Litsiana`s Diary : Thessaloniki/Greece

Dear Diary,

As you know, my home town is Thessaloniki and I went there for a few days during August!
I`m going to introduce you Thessaloniki in a few lines.....

All variations of the city's name derive from the original (and current) appellation in Greek from Thessalos, and Nike), literally translating to "Thessalian Victory". The name of the city came from the name of a princess, Thessalonike of Macedon, half-sister of Alexander the Great, so named because of her birth on the day of the Macedonian victory at the Battle of Crocus Field (353/352 BC).

Thessaloniki, often referred to internationally as Thessalonica or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. Its honorific title is (Symprotévousa, literally "co-capital", and stands as a reference to its historical status as the Symvasilévousa or "co-reigning" city of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, alongside Constantinople.

Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of south Eastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and the south eastern European hinterland. The city is renowned for its festivals, events and vibrant cultural life in general, and is considered to be Greece's cultural capital, such as the Thessaloniki International Trade Fair and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon, Thessaloniki's history spans some 2,300 years. An important metropolis by the Roman period, Thessaloniki was the second largest and wealthiest city of the Byzantine Empire.

Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination in Greece.