Thessaloniki Macedonia Airport is located south of the city center at a distance of 18 kilometers. This is a three-story building, on the first floor there is an arrivals hall, on the second – a departures hall, and on the third – various bars, cafes and restaurants with panoramic views of the runway.
If you did not have time to withdraw cash before departure, you can find ATMs on the second floor of the terminal building. Cash will be useful for paying for bus tickets.
The only public transport to the city center from the airport is buses. Alternatives are taking a taxi or renting a car. However, most tourists do not need the center of Thessaloniki, but the resorts of Halkidiki. But in any case, you can only get there through Thessaloniki. Let's talk about everything in order.
To make it easier for you to navigate the area, we recommend using this map:
All buses in Thessaloniki are new and comfortable. But their main disadvantage is that they are constantly crowded, since this is the only type of transport from the airport to the city. Therefore, when entering the salon, immediately hurry to find a comfortable seat, otherwise you will have to stand for the entire trip. On the plus side, the buses have and, as a rule, operate air conditioning.
The bus goes to the KTEL transport hub. From the airport there are buses No. 78, 78N and 78A.
- No. 78. It runs twice an hour, during the day: from 05:00 to 22:00 to the KTEL station and back.
- Bus 78N runs from 23:30 to 05:30 (the letter N in the index means that this route operates) in the evening and at night. Departures every 30 minutes. Towards the airport, the first flight from the city departs at 22:30, the last – 04:30
- Bus 78A leaves only once a day, at 5 a.m. to the KTEL station.
Travel time is 30-40 minutes. There is a ticket vending machine inside the bus. Payment - only without change. One trip costs 2 euros. Children under six years old do not need to pay for travel, and for students or pensioners the trip will cost half of its regular cost - 1 euro. The ticket must be punched in a yellow composter, which is also installed in the cabin.
These buses can take you to the center. You can get off at the terminus (KTEL bus station) or at the stop at Aristotle Square.
Buses to resorts in Halkidiki
It is not possible to get to the resorts in Halkidiki by one bus. You will have to get to the KTEL bus station using one of the above methods and then transfer to another route at the bus station.
Those who want to get to other resorts in Greece through Thessaloniki Airport will also need to make transfers.
Many long-distance buses depart 2-3 times a day. Therefore, you should check the schedule on the website when planning your vacation.
The further route will depend on which resort you are heading to:
- Cassandra;
- Sithonia;
- Athos.
It is more or less convenient to take the bus only to the first one. The trip will take about two hours, but if you don't have much luggage and want to save money, this may be a suitable option.
Note! Intercity buses in Greece often depart with an average delay of 1 hour.
If you are going to get to Sithonia, Athos, or you have a large amount of luggage or are traveling with children, we strongly recommend that you consider ordering a taxi. In terms of money, it won’t be much more expensive, but you will noticeably gain in comfort and speed.
Taxi from Thessaloniki airport
You can find taxi cars on the street near the airport. Their parking lot is there. Getting to the center will take 30-45 minutes, even taking into account traffic jams, which are rare for Thessaloniki.
If you place a taxi order in advance, via the Internet, then upon arriving at the airport, the driver with a sign will meet the clients in the arrival hall.
When ordering a taxi on the website, you can make a reservation at a discount.
The cost of the trip is indicated in rubles - it is fixed and does not change under any circumstances (even if from the moment you ordered the car to the day of the actual trip there were currency fluctuations and the ruble exchange rate dropped - all expenses fall on the company, not on you).
Car rent
The advantage of a rented car is the opportunity to see many interesting places and provide yourself with maximum comfort. For convenience, the car must be booked in advance, before arrival. Immediately after passing through passport control, you can pick it up at Thessaloniki airport.
To find and rent a suitable vehicle, on our website you can compare prices from local car rental offices:
It’s convenient that at the end of your trip, you can return the car on the day of departure in the same place where you picked it up - at Thessaloniki airport. Use our tips when traveling to Greece and make your vacation more comfortable.
