Our Balkan adventure was nearly complete.
We had booked a final trip with mydaytrip, this time to take us on the 186 mile journey from Ohrid in North Macedonia back to Thessaloniki in Greece. We were slightly anxious because we didn't hear from our driver the night before, but he turned up promptly at 8.30. No snacks this time though!! The border crossing went smoothly, again helped by our driver's ability to speak the language. It is the first border Ive ever seen with a resident peacock population! I sneaked a photo.
We had booked one stop on this trip, in Vergina in Greece, at the tomb of Philip II, King of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great. The tombs were only discovered in 1978, and the museum has been built on top of them. Well it was a great decision to see this.
You head down into a tunnel, and your eyes need to adjust to the dark. All the artefacts that were found in or around the excavation are displayed here. It is very well done. These are funeral stones of other people in the village, some still with evidence of pictures.
There were lots of grave goods on show as well.
The Macedonians were a powerful race, ruling between 650BC and 168BC. Their most famous son was Alexander the Great, born here in 356BC, who greatly expanded the Macedonian Empire, although using some fairly ruthless methods.
Philip II, his father, was highly respected as a King, and it was Alexander who organised his burial. In total, 4 tombs were discovered here. Two of nobleman were discovered earlier, and had been partly ransacked.
There was one ornate tomb, thought to be of another son of Philip which was unopened and contained treasures, but Philip II's tomb was the largest and grandest and had not been previously opened or looted.
The gates of the tomb are shut, and held shut by a huge wedge which falls as they are closed and sealed. They were ornate and decorated above with an elaborate frieze.
Macedonians were cremated, and many of their treasures were burned with them.Then the bones were washed in wine, and with their burial crown of gold, were placed in a gold casket called a Larnax.
Both the Larnax of Philip and one of his wives were found intact, on an elaborate couch in the tomb.
They were breathtaking. The detail in the crowns was exquisite.
On top of the Larnax was a golden sun, which was the symbol of the Macedonian rulers, and featured on their coins. There was a full set of the kings armour trimmed in gold, weapons and a shield.
At that time Macedonia included all of North Macedonia, and part of todays Northern Greece, including Thessaloniki, and Northern Turkey. Hence why Greece objected to North Macedonia using the symbol for their flag, so they had to modify it! These were just a few other items found in the tombs!
This was a very well presented museum and we were very glad to have visited.
From here we headed on to Thessaloniki just for 1 night. A different air bnb this time, just one street away from the last one so we felt right at home, right among the ruins!!
This one was much quieter! We headed straight out for a walk and revisited the seafront. It was still really warm here. Because we like quirky things, it tickled us that many of the kerb stones were made of marble! Well it is Greece!
That evening we found a great restaurant, To Elliniko, and had one of the best meals of the trip.
Lots of fish, and more Ouzo, metaxa and Mastica than you could imagine on the menu and on the high shelves. It was selling well too. The waiting staff were constantly climbing a ladder to retrieve another bottle of the selected brand.
Chris had another local brew, but we were given complimentary glasses of Mahica at the end of the meal. It was delicious, is supposed to have health giving properties, and I slept like a log!!
Next morning we had our first real rain of the trip. We had a few hours to use before our flight, so, as the rain eased, we headed for the Archeological museum. It was incredible. They had a huge display about Macedonian Gold which was mined here. Many of the pieces on display dated from the 4th and 5th centuries BC, and most were from tombs.
The craftsmanship was exquisite. The mining however was done by slaves, often children, crawling into perilous tunnels, often in rags, and with shocking death rates. The craftsmen who made the pieces were so skilled, but never signed their work, so are lost to history. The jewellery would not be out of place today.
Silver was once as valuable as Gold. This silver legged stool is over 2,300 years old!
The pottery was gorgeous too.
Some of it looked so modern, but was 2,200 years old, as was this dice and counter game!
The other museum exhibits were interesting too. Models of boats, seige machines and carts over 2,000 years old.
Also, these gorgeous, 1st century AD glass perfume bottles were designed to be single use.. you broke off the beak or the tail to access the perfume!
A fascinating museum, and a fitting end to our Balkan expedition... but we have one blog left, because we have one more stop on our trip.. so off to the airport!
The trip that keeps on giving. Waiting for another surprise with great interest.