We discover the neighborhoods of Macedonia and Thrace, from Kastoria to Alexandroupolis, with the narrow cobbled streets, the two or three-storey houses with traditional architecture from the 17th – 18th century AD. The Old Town of Xanthi, Kavala, the traditional district of Kyriotissa in Veroia, the Upper Town of Thessaloniki and Doltchos in Kastoria. We gaze at the Thracian Sea, under the imposing Lighthouse of Alexandroupolis, one of the largest in Greece. We look for small green oases in our city, such as the idyllic park of Agia Varvara in Drama, with springs, ponds and waterfalls, where in other years, the Christmas park “Oniroupolis” used to beautify the holidays. The Park of the Waterfalls of Edessa, unfolds in a lush green landscape, with a wonderful view, the waters of the waterfalls falling with a rush, the tall plane trees and all kinds of flowers decorating the flowerbeds. The picturesque suburb of Agios Ioannis Serres with its abundant waters, century-old plane trees and the natural harmony that soothes the mind.
We return to the sounds of the rich Macedonian music, such as rebetiko, art nouveau or folk music and dance to the merry and fast rhythms of the Thracian tradition.
Scent of saffron with divine origins spread from Kozani to the whole of Northern Greece to flavour our cooking, our tea or our tsipouro with their beneficial properties. The smell of mahlepi, a basic ingredient of brioche, which in Thessaloniki is the main ingredient. The fragrance of the relaxing lavender from the fields of Evros that “travels” throughout Europe.
Fill your table with all the goodies of the Macedonian and Thracian land. With legumes from Kastoria, mushrooms from Grevena, Kapamas from Komotini, couscous, salted pork and all kinds of local meats, vegetables and spices you can prepare dishes inspired by the local tradition.
Wrap spaghetti noodles, which symbolized the sparrows of Christ and prepare the Thracian bamboo – pork with various vegetables and spices for Christmas. Accompany with Macedonian pies, sweets with honey and wine.
As winter “covers” with its white blanket Mount Olympus, the home of the Gods for many centuries, Mount Vora (Kaimaktsalan), the Three Five Wells and Seli with its popular ski resorts, we are looking for “heavy” routes in nature, which we can follow alone or in pairs. We explore the cobbled path from the Waterfall Park of Edessa, which, through bakses and fruit trees, leads to Ancient Edessa. We renew the oxygen in our body by following the dirt road that leads to Lake Skra or Blue Lake, “hidden” in a fairy landscape “drowned” in greenery. Small waterfalls lead to an emerald lake, which owes the colour of its waters to paleolithic organisms that “sleep” on its bottom. We climb the hill of Kilkis with the theatre and the Holy Monastery of St. George to admire the view of the entire city.
INFO Music was born in Thrace and in Macedonia it found fertile ground to flourish. From the Dithyrambs of antiquity, to Byzantine hymns, rebetiko and modern sounds, Macedonia has the richest musical tradition in Greece. Enriched with the sounds and dances brought with them by the Pontians, the Asia Minor and the Sarakatsanaeans, but also “grafted” with sounds of other peoples who passed through the Crossroads, it retains its uniqueness intact. In Thrace, according to Homer, the cult of the Muses began in Thrace and through the Thracians music spread throughout the rest of Greece. It is no coincidence that the mythical musician Orpheus was born in this place. Today the Thracian musical tradition retains its Byzantine origins and musical instruments.