Thessaloniki Macedonia Airport (SKG) is located just 20 km from the city center. Many low-cost airlines fly to Thessaloniki Airport all year round, and in the summer the number of both regular and charter flights especially increases. Airlines such as Ryanair, Ellinair, Aeroflot, Aegean Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Belavia and many others regularly fly to Macedonia Airport, while ticket prices remain reasonable. Therefore, if you are planning to fly to Thessaloniki, you will have no problem booking cheap flights, regardless of the time of year. A pleasant surprise will be the fact that in winter, prices for air travel to Thessaloniki with leading regular airlines are noticeably reduced.
Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece, and Macedonia Airport is the second largest airport in the country. It is the center of Northern Greece and the Balkans. Many popular resorts such as Halkidiki, Pelion, Meteora, the city of Kavala and the island of Thassos, Corfu, Lefkada and Skiathos are located near Thessaloniki airport. To get there, it is easiest to fly into Thessaloniki Macedonia Airport than into Athens, and then quickly travel by highway to any of these famous resorts. 
Halkidiki is the closest picturesque seaside resort to Thessaloniki, with outstanding beaches and high standard hotels. You can reach the crystal clear emerald waters of the Toronean Gulf, well-organized beaches and cozy hotels in just an hour's drive from the airport or city center. Once you arrive at Thessaloniki Airport, you will have several options to choose from to get to your final destination. It depends on your time, your budget and of course how you prefer to travel.
How to get from Thessaloniki Airport to Chalkidiki by public transport
The intercity bus station (KTEL Halkidikis) is located quite far from the airport and, unfortunately, is not connected to the airport by public transport at all. To get to KTEL Halkidikis and take a bus to the resorts of the Halkidiki peninsula, you need to make at least 2 or 3 transfers on the city's public transport or take a taxi to the bus station. Municipal bus line No. 78 connects Thessaloniki Airport with the city center. From there you can change to bus lines No. 36 or No. 45, the final station of which is the KTEL Halkidikis bus station. A ticket for one trip costs 1 euro. A ticket for one trip on bus number 78 (Thessaloniki airport - city center) costs 2 euros. Prices for bus tickets to the resorts of the Halkidiki peninsula depend on the final destination and start from 3.90 €, reaching 21 € per person per trip one way.
Another alternative to get to Halkidiki from Thessaloniki Airport is to take a taxi outside the airport's arrival hall. Although traveling by taxi is always more convenient and faster, taxi fares may seem surprisingly higher than expected, especially for newly arrived tourists.
How to get from Thessaloniki Airport to Chalkidiki – Private Transfer
For a comfortable, affordable and reliable trip to Halkidiki or any other resort in Greece, this is the optimal solution in terms of price and quality, speed and comfort. It is worth noting that an individual transfer is always cheaper than a taxi at the airport. By ordering your transfer in advance on the company's website, you can take advantage of reliable services, fixed prices and no hidden fees, as well as the ability to constantly adjust the order and transfer route to suit your needs. In addition, the driver will meet you with a sign with your name, waiting in advance in the arrivals hall, and if your flight is delayed, there will be no additional charge for waiting! from the airport start from 25 € for a trip to the city center and from 50 € for a transfer to the nearest resorts of the Halkidiki peninsula. When you book a car with a Russian-speaking, well-mannered and polite driver, you receive high-class service and comfort at the most friendly and competitive prices.
Compare all the options for traveling to your holiday destination and make the right choice!
Thessaloniki International Airport (IATA code - SKG) is the main airport in northern Greece. The airport is located 13 km from the city of Thessaloniki, near the Kalamaria district. Since 1993, it bears the name of the historical region - “Macedonia” (previously called “Mikra”). The airport serves Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, the popular tourist peninsula of Halkidiki, as well as the resort towns of the Pieria region on the coast of the large Thermaikos Gulf.
Today, Macedonia Airport connects Thessaloniki and the whole of Northern Greece with direct connections to Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Italy. Aeroflot and Aegean operate direct flights from Moscow to Thessaloniki, and during the high tourist season they are supplemented by charter flights of other companies from many Russian cities. From Macedonia Airport you can fly to many regions of Greece: Crete, Santorini, Athens, Chios, Corfu, Kalamata, Kos, Zakynthos, Samosai, etc.
Macedonia airport terminals
Macedonia Airport consists of one large passenger terminal and one cargo terminal. The passenger terminal is a large three-story complex with a capacity of about 4 million passengers per year.
