14. Ancient Agora Square

Ancient Agora Square is home to one of the city's most significant Byzantine monuments: the Church of Panagia Chalkeon. Known as the "Red Church" because of its brick construction, this impressive church was constructed in 1028 AD in the heart of the Byzantine city. It was built by Christophoros, a high-ranking Byzantine official who also served as governor of Longobardia, a Byzantine province in southern Italy. The church was designed as a family mausoleum, with the tomb of Christophoros on the north wall.

The church is a prime example of Byzantine architecture from the period of the Macedonian dynasty, which lasted from the 9th to the 11th century and is so-called because all the Byzantine emperors during this period were from the Macedonian region. It was during this period that the "cross-in-square" church layout with a dome became popular and eventually became a representative Byzantine architectural style. The church of Panagia Chalkeon followed this trend.

The church is famous for its impressive frescoes from the 11th to the 14th century, depicting scenes from the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ, as well as portraits of saints. After the Ottoman conquest of Thessaloniki in 1430, it was converted into a mosque. During this period, the area around the church was home to the city's coppersmiths, and the mosque became known as the "Kazancılar Mosque", or "Mosque of the Chalkomatadon or Coppersmiths"... hence its name today, "Panagia Chalkeon".

With the liberation of the city from the Ottomans in 1912 and the integration of Thessaloniki into the newly established Greek state, the church was once again dedicated to Orthodox worship. In 1988, it was declared part of the Early Christian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Take a moment to admire its frescoes and remarkable architecture, offering a glimpse into the city's Byzantine era.

In Ancient Agora Square, directly opposite the Church of Panagia Chalkeon, stands the Bey Hamam, one of Thessaloniki’s most important Ottoman monuments. It is a classic example of Ottoman architecture and is the oldest and largest Ottoman bath in Thessaloniki. It was built in 1444 under the orders of Sultan Murad II (also known as Bey, hence the name Bey Hamam) and was among the first buildings erected by the Ottomans after they captured Thessaloniki in 1430.

The Bey Hamam was intended to serve as a place of purification for worshippers before visiting the city's largest mosque, the nearby Hamza Bey Mosque, also known as the Alkazar.  Around seven Christian churches were demolished and their materials were used to build the bathhouse. 

For Muslims, the use of hamams was closely linked to religion, as the baths served as a form of purification before religious services and a means of personal hygiene, as most homes lacked bathing facilities. Beyond this, hamams were social spaces for relaxation and interaction. For women, they offered a rare chance to socialise.

The Bey Hamam was designed with separate sections for men and women. The men's section was larger and more ornate, but both sections shared the same layout. There was a cold room for changing and relaxing, where people could also enjoy tea or coffee. This led to a warm room that prepared visitors for the hot room, where temperatures reached 38 to 40°C. The hot room featured a large marble surface for massages and private rooms, including a private chamber reserved for the Sultan. They operated for over 500 years, until the 1960s, as "Loutra Paradisos” – or “Baths of Paradise".

In 1972, the site was entrusted to the Ministry of Culture, and today it hosts exhibitions and events, preserving the memory of Thessaloniki's Ottoman heritage and its history of cultural coexistence.

The statue that you can see in Ancient Agora Square is that of Eleftherios Venizelos, a pivotal figure in modern Greek history who served as Prime Minister of Greece seven times. 

He was born in Crete in 1864 when the island was still under Ottoman rule and initially worked as a lawyer, but he was soon absorbed into politics as a member of the Liberal Party. His leadership and political skills emerged during the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, which aimed to liberate Ottoman-ruled areas of Greece, including Crete. The revolution led to the establishment of an autonomous Cretan State under Ottoman control, in which Venizelos played a crucial role in uniting the island with the Kingdom of Greece. 

In 1910, Venizelos became the Prime Minister of Greece for the first time and was at the forefront of Greece's political and economic recovery. He played an important role during the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and broke with the Crown when he supported Greece's participation in World War I on the side of the Entente Allies. At the end of the war, Greece was granted the administration of Smyrna and political and military sovereignty in the region. Venizelos was defeated in the national elections of November 1920 and withdrew from politics, only to return after the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922. On his return, he was involved in the forced population exchange that followed, as well as the drawing up of the Treaty of Lausanne, which defined the borders between Greece and Turkey.

Venizelos laid the foundations for the establishment of peace between the two countries, with the Greco-Turkish Friendship Pact of 1930 being a characteristic example of this policy. The end of his career was marked by an attempt on his life in 1933 and the failed coup of 1935. He went into self-exile in Paris, where he died on 18 March 1936.