Kavala | Tourism Sight

The city was founded at about the end of the 7th century BC by settlers from Thassos, who called it Neapolis (Νεάπολις; "new city" in Greek). It was one of the colonies that the Thassians founded along the coastline in order to take advantage of the rich gold and silver mines of the territory, especially those located in the nearby Pangaion mountain (which were eventually exploited by Phillip the Second of Macedonia).
The worship of "Parthenos", a female deity of Greek–Ionian origin, is archaeologically attested in the archaic period. At the end of the 6th century BC Neapolis claimed its independence from Thassos and cut its own silver coins with the head of Gorgo  on the one side. At the beginning of the 5th century BC a large Ionic temple made from thassian marble replaced the archaic one. Parts of it can now be seen in the archaeological museum of Kavala.
In 411 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, Neapolis was besieged by the allied armies of the Spartans and the Thassians but remained faithful to Athens. Two Athenian honorary decrees in 410 and 407 BC rewarded Neapolis for its loyalty.
Neapolis was a town of Macedonia, located 14 km (9 mi) from the harbor of Philippi. Neapolis was a member of the Athenian League; a pillar found in Athens mentions the contribution of Neapolis to the alliance.
Via Egnatia in Kavala.
The military Roman road Via Egnatia passed through the city helped commerce to flourish. It became a Roman civitas in 168 BC, and was a base for Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, before their defeat in the Battle of Philippi. (Appian, B.C. iv. 106; Dion Cass. xlvii. 35.). The Apostle Paul landed at Kavala on his first voyage to Europe (Acts, xvi. 11).
In the 6th century, Byzantine emperor Justinian I fortified the city in an effort to protect it from barbaric raids. In later Byzantine times the city was called Christoupolis (Χριστούπολις, "city of Christ") and belonged to the theme of Macedonia. The first mention of the new name is recorded in a taktikon of the early 9th century. The city is also mentioned in the "Life of St. Gregory of Dekapolis". In the 8th and 9th century, Bulgarian attacks forced the Byzantines to reorganize the defense of the area, giving great care to Christoupolis with fortifications and a notable garrison. In 926 the Byzantine general (strategos) Basil Klaudon reconstructed the fallen walls of the city, according to an inscription that is now in the archaeological museum of Kavala. Due to the location of Christoupolis, the city experienced an economic resurgence, securing the contact between Constantinople and Thessaloniki. During the Norman raid of Macedonia in 1185, the city was captured and burned. In 1302, the Catalans failed to capture the city. In order to prevent them from coming back, the Byzantine emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos built a new long defensive wall ("το παρά την Χριστούπολιν τείχισμα"). In 1357 it is mentioned that the Byzantine officers and brothers Alexios and John controlled the city and its territory. Recent excavations have revealed the ruins of an early Byzantine basilica under an old Ottoman mosque in the old part of the city (Panagia peninsula). This Christian temple was used until the late Byzantine era, as the also recently revealed small cemetery around it shows. The Ottoman Turks first captured the city in 1387 and completely destroyed it in 1391, as a Mount Athos chronicle testifies.
Further information: Ottoman Greece and Sanjak of Kavala
Residence of Muhammad Ali of Egypt.
Kavala was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1387 to 1912. In the middle of the 16th century, Ibrahim Pasha, Grand Vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent, contributed to the prosperity and growth of Kavala by the construction of an aqueduct. The Ottomans also extended the Byzantine fortress on the hill of Panagia. Both landmarks are among the most recognizable symbols of the city today.
Mehmet Ali, the founder of a dynasty that ruled Egypt, was born in Kavala in 1769. His house has been preserved as a museum.
Kavala was briefly occupied by the Bulgarians during the first Balkan War in 1912, but was finally captured by Greece in 1913 during a successful landing operation by the Greek Navy that was commanded by the famous admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis. During World War I Kavala suffered from the Bulgarian military occupation with many victims among its Greek population.[citation needed] After the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, the city entered a new era of prosperity because of the labour offered by the thousands of refugees that moved to the area from Asia Minor. The development was both industrial and agricultural. Kavala became greatly involved in the processing and trading of tobacco. Many buildings related to the storage and processing of tobacco from that era are preserved in the city.
During World War II and after the fall of Athens, the Nazis awarded Kavala to their Bulgarian allies in 1941, causing the city to suffer once again, but finally was liberated in 1944.
In the late 1950s Kavala expanded towards the sea by reclaiming land from the area west of the port.
In 1967, King Constantine II left Athens for Kavala in an unsuccessful attempt to launch a counter-coup against the military junta.
In antiquity the name of the city was Neapolis. During the Middle Ages it was Christoupolis. The etymology of the modern name of the city is disputed. There are some explanations, either from the Italian cavallo (=horse), or from the Hebrew Kabbalah due to the large Jewish population of the city.
Kamares (the old aqueduct), constructed in the Roman/Byzantine period, underwent extensive repairs during the Ottoman rule, particularly during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent and Legislator (c. 1530 AD). This double arch structure was designed to bridge the peninsula of Panagia with the foot of the mountain of Lekani. It was used to carry water from mountain sources ((6 km (4 miles)) north from the "Mother of Water", Soumpasi, or The Three Elms) in today's "Old Town" – Panagia, with the main water source situated at an altitude of 400 m and other lower sources of supply. 280 metres (920 ft) long and with a maximum height of 25 metres (82 ft), this grand monument consists of 60 arches of four different sizes. The most recent restoration work began in September 1997 with a mild technical assistance[clarification needed] Source: «Medieval Aqueduct of Kavala – Arcs», Publication of 12th Service of Byzantine and Ancient Antiquities, Kavala, 2008