The first floor is the arrival area (Schengen and international part). On the ground floor of the airport building there are several points for packing luggage and the national Greek Tourism Office, where you can get information necessary for travelers - next to the international arrivals area.
The second floor is the departure area, which includes 34 check-in counters, retail outlets, bars and kiosks.
On the third floor there are restaurants and several bars overlooking the runway. In addition to the DutyFree shop, Thessaloniki Airport has several shops where you can buy traditional Greek products, as well as souvenirs to remember your holiday in Greece.
Hotels near the airport"Macedonia"
There are several hotels in the vicinity of the airport, which can be reached either on foot or by taxi. We invite you to check out the hotels located near Thessaloniki Airport:
Tax free
To obtain a VAT refund paper (TaxFree), before checking in for a flight, you must contact the Global Blue point, which is located in the departure area opposite the check-in counters A15-19. Cash refunds are possible, but only up to €1,500.
How to get there from Thessaloniki airport
In the area of Kalamaria and the Halkidiki peninsula, all public transport is buses and taxis. Therefore, when planning a trip from Thessaloniki airport to the city or coast where your hotel is located, it is worth choosing the appropriate route in advance.
By bus
Bus from the airport to the city center - Bus route №78 (day), №78N(night)
- Bus No. 78- runs every 30 minutes during the day - from 05:00 to 22:00 from the airport to KTEL station and from 05:50 to 23:00 from KTEL Macedonia station to Thessaloniki airport.
- Bus No. 78N— runs in the evening and at night. The traffic interval is 30-40 minutes from 23:30 to 05:30 from the airport to KTEL station and from 22:30 to 04:30 from KTEL Macedonia station to Thessaloniki airport.
On Sundays and holidays, transport will have to wait 10-15 minutes longer. Travel time with all stops is about 45 minutes, the fare is 2 euros. Bus tickets can be purchased from the driver or from the ticket machine located on the bus.
The bus stop at the airport is located immediately outside the terminal.
Bus route: Airport – Aristotelous Square (Platia Aristotelous) city center – central railway station (Neos Sidirodromikos Stathmos) – KTEL Macedonia bus station (intercity bus station).
Bus from the airport to other cities in Greece - Bus route №78 (day), №78N(night).
If your destination is located, for example, in Athens, Larissa, Lefkada, then to travel to another Greek city from Thessaloniki airport by bus you will need to go to the central bus station Macedonia Intercity Bus Station(KTEL Macedonia) is the final stop of route 78.
Buses also depart from this bus station to other countries: to Bulgaria (Sofia, Bansko), Turkey (Istanbul), the Republic of Macedonia, the Czech Republic and even Germany.
You can learn more about the available international routes, see prices and schedules on the official website of the bus station KTEL Macedonia.
Bus from the airport to the Greek resorts on the Halkidiki peninsula
You won’t be able to get from Macedonia airport to the Greek resorts in Halkidiki (the main goal of most tourists) by direct bus. You will need to make one transfer.
In this case, you need to take a bus from the airport №79 and ride it to the stop A. S. IKEA(Anatolikos Stathmos IKEA), then transfer to the bus No. 36/36A/36B to the stop KTEL Chalkidikis(not to be confused with the KTEL Macedonia bus station!). From here buses run to the villages of the Halkidiki peninsula.
Operating hours of route No. 79: from 6:00 to 21:00
Travel interval: 60 minutes
Bus tickets can be purchased from the driver or from the ticket machine located on the bus.
Please note that if transport from Thessaloniki Airport runs every 30-60 minutes, then the frequency of intercity flights at the bus station depends on the importance of the destination. Buses depart to some cities of the peninsula only 1-2 times a day. The schedule can be found on the official website of the KTEL Chalkidikis bus station.
By taxi
The taxi rank at Macedonia Airport is located at the exit from the arrivals area. The journey from the airport to the center of Thessaloniki will take you up to 20 minutes.
