Greece & Turkey - The Via Egnatia II

Today we explore the Archaeological Museum in Kavala which houses remains from Amphipolis and other ancient sites found nearby. We proceed to an important UNESCO listed site on the via Egnatia, the Macedonian and Roman colony of Philippi, named after Philip II who conquered it and famed for the decisive battle between Octavian, Antony and the Conspirators who killed Caesar. Here we explore the forum, heroon and well-preserved theatre, as well as impressive Byzantine monuments. We end the day with a visit to Kavala where we see the Byzantine Castle.

A ferry trip takes us to the island of Thasos for the day. First colonised in the archaic period by Phoenicians attracted by the island’s gold mines, it was later colonised by Parian Greeks. Famed in antiquity for its wine, nuts and marble, Thasos preserves remains of an ancient agora, sanctuaries to Dionysus and Poseidon, as well as a Paleochristian basilica. Perhaps the most photogenic monument is the ancient theatre which affords views across the sea. We continue the archaeological which houses remains from the site. Our last visit of the day is to Alyki where we see remains of a quarry, along with a sanctuary and basilica.

We spend the day exploring the site of ancient Abdera which had strong links with Phoenicians and produced a number of important scholars including the Sophist Protagoras and historian Hecataeus. The city which became prosperous in the Classical period through its trade with Thrace, has left important remains, including a number of houses from the Roman period and later Byzantine churches. We journey afterwards to Xanthi, a major trading town in Byzantine and Ottoman eras. The city is well known in Greece for its distinctive period architecture.

The journey this morning takes us to Komotini whose history was closed tied to the Via Egnatia down to the late antique period when Theodosius fortified the road here. We move on to Alexandroupolis, which became important in the Byzantine period because of its proximity to Constantinople and became a fishing village in Ottoman period when it was connected by rail to Constantinople. We spend the day exploring the Byzantine and Ottoman buildings in this beautiful sea side city which lies in the crossroads between east and west, on the borders between Bulgaria and Turkey.

Today we visit the border fortress of Didymoteicho whose idiosyncratic name might derive from its two sets of walls built in the 6^th century under Justinian. Here we visit some of the Byzantine monuments, including the castle. We proceed to the aristocratic Thracian tumulus cemetery at Mikri Doxipara Zoni built in the 2^nd century AD for four family members buried with a rich assortment of elite goods, including bronze and glass goods, as well as carriages and horses buried with the deceased. We then cross the border and proceeding to Edirne.

The journey has taken us to Turkey and we spend the day visiting Edirne, ancient Adrianople, site of the Battle of Adrianople of AD 376 where the Emperor Valens was killed by Goths. The hub of Roman Thrace, the city was later the first great capital of the Ottomans in Europe. A city famed for its mosques, palaces and caravanserai, the most important monument is The Great Mosque built in 1575 and the masterpiece of the great architect Mimar Sinan. We also visit the Eski Camii, the old mosque built in the 15^th century and the Edirne Palace, a magnificent complex housing the Ottoman sultans abandoned in the 18^th century.

The Via Egnatia takes us, after a long drive through Turkish Thrace, to the imperial city of Istanbul. As Byzantium, and, after AD 324, Constantinople, it was the terminus of Via Egnatia and its successors. We explore this historically unique city straddling east and west in the afternoon, including a visit to the extraordinary Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque, the designed by Sedfkar Mehmed Aga, Mimar Sinan’s student, who made it imposing, adoring it with exquisite hand painted blue tiles in the interior and 13 domes and 6 minarets in the exterior.

This morning we follow the final course of the Via Egnatia, through the Golden Gate, the triumphal gate at the southern end of the Theodosian Walls which monumentalised the end of the Via Egnatia and the beginning of the great street running through the city, the Mese. En route we see the Forum of Theodosius, the Forum of Constantine and the Milion, built by Constantine in imitation of the Milliarium Aureum to mark the starting point of all roads leading to the city. In the afternoon visit to Hagia Sophia, built under Justinian and considered by many the epitome of Byzantine architecture, as well as the Hippodrome renovated under Constantine and the social centre of the ancient city.

Today we depart for airport for our return flights to London.