I spent part of my Easter break visiting Thessaloniki, Greece. Thessaloniki is located in the northern part of the country and is the second largest city with around one million inhabitants. It was once one of the most important cities in Europe as it was the regional capital of both the Roman and Byzantine Empires before the Ottomans took control of it in the 15th century for about four hundred years.
The city retains the historical legacy of these empires as it is the birthplace of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, now a museum. The city also contains the Galerius Palace which Roman Emperors used as the co-capital of the entire Empire during the 4th century and is currently an excavation site for antiques. The Byzantine Museum in the city received an award from the Council of Europe as being one of the best museums on the continent. Among the exhibits that span over a millennium of history are burial tombs with nearly fully recovered murals of the families that were once buried there. It provides an interesting contrast because these tombs contain images of Jesus Christ and the New Testament, unlike Egyptian or Roman tombs that celebrated Pagan Gods.