The standard cost of a trip from/to the airport to the city center is 30 euros, and to the Greek resorts in Halkidiki - 50-70 euros, depending on the class of the car and the number of luggage pieces. At Thessaloniki airport, it is still very common for tourists to “warm their hands” on tourists arriving for the first time in Greece. Taxi drivers at the airport like to charge prices approximately twice as high as the official one.
There is an effective way to avoid getting into trouble with “extra tariffs” (landing cost, travel per 1 km, surcharge for night time (30%), surcharge for idle time in traffic jams, payment for each piece of luggage, take into account the feature that taxi drivers do not like to include counter, etc.)
One of the most effective alternatives is to call a taxi online. It is quite possible to catch a taxi at the airport, but with this option, all risks are transferred to the passenger; the cost of a taxi may cost you 2 times more than the real tariff. That is why it is advisable to place a pre-order in the search form below. Your order confirmation will be sent to you by email, and the driver will be waiting at the exit from the arrivals area with a sign with your name on it. The driver can also help you with your luggage, and payment of the full cost will be made only after arriving at the place, which you will already know when booking a taxi.
By rented car
If you like to drive a car and intend to frequently travel around the city of Thessaloniki or throughout Greece, then it makes sense to rent a car, especially since you can do this right at the airport. In the arrivals area you will see many companies that allow you to rent a car: Sixt, Europcar, Hertz, Top Rent-a-Car, Enterprise, Avis and so on.
If we talk about a good and inexpensive car rental service, then it is better to select a car in Greece with the help of. In most cases, this turns out to be much more economical than renting locally. You can do this right at the airport, but renting a car locally is usually the most expensive. In addition, even if you have 3-4 car rentals in front of you, it will not be easy to compare their prices, since some companies use various hidden payment schemes. This, in particular, can be expressed in limited daily mileage, increased insurance payments, etc.
If you booked a car in advance, completing all the documents and receiving the car will take you about 30 minutes - this is very convenient.
Please note that the earlier you decide to book a car, the more choices you will have. You can also pre-order additional options, such as a navigator or child seat.
Find cheap flights to Thessaloniki
If you have not yet purchased air tickets to Thessaloniki, you can use our convenient search form right now. All you need to do is enter your origin and destination and your expected travel dates, and then click “Find flights.” The air ticket search engine will select the optimal route for you and show the minimum price among airlines and air ticket sales agencies.
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According to the schedule, the bus left for Thessaloniki exactly at 8.00.
Naturally (for the Greeks it is natural, for us the state is close to disappointment and panic) the bus was late for half an hour. As they say, we didn’t even expect it, but we still hoped. Moreover, the local population began to catch up after eight. Greeks, one word.
In the end, we still go. Hooray!!!
We boarded quickly and bought tickets directly from the driver. Everything, as the Internet said, 13 € per person and you are in Thessaloniki.
We covered the 100 km route in exactly two hours. On the way, the bus was loaded to capacity and no longer took standing passengers. On the way, an idea came up: immediately upon arrival in Thessaloniki, at the bus station, buy tickets for the return trip, so as not to be nervous, we’ll leave or not, but calmly explore the city.
And so they did. When purchasing tickets, we asked the cashier how to get to the center. It's simple, bus number 45, every 20 minutes. Amazing!
In fact, it turned out that the 45th bus runs very rarely, almost once an hour. But we never found a timetable for its movement either at the KTEL station or at the stops in the center. But everywhere there were illuminated boards, which displayed information about which bus, which route to wait for and in how many minutes. Convenient, if not for Greece :) Greek buses were either late or departed earlier, but somewhere close to the indicated time :) It takes more than one day to get used to such a dynamic schedule.
The price of a bus fare greatly depends on the travel time and the number of transfers, as well as on where the ticket is bought - one price on the bus, another at city kiosks, and ranges from one to two euros.
We bought tickets on the bus from a special machine that does not give change. This caused some difficulties.
Firstly, all the explanations on the machine were in Greek. Explanations in English were found only on the way back, when we had already figured everything out. We solved this problem by simple observation, carefully observing the local population. First, we select the type of ticket - the tyts button - the required amount is displayed on the tiny screen, then we drop the coins - the machine indicates the missing amount as coins arrive, when the deficiency is 0.00, the machine prints a ticket. Everything is very simple, but... The machine does not give change. Crap!
