Thessaloniki Northern Greece Page 9
Aghia Sophia 18th century. One of the most impressive of the numerous churches in Thessaloniki, modeled after the famous church of the same name in Constantinople.

Once a basilica with a sacred Roman fountain (later a holy well of John the Baptist). It was one of the many churches later converted to a mosque (as evidenced by the bottom part of a minaret in one corner). The massive dome with its mosaic of the Ascension with a circle of fifteen holy figures around it, was restored in the late 1980s. Between Egnatia and Navarinou. Ayios Nikolaos Orfanos Odos Irodotou 20. 14th century provincial type church within a garden. Frescoes.

Monastiriotou at Syngrou 35.The only remaining synagogue built before the Holocaust in the old Jewish quarter (established during World War II, as the Jewish population had not been confined to a ghetto previously).

In this quarter is found the old Modhiano market (produce, meat, and fish) named for the family that owned it. The Jewish Museum at Ayiou Mina 13, south of the Modhiano market.

Museo Djudio de Salonik is Sephardic name for the museum in Ladino, the dialect spoken by the Jews from Spain and Portugal.

Some remains from and photos of the enormous Jewish cemetery (half a million graves) which the Nazis vandalized in 1942. Upstairs exhibition detailing the Jewish presence from 140BC up through the present, with labels in both Greek and English. (Open Tues-Fri and Sun 11am-2pm, Wed and Thurs 5pm-8pm;free).

There is an International Trade Fair held in Thessaloniki in September and a cultural festival in October and November, including the famous Thessaloniki film festival.

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