Listed 11 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "KAVALA Municipality GREECE" .
NEAPOLIS (Ancient city) KAVALA
Neapolis. Eth. Neapolites. A town of Macedonia, and the haven of Philippi, from
which it was distant 10 M. P. (Strab. vii. p. 330; Ptol. iii. 13. § 9; Scymn.
685; Plin. iv. 11; Hierocl.; Procop. Aed. iv. 4; Itin. Hierosol.) It probably
was the same place as DATUM (Daton), famous for its gold-mines (Herod. ix. 75),
and a seaport, as Strabo (vii. p. 331) intimates: whence the proverb which celebrates
Datum for its good things. (Zenob. Prov. Graec. Cent. iii. 71; Harpocrat. s. v.
Datos.) Scylax does, indeed, distinguish between Neapolis and Datum; but, as he
adds that the latter was an Athenian colony, which could not have been true of
his original Datum, his text is, perhaps, corrupt in this place, as in so many
others, and his real meaning may have been that Neapolis was a colony which the
Athenians had established at Datum. Zenobius (l. c.) and Eustathius (ad Dionys.
Perieg. 517) both assert that Datum was a colony of Thasos; which is highly probable,
as the Thasians had several colonies on this coast. If Neapolis was a settlement
of Athens, its foundation was, it may be inferred, later than that of Amphipolis.
At the great struggle at Philippi the galleys of Brutus and Cassius were moored
off Neapolis. (Appian, B.C. iv. 106; Dion Cass. xlvii. 35.) It was at Neapolis,
now the small Turkish village of Kavallo (Leake, North. Greece, vol. iii. p. 180,
comp. pp. 217, 224), that Paul (Acts, xvi. 11) landed. The shore of the mainland
in this part is low, but the mountains rise to a considerable height behind. To
the W. of the channel which separates it from Thasos, the coast recedes and forms
a bay, within which, on a promontory with a port on each side, the town was situated.
(Conybeare and Howson, Life and Epist. of St. Paul, vol. i. p. 308.) Traces of
paved military roads are still found, as well as remains of a great aqueduct on
two tiers of Roman arches, and Latin inscriptions. (Clarke, Trav. vol. viii. p.
49.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
KAVALA (Town) MAKEDONIA EAST & THRACE
There are some places winning your heart at first sight, making you
feel familiar as if you have known them for ages, even when you visit them for
the first time! Some cities friendly, warm and also fascinating, beautiful, able
to keep you forever there, by them. That's exactly the feeling Kavala gives you,
because it isn't just a beautiful place, but a modern town with a long-lasting
historical background and a wealth of tradition, unique landscapes, but overall
with hospitable people! It is the city, which will convince you immediately of
its advantages in all the aspects of life.Traveling towards Kavala means penetrating
the heart of Eastern Macedonia. This historical, amazing city located like an
amphitheater by the sea, combines all the things that could satisfy the most demanding
visitor: mountains and sea, picturesque scenery and modern life, archaeological
sightseeing, exciting excursions, cultural activities and tranquillity within
nature... That's Kavala!
Position - access
It takes about 2 hours (165kms) to reach it by car from Thessaloniki.
It also takes the same time from here to the last European City to the east, Alexandroupolis
(174kms).
Easily accessible, by all means, air, sea and land, Kavala becomes
the perfect destination with its frequent, comfortable communications with the
islands of the Aegean Sea, the rest of Greece and Europe. There are international
charter flights too, departing from the modern airport, situated 20km outside
the city and considered as one of the safest in the Balkans. In Kavala there are
available all kinds of public services (governmental services, banks, hospitals
etc.) as well as the characteristic hospitable spirit of its 60.000 inhabitants!
Historical flash-back
2600 years are too many to explore at once!
Kavala's journey through history starts approximately in the
Homeric era. Thanks to its position it has always been the focus of attention.
"Neapolis"
(new city) was the original name of the city (7th century BC) which was an alien
of Athens at the time
of Pericles (5th century BC). It was also a very important center during the Macedonian
Age. Neapolis was the very first place St. Paul stepped on European land when
he came here to preach the Holy Bible and spread the Christian religion. For this
reason, during the Byzantine time it was renamed "Christoupolis". It's
port was an important commercial location, which attracted the interest of the
Romans and became the cause of destructive attacks by Goths, Huns, Normans and
Bulgarians. During the 15th century it falls into the hands of Turks and remains
occupied up to the beginning of the 20th century. After its liberation it becomes
a modern city.
The Old City
Nostalgic rambles into the city of the past!
There is one thing for sure: That you are going to enjoy many
rambles. You will walk throughout the stone-paved alley, which leads to the "Imaret",
a characteristic Islamic building of Mohammed Ali, founder of the last Egyptian
dynasty, and to the peninsula of Panagia.
First of all, you will pass from the lighthouse, where you will spend a
lot of time admiring the magnificent, complete view of Kavala. After that, you
have to walk up to the Castle, visit its tower, feel the life of other ages.
Walking throughout the scenic alleys you will get to the other side
of the old city, the famous "Kamares", the Roman aqueduct that was reconstructed
by the sultan Suleiman the Magnificent around 1550. It is the gate, which on one
side opens to the traditional shipyard and caulking area and on the other to the
heart of the modern city.
New City
A city, really Greek in beauty and hospitality!
Kavala is a large balcony to the sun, the sea and the full-moon
nights. It unfolds on the slopes of the hill like an amphitheater, ending at the
beautiful seaside and its lovely port.