We have exactly 2.20 - the price of two tickets. But it’s impossible to buy two tickets at once, only one at a time, which means a ticket for 1.10 will cost us 2.00. Here problem number two arose, where to change coins on a moving bus. That's right, people!
The Greeks did not disappoint in this regard and at the first “cry for help” they came to the rescue. Remembering a similar situation in Singapore, no one cared about our problems. No, without surrender - your problems.
The bus to the center took about forty minutes. As we approached the central stops, the Greeks on the bus became alarmed when they realized that we were gradually passing by all the sights. In short, we were literally pushed out of the bus in the very center near the Church of Panagia Chalkeon.
This is how our acquaintance with Thessaloniki began.
Church of Panagia Chalkeon
The Church of Panagia Chalkeon was closed, but the appearance of the temple and its position relative to the surface of the earth literally caught the eye. The exposed red-brown brickwork was too colorful and unusual for my Kiev Orthodox eye, accustomed to plastered even the most ancient cathedrals. The second thing that attracted and amazed was the thorough digging of the temple into the ground. Perhaps there is some logical explanation for this. Well, there is an ancient, ancient temple....
Roman Agora
On the way to the Church of St. Demetrius we found the ruins of the old Roman Agora. The Greeks discovered these remains in 1960, and we only discovered them today, and then by accident :) Probably, in Greece, where you don’t dig, you will discover some ancient ruins.
We did not enter the city territory. Everything is clearly visible from above. Temples, theater, market square, craft workshops, baths:) There was life, it turns out, at the beginning of our era! :) We walked around the perimeter (luckily access to the Agora from above is absolutely free), looked, took photographs and moved on.
I used to think that the Roman Forum was only in Rome, but it turns out it is also in Thessaloniki :)
Church of St. Demetrius
The Temple of St. Demetrius is the main temple of Thessaloniki, the temple of the patron saint of the city Demetrius of Thessalonica, the temple built on the site of his death, the temple in which his relics are kept, and in the underground part there is a kritpa, where St. Demetrius suffered great martyrdom.
You know, what is most surprising is that a temple with such an incredibly long history, despite being early Christian, is absolutely devoid of any grandeur. I don’t know, if we had approached the temple from the main entrance, everything would have seemed completely different. But we approached it from the back side :)
Ancient stonework, red brickwork, brick stones of different colors, or rather shades and sizes, laid out in intricate arched shapes, slightly crumbling walls and temple supports - all this, it seemed to me, exposed the defenselessness of the temple, its simplicity and openness.
The interior decoration of the temple was also surprising. No baroque bombast, no icons in the ornate frames of the iconostasis, no sculptures, no flowers. Even the rows of wooden bench chairs looked modest and laconic. Everything is simple, if not for the candelabra chandeliers and one and a half meter candles.
To be completely honest, this temple lacked a knowledgeable and versed person in religion. Well, the shrine with the relics of St. Demetrius, everything is clear with it, it’s hard not to find the ciborium () when people circle around it like bees. But questions arose with the rest of the “curiosities” of this temple. What are crayfish, why are they here, and why exactly are they here. Just questions. So I just took pictures in the hope of later figuring out who was who or what. But even Wikipedia did not answer all my questions. It's a pity.
In general, the temple surprises from the first to the last minute. I especially want to talk about the last minute. Having examined every nook and cranny of the temple (the left side, I must say, is the most interesting), I finally got to the altar. The altar gilding does not surprise anyone, but the marble chair of the bishop's chair amazes with its amazing lace lightness. But even with this surprise, I could have calmly left the temple, if not for the bench chairs... But all I did was just look at the temple from a different point, from the altar...
Guys, I have never seen such a riot of monotonous carved beauty, arranged in a strict geometric order, in my life. Remember, at the very beginning, I wrote about modest and laconic bench chairs... How deceiving the first impression can be! Now it’s a shame to even call these chairs benches.
Having left the holy monastery, past the old men sitting on the parapet, we headed to the very heart of Thessaloniki, to the central square - Aristotle Square.
Speaking of old people. If in provincial towns old people gather in the open areas of local cafes at a table with a single bottle of water, in cities they simply gather on benches and follow any passerby with their X-ray gaze (just like our grandmothers at the entrances).
