Pax Romana and was an important trade route in the Empire.  There are still some buildings from this period, although changed along the way to suit whom ever was in charge.

  The Rotunda building for example, was first designed as a mausoleum for a Roman big shot, but as Christianity grew, the building became a church presumably Romanesque, then shifted to a Byzantine church as Rome's influence waned and Constantinople's grew, then when the Ottomans took over, of course it became a mosque.  When the Greeks threw out the Turks, it became a church again, but it is in rough shape.  It is like a lady that has too many face lifts, but lucky to be alive.

As Rome fell, Latin was no longer used and the Byzantine empire became more Greek.  There was also the split in the church, Greek Orthodox int he East and Roman Catholic in the West, although   I am sure it was still the same God.

Around the time Columbus was discovering America, the Ottomans were taking over Greece and trying to push on to Vienna and take over the rest of Europe, or at least as much as they could get.

The picture is of the White Tower, an Ottoman contribution to the city's landscape and no longer white, is remembered for a massacre of Christian young men who were forced to convert to Islam and serve the Sultan.

Sometimes the tour books say that Islam was respectful of other religions and did not try to forcibly convert others, i.e Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in peace,  Yet other times there are massacres if population did convert.  To keep this in its proper historical perspective, there are also plenty of Christian to Muslim atrocities.  In any event the White Tower, previously free, now charges three Euros to go up.  There were few takers.

In the East, and I am not sure why, icons became the big thing.  Roman Catholic churches, perhaps keeping the Roman love of statues kept statues of the saints while the Orthodox church really liked icons.  The museum has an extensive collection.   The one shown is a post byzantine work--after the fall of Constantiple.

While a Madonna and child is a typical portrayal, the breast feeding is not seen as often.

I may be off line for a day or so.  Tomorrow, Friday October 25; I fly to Girona, Spain.  It is north of Barcelona and  near the French border.  My plans are to head to the South of France for a a week or two.  If it gets too expensive, then I will head south back to Spain, probably Valencia.

Snow White night lights are protected  Spiderman on a busy Thessaloniki sidewalk.  Square pants whatever and other character add to the collection, but it is Snow White with her lighted gown that shows off.