Kavala breathes deeply in the Public Garden, next to the Heroes' Monument,
which keeps alive its historical memory. The statue of the tobacco worker stands
in the middle of the homonymous square and right behind it there is the imposing
building of the old tobacco warehouse with its wide windows and the excellent
artistic architectural decoration. The last century turns into present through
elegant mansions, which are located in the center of the city witnessing nobility
and civilization. It's worth to admire the Town hall, the Municipal Library, the
building of the Byzantine Antiquities Authority and the Municipal Museum and take
photos of them to complete your collection. You will find all these in the heart
of the modern city, carefully decorated with parks and pavements, where all the
streets lead to the palm-trees of the seaside promenade.
Coastal Kavala
Plentiful light, color and sea for the eyes!
The best of tourism in a city full of life! Kavala is the kind of city
that creates a strong relationship with its visitor. That's why you can't come
here just once. But, the most important you will realize from the very first moment
is that every day differs offering you new experiences.
The beaches of the city
In Kavala the summer has many possible names. It may be named Perigiali,
Rapsani, Kalamitsa, Batis,
Tosca, Palio... Each
name belongs to a beach of the city, starting from its very center. The most distant
one is just 6km away, decorating with its refreshing beauty the landscape. All
of them offer crystal-clear water, prizewinners of the Blue Flag of Europe. As
a matter of fact, Kavala has of the most modern Biological Sewage Treatment Plant
in the Mediterranean. Visit all of them! Swim during the sunny day and ramble
at night in the moonlight, every time in a different environment, just by walking.
"Protege" of the city are the coasts of Perigiali, at 1500m to the east
and Rapsani, 200m only from the center. You also have to see romantic Batis, natty
Tosca, Kalamitsa and Palio which "goes to bed" late...
There is an exotic landscape, 40km eastern of Kavala, on the mouth
of the river Nestos,
really unusual for Greece. A small verdant peninsula with a wide sandy beach reaching
out into the sea, is a Pacific's island in the Mediterranean!
Mountainous Kavala
The highlands
The mountainous highlands of Kavala are waiting to offer you
another kind of emotions. Palia Kavala (16km), Koryfes
(23km), Platamonas (35km),
Kechrocambos (55km)
are some of the picturesque villages you will find during your excursion. You
are going to have some rest at their commons, their cafes or taverns while the
main subject to talk about, will be the wonderful, amazing landscape. On the mountain
of Pangeon, about 44km
from Kavala is the Byzantine monastery (nunnery of nowadays) of Icosifinissa,
one more serious reason to take you off the city and its nice beaches.
This text is cited January 2005 from the Kavala Municipality Tourist Enterprise URL below, which contains images
Panagia is a traditional settlement that was built on the foundations of the first colony of the Thasians, below the castle, and till the end of the 19th century it was the center of the town of Kavala.
NEAPOLIS (Ancient city) KAVALA
A coastal city, a colony of Thasos, on the site of the modern city
of Kavala. It seems to have been founded ca. the middle of the 7th c. B.C. in
this very strategic position through which pass the ancient coast road which joins
Asia and Europe, and the road which leads from the shore to gold-bearing Mt. Pangaeum
and the proverbial land of Datos.
After the flight of the Persians from Greece, Neapolis was a member
of the first Athenian League, and from 454-453 B.C. on it is entered in the Athenian
Tribute Lists with an unvarying tribute of 1000 drachmai a year. Close ties of
friendship and alliance bound the city to Athens, as shown by two Athenian honorary
decrees of 410 and 407 B.C. which praise the Neapolitans and give them several
privileges in the sanctuary of Parthenos.
Around 350 B.C. Philip II of Macedon, who had captured one after another
of the Greek cities in Thrace, took Neapolis also and used it as the harbor for
Philippi. At the battle of Philippi (42 B.C.), the harbor of Neapolis was used
as a base by the Republican generals, Brutus and Cassius. It kept its importance
as a station on the Via Egnati through the Imperial and Early Christian periods.
The remains and known traces of the ancient city are scanty. Of its
walls, which probably date to the early 5th c. B.C., a few large sections are
preserved, chiefly on the N side of the Kavala peninsula, where the ancient town
was, but some also on the E and W. The wall, built of granite blocks of varying
sizes, is in places preserved to a height of ca. 2 to 4 m.
Notable was the sanctuary of the patron goddess of Neapolis, the Parthenos,
probably a Hellenized figure of the Thracian Artemis Tauropolos or Bendis. An
archaistic figure of the goddess is known from a bas-relief on an Athenian decree
of 356-355 B.C. (National Museum 1480). Investigation in the area of the sanctuary,
which is approximately in the middle of the ancient town in the years 1936-37
and 1959-63, uncovered sacred hearths, building walls, parts of the peribolos
or a supporting terrace wall, and deposits of pottery and figurines. In the beginning
of the 5th c. B.C. an Ionic peripteral temple built of Thasian marble was constructed
in the sanctuary area (column capitals of excellent workmanship and architectural
fragments from the temple are in the Kavala Museum). No houses or other buildings
have been uncovered. The well-preserved and very impressive aqueduct of the city
is the work of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
The pottery found in the excavations comes from the workshops of Asia
Minor, Chios, Lesbos, the Cyclades, Attica, Corinth, and Lakonia. Among the most
interesting pieces are a Melian amphora with representations of Peleus, Thetis,
and the Nereids; a Chian krater with a representation of the Chalydonian boar
hunt; and an Attic black-figure amphora by the painter Amasis. On the site or
in the area of the Parthenon sanctuary three votive inscriptions were found (4th-2d
c. B.C.), a marble naiskos-treasury, and a bas-relief of the mid 4th c. B.C. with
the representation of a sphinx facing an amphora (Kavala Museum).
D. Lazarides, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!