THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
In a previous blog, we read about the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Philippi. It is a major city on the east-west Via Egnatia, connecting Byzantium-Constantinople-Istanbul to Italy.
But what if they come by sea?
King Philip II was very quick in establishing (seizing) a harbor for his new city circa 356 B.C. Neapolis, an existing port ten miles southeast of Philippi will do nicely.
His son, Alexander the Great, will launch his Grande Tour of Asia from Neapolis.
Neapolis will follow the history of Philippi.
Around 168 B.C., the Romans seize Philippi and with it, Neapolis. They move the capital to Thessaloniki, dropping Philippi’s importance, and that of its harbor.
In 49 A.D. the Apostles Paul and Luke, along with Silas, step foot in Europe for the first time in the harbor.
In 330 A.D., when the Roman and Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine, divide, both become targets for other countries.
Somewhere around this time, Neapolis becomes Christoupolis, City of Christ.
Thanks to great fortifications, Christoupolis keeps most of the invaders at a distance until the 1387 arrival of the Ottomans.
They remain until 1813. Everyone likes Greece. Sometime during this period, Christoupolis becomes Kavala.
During WWI, Bulgarian troops carry out ethnic cleansing of more than 12,000 Greeks in Eastern Macedonia. They are not good losers from the previous Balkan Wars.
In WWII, Bulgarian troops round up more than 4000 Eastern Macedonian Jews, sending them to camps in Poland. Very few return.
Today, there are no Jewish families in Kavala and no synagogue left.
Kavala (Neapolis) Today
If you look at the Greek map, you see Kavala is in Northern Greece. This is a place many non-Greeks don’t know about.
And it is east of Thessaloniki. A real dead end for visitors.
Let’s see what people are missing when they do not explore the Eastern Macedonia region of Greece.
The Old Town encircles the acropolis hill. The only remains from the Greek period are now in the local museum.
The Roman ruins are also memories.
The Byzantine, and later Ottomans, will rebuild several Roman structures, probably using the original Roman bricks and stones.
The fort on top of the Neapolis Acropolis today, mainly walls, dates from the Byzantine and Ottoman times.
The views over Kavala are the reason to climb.
Many of the structures in this area are several hundred years old.
Today, the harbor is home to a small fishing fleet. Also, it’s the jumping-on point for ferries going to different Greek islands.
The old section of town has windy streets where you can lose yourself.
Kavala (Neapolis) Aqueduct.
Spanning almost 300 yards, and rising more than 80 feet at the middle, this aqueduct dates to 1530. It is on the site of and probably incorporates blocks from a previous Neapolis Roman aqueduct destroyed in 1391. This Ottoman aqueduct was bringing water to the city until the early 1900s.
Tobacco Museum
The museum includes objects and archival material dating from the 1800s, when everything was manual, to the mid-1900s. This includes commercial and agricultural processing, tobacco products, and a glance into Kavala’s social history,
Tobacco is the cash crop for many years. As you walk around the lower part of town, you will see several large buildings, once tobacco warehouses. Today, one is a shopping mall.
Mohammed Ali Museum
Dating from circa 1790, this was the largest house in Kavala at the time. It is the home of a future ruler of Egypt, not the kid from Louisville who floats like a butterfly.
The house is one of the finest examples of 18th-century Ottoman architecture surviving in Greece.
Halil Bey Mosque
Dating from circa 1530, this mosque was also home to a madrasa (seminary school) adjacent, that also survives. The mosque is now a space for cultural exhibits.
Neapolis Coastal Wall
Dating from circa 1530, you can see the walls rebuilt on earlier walls protecting Neapolis. The walls are above the Kavala ferry dock.
Imaret
Circa 1817, Mohammed Ali, establishes a religious, educational, and charitable institution – an Imaret.
In 2001, after a major restoration, it opens as a deluxe hotel. 30-minute tours are available in some of the major areas.
The Municipality (City Hall)
Monument to the Apostle Paul
By the church of St Nicholas is a mosaic wall depicting the Apostle’s arrival in Kavala circa 49 A.D. The town was Neapolis at that time, and the docks were probably nearby. Traveling with him is Luke the evangelist, Apostle Timothy, and Saint Silas.
There are not many places in Kavala to follow in the footsteps of Paul.
Writings indicate he came ashore here and set off for nearby Philippi. The mosaic and church came long after. The streets and harbor of today are on top of the ones from Paul’s days.
West of Kavala is a section of the Via Egnatia. I have never been able to find one sign or arrow directing people, so ask a local.
Here, there is about one mile of the original Roman road between Kavala (Neapolis) and Philippi.
To this day, there is no light-rail connecting the two cities, so Paul, Luke, and Silas were walking here.
No imagination is necessary.
Kavala (Neapolis) Summary.
The city is easy to see in a day, but you want to spend at least one night to see it after dark.
It is a great base for seeing Philippi, the Greek wine region of Drama, or both.
You can hop on a ferry to nearby Thasos for a day of sightseeing.
The National Park of Nestos Delta and lakes Vistonida-Ismarida is less than an hour’s drive east.
Here, there are over 300 species and subspecies of plant and animal life in and around the lake. And a few scenic churches and a monastery.
Whichever direction you head, Kavala is an excellent base for exploring Eastern Macedonia.
Read more about Kavala.
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“Long before footprints in wet concrete, people were standing in the footsteps of others. Whose footsteps would you like to stand on, and where?”
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“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.