Aristotle Square and embankment
On Aristotle Square my déjà vu awoke. I saw this square somewhere and I definitely was here. Shoot me, I feel like I was here, although I’ve never been here :) And then it dawned on me. Aristotle Square reminds me of Tunisia's main square, Place Habib Bourguiba. The same vaulted galleries, the same colonnades, arches, decorative elements and palm trees. The only difference is street coffee shops and restaurants, they are everywhere here.
We took a peek at the city market. You didn’t have to go far, if you were facing the sea, you just needed to turn right... We decided to come back here if there was time. Well, in the meantime, we notice a brisk, almost undisguised (if we noticed, it means they are not really hiding) trade in cigarettes.
Before reaching the embankment, we find ourselves in training for the local population in providing first aid - performing artificial respiration and closed cardiac massage. And let me tell you, this event is not for show. Several tents with detailed individual instructions, albeit in Greek, and real “sufferers” mannequins. And also with training mannequins and intensive care vehicles open for viewing and installation by “sufferers”. In short, it's interesting.
There was nothing special about the embankment, but it revealed the secret of how garbage is removed from the sea surface. Interesting, I’ve never seen such a tool before, just a tractor on the water.
And also, as always at the seashore, a whole bunch of fishermen, in the hope of catching their goldfish, string their bait on hooks.
Of course, cyclists, of course tourists, and, of course, coffee shops, restaurants, shops.
White Tower
I didn't understand the white tower. A regular old lookout tower. I still don’t understand what its most important attraction is. Well, the Turks built three such towers to strengthen the many-kilometer fortress wall. Well, the guardhouse and prison have been located here for almost the last two centuries. Well, they painted it white, as a sign of purification, after they drove out the Turks. AND? It's worth it alone. And if we ignore the fact that it houses an exposition of the city’s history and art museum, then the tower stands here solely for one photograph. We took a photo and moved on. I’m certainly wrong, after all, it’s a historical building and a big deal, but... I didn’t touch it, sorry!
There is an observation deck at the top of the tower. We didn’t climb it; it seemed to us, frankly, that there was no view from there. The houses standing right on the embankment are taller and block the entire view of the city. And the sea bay is clearly visible from the embankment. Price for visiting the tower - 3€
Rotunda
This round structure, which does not want to fit entirely into the frame of the photographic lens, is one of the first Christian churches in the world! Just imagine, one of the first!!! Moreover, like most Christian churches in Thessaloniki, the Rotunda happened to be a Muslim mosque. This means that the frescoes are covered with plaster, the mosaic is destroyed and the temple, although the walls are intact, can be said to be destroyed, and there is a minaret nearby.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Turks were expelled, the Rotunda became a monument-museum. It’s strange why they didn’t return the temple to Christians, since St. Demetrius was returned? By that time, the marble cladding of the walls was lost and the wonderful marble mosaics were barely preserved. No one can accurately determine the age of the mosaics; it is believed that they appeared when the mausoleum (and I forgot to say, the Rotunda was built as a mausoleum of Emperor Galerius, who was never buried here) was turned into a Christian temple (III-IV centuries AD)
Today it is a monument-building-museum. You go inside, there are only walls. He walked around in a circle, examined the details and left.
Just a few steps from the Rotunda we found the Arch of Galerius, which was erected by Emperor Galerius, or rather, erected on his orders, in honor of Galerius’ victory over the Persians. In other words, Gelerius erected a typical Arc de Triomphe. As expected, the arch is decorated with scenes from epoch-making battles with the Persians. Of course, very few such scenes have survived to this day, but if you have time, you can familiarize yourself with the details.
We didn't have time for details. I saw enough of all kinds of baked goods in the windows of street cafes, and besides, I was starting to experience coffee withdrawal. In short, I urgently needed to feed my “want!” :)
After a light snack, we decided to devote our time to some light shopping. But to our surprise, we discovered that most of the stores were already finishing their work. Guys, it wasn’t even three o’clock in the afternoon! Who works like that?!
