The tour of Thessaloniki in 1800 was based on excerpts from the two-volume work “Journey to Macedonia” published in 1831 by Espry-Marie Cousinery
The well-worn newspaper insert from several decades ago, poking out from a stack of papers on the counter of an antique shop next to the Roman Market of Thessaloniki, with the appealing title for history buffs, “What Thessaloniki was like in 1800,” could only lead the hand in setting it apart from the rest. The almost full-page tour of Thessaloniki in 1800 was based on excerpts from the two-volume work “Journey to Macedonia” published in 1831 by Espry-Marie Cousinery, who served as consul general of France in Thessaloniki and Smyrna from 1773 to 1819 .
The Hippodrome, the Rotunda, the Arch of Galerius, the Heptapyrgio, the White Tower, the Jews, the tobacconists, the Europeans, the countryside but also evidence of the administration of the cities, “how Abdi made his appearance in the city pasha” but also for the “festival of the tanners” are the “stations” of the tour in this publication, which is yet another tangible proof of the timeless interest of travelers over the centuries for Thessaloniki and the richness of its history and monuments.
The tour starts from the Arch of Galerius, for the beauty of the art of which the traveler does not hide his admiration. “The traveler who, at first, sees in this monument nothing but a gate crushed by foreign buildings, immediately recognizes with astonishment that he is in front of an old triumphal arch of extraordinary beauty. The facade, which is revealed first, is the most interesting and at the same time the most suitable for identifying the era to which the building belongs. In front of the facade, they have erected small boards, serving as stations for the city guards and the officials at the customs office. These civil servants lean against the old wall with the pillows on which they rest. More interested in the whiteness of the lime than in the beauty of the art, always when the shift is replaced, they whiten the marble, in such a way that, due to the succession of layers, today one has to get very close to judge the value of the sculptures. ..” (s.s. the spelling of the original is preserved).
Next is the Hippodrome and the Rotunda, which “presents a noticeable peculiarity: one enters from two doors, from the south and west, absolutely identical”, the church of Agia Sophia “which was converted into a mosque, like the church of Agios Demetrius”, the “the fortress which dominates the city and is called Eptapyrion” and the one located “at the edge of the bay and then towards the walls of the city, towards the eastern side” Lefkos Pyrgos. “It is called the Tower of Janissaries,” says Espry-Marie Cousinery, “because it serves as their prison and because they have the right to be strangled in it when they deserve the death penalty.”
The traveler’s gaze does not escape the professional occupation of the city’s Jews, about whom – among other things – he mentions that “since the occupation of the city by Murat II, the Jews have had the privilege of manufacturing very coarse blue cloth, the which trade on behalf of the Great Authority” and that “Jews are the owners of a carpet industry. They alone manufacture all sizes, from the best qualities to the most common.”
The French diplomat-traveller also refers to the tobacconists, noting that of all the crafts of Thessaloniki, tanning is the most important and the most prevalent” and “…the trade of tanners enjoys great respect in Thessaloniki” as “to become a master he needs many trials, which last from the age of ten to the age of thirty”. When, in fact, “this small group creates new masters, the whole city celebrates”…
Boisson in the city of beautiful churches
The timeless interest of travelers in Thessaloniki and the wealth of its monuments is reflected in another “jewel” of the era: “Salonique, La ville des belles eglises”, with photographs by the great Swiss photographer Frédéric Boisson and a foreword by his inseparable fellow traveler Daniel Bo-Bovi, which was published in 1919 in Geneva and highlights all those unique elements that make up the fascinating mosaic of multicultural Thessaloniki.
Through Boisson’s photographs of the beautiful churches of Thessaloniki, an important part of the historical wealth of the city emerges, which still impresses its visitors to this day. “The real jewel of Thessaloniki are the churches and their mosaics. The Turks turned almost all of them into mosques. The most charming of them all, without the slightest doubt as far as the exterior is concerned, is the church of the Holy Apostles, the Souk Sou mosque (s.s. mosque of the cold water), near the new gate,” writes Daniel Beau -Bovi, “embroidering” Boisson’s images with words.
“It is hidden between low houses with wooden bars and grills on the windows and among trees: poplars, old figs and plane trees”, describes Bo-Bovi, making special reference to “a covered well nearby where the Turkales, with shy steps because of their veils, they come to get water.’ Wooden frames, wooden supports, covered with curved tiles, surround the church and cover the portico with the colonnade. Inside, four thin pillars support the central pulpit, the bench and under the cracks of the thick plaster we can guess the existence of gray mosaics and paintings, he writes, continuing the description, while below he makes extensive reference to the Rotunda, Hagia Sophia and the imposing Agios Dimitrios, which also adorns the cover of the publication.
The city of beautiful churches, as Boissona and Beau-Bovi call Thessaloniki, does not leave the modern visitor unmoved, while its Byzantine wealth often “travels” through extensive publications, most recently a travelogue by the American journalist Giovanna Dell’ Orto for the Associated Press, entitled: “Splendid Byzantine churches head Thessaloniki’s holy sites”.
RES-EMP
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