Thessaloniki/Greece

Pela	Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum Pela Vergina Dion

Thssaloniki

Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia and second largest city of modern Greece, was first established in 316 B.C. by Kassandoros and named after his wife, "Thessaloniki", sister of the Alexander the Great.

White Tower
The city's symbol and impressive landmark tower was established in 15th century. Once the tower used as a prison, in 1826 there was massacre in this tower, hence it was called as the "Bloody Tower".

After that it was repainted white, it became known as the "White Tower".

Interior of the White Tower

It has been turned into a Byzantine Museum, with frescoes and icons.

Archaeological Museum

Gold casket with lion's feet, gold wreaths and crowns, gold jewelry, various vases, glasses and weapons... The incredible contents of the tomb of Vergina, the complex of royal tombs and the largest one belonged to Philip II, are on display in this Museum for "The Treasure of Vergina".


The gold casket of Philip II	The gold casket of a queen

On the lid is the 16-pointed star, the emblem of the Macedonian dynasty


Glassware	Gold oak leaf crown

Pela

King Archelaos (413-399 BC.) moved the capital of Macedonia from Aigai to Pela.
The dream of King Philip II, a Pan Hellenic expedition against the Persians,
was come true by his son, the Alexander the Great.

From just here, he took his army,
Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and to the bank of Indus river.

Pela

Pela is the birthplace of Alexander the Great

Museum

Across a road, the Museum is at the southern side of the site.

Mosaic

Mosaic "Lion Hunting" : at the Pela Museum

Vergina

In 1977, Professor Andoronikos excavated an unrobed tomb. The splendid treasure of the site's finds led to the conclusion that the tomb belonged to King Philip II and Vergina was the first capital of the kingdom of Macedonia, "Aigai".

Ramp

The ramp is leading you to the interior of the Great Tumulus crypt.

Interior
The last leads visitors into the air-conditioned spacious, hexagonal room, like a space station, with two other hexagonal rooms to the left and two large doors leading to the royal tombs.

View of the interior of the hexagonal entrance hall through the door with emblem.

Dion

Dion is an extensive ruin of the Macedonian's sanctuary of the gods.
Before setting off to the world, Alexander the Great made sacrifice to the gods here.

Old City

The city of Dion : Flagstone street

The city of Dion was well fortified by the wall erected in the 4th century BC.

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