Well, since there is no shopping, we just went for a walk around the city, people-watching, cathedrals (which, by the way, were also closed), monuments, houses, go to the market, in the end, since we have time :)
Monastery of St. Theodora the Myrrh-Streaming Thessalonica
And then we found ourselves in a temple of amazing beauty. By the way, at its entrance stood a policeman in full protective gear, even with a shield. But, God knows, I don’t know what that temple was called. Everything is written in Greek, and not a word in English. I guess that it was Theodora’s monastery, if I correctly deciphered the “formula” above the entrance.
You will laugh, but as a mathematician, I was not very comfortable at first in Thessaloniki. This Greek language of theirs just drove me crazy. Each inscription plunged me into a slight stupor - I involuntarily tried to understand what kind of formula was in front of me, why I didn’t know it, and why it was so difficult for me to decipher it. Sigmas, deltas, epsilons, lambdas, sums, errors, angular accelerations... Lord, and I’m not an advanced physicist yet, but I just passed by. Then, of course, I got used to it, there was no equal sign in the “formulas” :)
So about the temple with security. As it turned out already at home in Kyiv, it was, indeed, a monastery, and a male one at that. And he really was called by the name of Theodora. Its full name sounded like the monastery of St. Theodora the Myrrh-Streaming Thessalonian (Thessalonian). In the courtyard of the monastery there is a church in which the relics of St. Theodora the Myrrh-Streaming and St. David of Thessalonica are kept.
The Turks, having captured Thessaloniki, plundered the monastery and destroyed the relics of St. Theodora. By the way, in those days the monastery was for women and the Turks conscientiously copied and numbered all the nuns. Surprisingly, the holy monastery avoided the fate of becoming a mosque and remained an active Christian temple throughout the Turkish occupation.
When and why the monastery became a men's monastery remains a mystery. The same mystery remains the question of when and why the monastery ceased to exist. The only thing that is known is that today the monastery does not operate, and spiritual delegations stay in the restored premises from time to time.
A very beautiful place that we found completely by accident!
In the same way, by chance, we discovered the Church of St. Sophia. We didn’t get inside the cathedral; unfortunately, it was closed. They say that this temple is an exact copy of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. But we weren’t there, so I’m not saying anything.
Thessaloniki Market
Our walk around Thessaloniki ended at the market, or rather in the market quarter. Unlike shops, the market did not stop its work for a minute. What's not there! But there is nothing that we don’t have :) Here, even “Louis Vuitton” bags (in quotes not because of the name, but because the bags are like that) are sold openly. And this is an EU country?! Fuck!
Road Thessaloniki - Neos Marmaras
The return trip to Neos Marmaras hammered the final nail into our possible desire to live in disorganized Greece.
It all started with freshly squeezed orange juice with floating fruit flies, bought in a cafe at the KTEL station.
Then the Greek woman tried to tell us that in Greece seats are not numbered from left to right, but on the contrary, like we took her place. And we don’t really care how everything is numbered here, we sat down in our seats, and the numbers on the tickets coincide with the numbers above the seats. She calmed down, but did not apologize. Nevermind:
There was more to come. Can a normal person, who has traveled a distance of 100 km on the same transport, along the same route in 2 hours, assume that the return journey will take him three and a half hours?! That's horrible!
Our route can be described in words - a kilometer forward, five in a circle in the opposite direction. It feels like the evening route of our bus was designed to go around all the cities and towns of the coastal and coastal part of Halkidiki, and then Sithonia. It seems like we’ve gone around Sithonia in a circle. And if we drove during daylight hours, we would be able to see and examine the entire peninsula in detail. And so, we admired the pitch darkness outside the window and sometimes the lights of small villages and men in bars and restaurants.
In Neos Marmaras, night awaited us and the football team was training at the stadium. Naturally, we were almost late for dinner. We literally ran into the restaurant through the closing gates :)
P.S. According to established tradition, about the price of the issue for one person:
380€ - flight-hotel-premium-allinclusive package
Additional costs associated with travel to Thessaloniki:
26€ - KTEL bus on the route Neos Marmaras - Thessaloniki - Neos Marmaras,
2.20€ - train on public transport in Thessaloniki,
4.50&euron - cappuccino, tea and feta pie.
ALL! Just an attraction of unprecedented generosity;)