Leaving Edessa and on to Thessaloniki for Carnival!

On Sunday morning I left Edessa on the 11am bus to Thessaloniki armed with a bag of snacks from my lovely host Maria. The journey took 1 hour and 45 minutes and I arrived back at Thessaloniki Intercity Bus Station where my journey had almost begun. There was a ready waiting queue of taxis outside the station which was a lot less scary during daylight hours. The taxi driver didn’t speak English but I’d remembered the address in Greek. 10 minutes later I was outside my accommodation for 4 nights (after pinching one of them for Edessa) the interestingly named Maroon Bottle Luxury Suites.

I’m in Room 101. There’s nothing ominous in there—quite the opposite. The room is spacious and newly refurbished, with quirky furniture and high ceilings. There is a separate walk-in shower, separate WC and sink/vanity and most importantly, a large bed with a fantastically comfortable mattress and crisp, white cotton bedding. There are tea and coffee-making facilities and an iron and hairdryer.

There is a small balcony looking out to the surrounding flats. I was sure that I’d booked a room with a street view but a week earlier the hotel messaged me to say that the description of my room had changed. I think I got bumped in the wrong direction for someone else. These things sometimes happen – annoyingly.

After unpacking, I headed out to explore. I had just a couple of hours before the Thessaloniki Carnival began. It is so long since I’ve been to the city that I don’t recognise anything. Top of my list of things to see was the Attaturk Museum which was about a 20 minute walk away. Along the way I passed the Roman Agora which looked very similar to the one in Izmir. A bit further along I stumbled across the Church of St George known as the Rotunda one of the oldest and most noted buildings in the city. It was built during the Roman Period – late 3rd and early 4th century AD. Under Ottoman occupation in the 15th century, it was converted to a mosque with an added minaret. It was converted back to a church and now operates as a museum.

At the Attuturk Museum I find that unfortunately, it is closed for refurbishment and due to re-open later this year. Here is a snap of the museum, former home and birthplace of this revolutionary statesman.

With an hour or so until the festivities were due to begin, I walked to the White Tower which was the starting point for the parade. The participants were gathering and making preparations but it was unclear where the best place was to observe it all from. It would have made sense to follow the crowd but 50% were going in one direction and the remaining half the other. I took it upon myself to accost a man in a high-vis jacket who seemed to be part of the event organisation. He suggested I go to Tsimiski, a main road running through the city as the parade would pass through there.

With a bit of time to kill, I walked to Aristotle Square where a large stage had been erected for the event finale. I’d been following various Thessaloniki Facebook pages in the lead-up to the trip so had been receiving regular updates about what would take place. But more of that later.

Waiting for the parade to start felt like an eternity but shortly after 4pm Tsimiski began to fill up. Street corners were packed with temporary stalls selling candy floss, hotdogs and all the bells and whistles you’d expect to find at a carnival (literally bells and whistles!).

If you’ve arrived in Thessaloniki for Carnival and haven’t come prepared – no problem. There’s a whole shop dedicated to all things fancy dress and Carnival-like!

Finally, the parade began. I found myself a good spot and staked my place. Different groups and societies had come together in their droves to celebrate this event. They came on their bicycles, scooters and roller boots. They dressed in their fantastical costumes with enough polyester to ignite the city (and that’s just the by-standers!). There were little ‘nods’ to the traditional carnivals across Macedonia. Can you spot any of them? There were drumming bands a-plenty and the pure joy on their faces was uplifting.

You can’t underestimate how long the carnival trail was. Starting at the White Tower the parade went along Ethnikis Amynis – Tsimiski – Venizelou – Nikis Avenue. When they arrived at Aristotle Square, they were still full of energy and giving it everything they had.

I’ve managed to get the video under 5 minutes which is a miracle considering how big the parade was.

And that wasn’t the end of the festivities. The event culminated in Aristotle Square with live music on stage by pop and soul band Souled Out playing tunes from the 80’s and 90’s (and something a bit more contemporary) and Abba tribute band Mania. DJ Eros along with several local radio stations kept the streets alive with music until the end.

I found myself at a table in Fridays where I had a good view of the stage but without the hassle of jostling for space. The restaurant was filled with carnival goers. I found myself surrounded by the ladies from the disco group wearing bright blue satin. They were very brave to smoke close to such an abundance of polyester.

Over 35 thematic groups of carnivalists participated in the event along with individuals. What’s impressive is there was an emphasis on artistic expression without the use of floats or motorized vehicles. This was a fantastic carnival and all credit is due to those who were involved in it. Well done Thessaloniki – you did your city proud!