Thessaloniki, Greece (Story research questions)

[Nerys Ghemor]

One of my fanfic characters has strong ancestry from Thessaloniki, and it would be really wonderful if we had any Greeks on the board, or anybody else very knowledgeable about Thessaloniki, who could answer these questions. Thanks in advance!

What I'm trying to get a feel for is exactly where in the city my character would've grown up, what he would've seen, where he would've attended church, and so on. (The character is Orthodox, and a devout believer, so church is a must.)

One of my problems in my research is that even though I can see churches, for instance, I don't know which ones still have active congregations (or what could reasonably be expected to be restored and active by the 24th century). I would like to go with one of the churches or cathedrals where pics are available on the Internet. (It's OK if you can link a website to me in Greek--I will at least be able to read the name of the church and look at pictures! ) Knowing where the residential areas are is also something I'm not very sure of. Also, do you know any areas where there are currently archaeological digs, or where sites are currently inaccessible, that might be excavated or otherwise made accessible by the wonders of 24th-century technology? I think that would be a great detail to add.

I do expect there will have been some changes in what daily life is like by the 24th century (different technology, political climate, etc.), but the feel I got from my research is that it would be reasonable to expect Thessaloniki to hang on to a lot of tradition, both in architecture and culture. (More so, at least, than what I think will have happened in America and some European cities.) Do you feel like people have an attitude that history and tradition is an important thing to be preserved, something to be proud of?

(I sure hope so, because I want all of that to stick around for future generations to appreciate!)

Sorry for so many questions! If anyone who is from Thessaloniki or is familiar with it could offer some perspective, that would be great.

(As to the character in question...he is not 100% Greek, so if you do happen to check out the story he's in, just blame his quirks on his American grandmother, which would've been compounded by his time at Starfleet Academy. )

 

[Naira]

I am not form Thessaloniki but I visit a couple of times each year. I am not really sure how to answer your question though.

Thessaloniki is a vibrant city, full of both young people (due to the Universities there) and also older, "traditional" people. People who live there are (stereotypically) supposed to be very relaxed and not let anything bother them a lot.

I guess most of the people who are born there are raised in the suburbs of the city. However, most students live in the city center which is full of life. There are lots of churches in the center (you can literally find one in almost every block). St. Dimitrios is the "protector" of the city and one of the churches devoted to him (link) in the center of the city and is really active. I don't know if you'd prefer a "smaller" church, I could try and find you some.

A young person in Thessaloniki hangs at the university campuses if he/she is a student (which are also in the center). They walk around Kamara, Navarinou st., the sea front and the White Tower. They have their morning coffee in one of the many little coffee shops (either traditional or modern) and spend their nights in some little tavern or having a drink somewhere near the sea.

I am not sure if I helped. Ask me more specific questions if you'd like and I'll try to answer.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling post, in the first place!

I'd say my character breaks the "stereotype," then, when it comes to personality--but hey, that's real life for you.

As to the time in his life when he lives in Thessaloniki, this would have been before he was of university age. He would have spent his childhood and adolescence there, but for whatever reason, he goes to the Academy in San Francisco rather than a more local branch of the Academy. That said, though, I imagine he would definitely remember a lot of the sights you mentioned. And knowing the character as I do, I think he would definitely frequent the coffee shops. (He's not much of a bar/pub person--more the type to treat an alcoholic drink as part of the dining experience, if that makes sense.)

Regarding the churches...I saw Hagios Demetrios while I was trying to do a little research. Another one that caught my eye, as I searched...I saw some of the iconography at Panagia Deksia, and I hope this doesn't sound like a stupid reason, but I just felt like something really spoke to me in the iconography--a real need to stop and contemplate. I think maybe that reaction would help me to write convincingly how a character might have felt about being there.

(Oh boy the joy of knowing things about too many languages--something in my head keeps telling me I have the cases screwed up on the names of those places even though English is my native language and we don't worry about those things with foreign names! And yet in the back of my head I know it's in the wrong place in the sentence to be spelled the way I spelled it! Trust me, though...it would get worse if I tried to read it out loud. I am American but I would almost bet you I'd have the accent of a Spaniard and probably the grammar of a 2000 year old person and a handwriting style that I probably totally made up myself! I have got to learn more of your language...I was able to find the history of Hagios Demetrios [Hagiou Demetriou, in that context? ] and tried to read it. I could find things I recognized--but also a lot of things I felt like I SHOULD understand but did not.)

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I just read your response back and realized I'd tried to read it too quickly the first time and had another question.

You would say that most families grow up in the suburbs? Or are there areas of the city where they might live? Also, what constitutes the typical family household in that area? Would it be just my character and his parents or siblings, or would anyone else be likely to be living near, or perhaps under the same roof?