Upper Town (Thessaloniki)
Upper Town (Greek: Άνω Πόλη, Ano Poli) is the old town of Thessaloniki, located around the city's acropolis, north of the city center.
he Upper Town is the most traditional part of the city, as it preserves much of the Byzantine and Ottoman era city fabric, otherwise destroyed in the great fire of 1917. Thus it features small stone-paved streets, old squares and houses in traditional Greek and Ottoman architecture. The Upper Town is the highest part of the city, and dominated by the acropolis, the Byzantine and Ottoman-era fort known as Heptapyrgion. The remaining city walls still ring the Upper Town, with many of its additional Ottoman and Byzantine structures still standing. The church of Profitis Elias, the Church of Saint Nicholas Orphanos, the Byzantine bath, the Church of Saint Catherine, such as the Atatürk Museum and the Alaca Imaret Mosque are also in the Upper Town. During the Ottoman period it was the main district of the Turks (Muslims) of the city, while the Greeks, western Europeans and the Jews were living around the port.
On clear days Mount Olympus, at about 100 km (62 mi) away across the gulf, can also be seen towering the horizon.
References
- Upper Town
- "Ano Poli (Upper Town) & Acropolis (Eptapyrgio) - enjoythessaloniki.com". enjoythessaloniki.com. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