The Castle of Kavala[3] dominates the top of the peninsula, where the old city is built. During the Byzantine period and later, repeated reconstruction works and fortification repairs were made by the Byzantines, Venetians and Turks. Each period in modern history has left traces on its walls. The castle (citadel) in its current form was built in the first quarter of the 15th century on a foundation from the Byzantine period. Cultural events are held in the outdoor theater.
The Imaret, a big edifice of the late Ottoman period, is a classic example of Islamic architecture located on the west side of the peninsula of Panagia (old town). It is one of the last built in this particular period and the only one that has survived almost intact. Its largest part was built between 1817–21 by the founder of the last Egyptian dynasty, Mehmet Ali. For sentimental reasons, the Wali of Egypt wanted to benefit his hometown with this religious, educational and charitable institution. It operated as a Muslim seminary, including a "workhouse" providing occupational training for all the poor of the city regardless of religion. Since 1922, the Imaret was used to house refugees. In 1931, in order for the adjacent street to be widened, a part of the Imaret was demolished. In 1967 the residents of the Imaret (mostly refugees) were ordered to leave, and the monument was sealed. Until the question of ownership was settled, the Imaret remained completely deserted. After property issues were resolved, a part of it operated as a bar and restaurant while other parts were used as warehouses. In 2001 it was leased for fifty years to an entrepreneur from Kavala, who restored and converted it into a luxurious and elegant hotel, which maintains something of the ambience of its era.[4]
The House of Mehmet Ali in the Old Town Square was the birthplace of Mehmet Ali, Ottoman Albanian ruler and founder of the last Egyptian dynasty. This beautiful building, an example of Macedonian architecture, is considered to be the property of Egypt. The "konaki" of Mehmet Ali has two floors. A bronze equestrian statue was built in the centre of the square in 1934 in honor of the Sultan of Egypt, a work of Greek sculptor Dimitriadis. Nowadays, the building is used for the purposes of the Mohammed Ali Institute.[5][not in citation given]
The Town Hall, a Hungarian miniature tower, was built around 1895 by the Hungarian tobacco trader Pierre Herzog. After his death the building passed into the possession of the "Limited Liability Company of Tobacco and Overseas". In 1937, under the administration of Mayor Athanasios Balanos, it was purchased by the Municipality of Kavala and has since housed the town hall.
Adolf Wix Mansion was built in 1899 by the German Baron Adolf Wix to serve as a centre of commercial activity and as a house. Architecturally speaking, it is very similar to the adjacent building of the current town hall. Today, after several changes in ownership, it belongs to the municipality of Kavala.
The Lazarists (Vincentians) Convent is located on Kipros Street and was built between 1888–92. The building has architectural elements mixed with neoclassical influence and was used as the French Embassy. Today it houses the only Catholic church in the city.
The building of the Megali Leschi (Great Greek Community Club) of Kavala was built in 1909 by the Ladies Philoptochos (Friends of the Poor) Sisterhood. It is a typical example of eclectic architectural style with a lot of embedded neoclassical motifs, e.g. columns, pediments, etc. Located next to the town hall, it is used for secular organizations and other social events. While generally of neoclassical form, it has some traditional architectural elements. Today, only part of the building is used for cultural events due to the restoration work that has already started.
Tokos Mansion was built in 1879 by Dimitrios Tokos, a tobacco trader, and its architectural style is influenced by romantic eclecticism. During the first years of the 20th century the Mansion was used as the Italian Subconsulate, and in 1911 it was purchased on behalf of the Ladies Philoptochos Society of Kavala (Friends of the Poor). From 1913 to 1937, it housed the town hall, and from its terrace in 1929 Eleftherios Venizelos made his speech. After the Second World War it housed the Private School Papassideri. Today it houses the Revenue Department of Byzantine Antiquities.
The Municipal Conservatory[6] (along with the adjacent building once owned by Kleon Krantonellis) is the oldest among the houses[clarification needed], having been built before 1864. It belonged to the N. and E. Grigoriadis brothers, two of the first tobacco traders. After World War I it served as a bank, and since 1987 (it was inaugurated in its present form in 1990) it has belonged to the Municipality of Kavala and houses the Municipal Conservatory. Its strong neoclassical design, its impressive frontons, the columns, and the sculptures indicate the architect's attempt to emphasize the city's power, wealth and national pride rooted in ancient tradition.

The Municipal Tobacco Warehouse was built during the two first decades of the 20th century as a tobacco warehouse for the Turkish tobacco trader Kizi Mimin. The building is characterized by architectural and morphological elements of Ottoman-Turkish and Neo-Classical architecture. Today it belongs to the Municipality of Kavala and will host exhibits of the Folk Museum of Kavala, the Tobacco Museum and series of temporary exhibitions.
The bronze statue of Nike (Victory) is in the public garden in front of the Town Hall. The relief image was created by sculptor Dionysios Gerolymatos and refers to the struggles of Greeks from ancient times up until 1940-41. The bronze statue is by sculptor John Parmakelis.

Saint John’s Island in Singapore | Tourism Sight

Saint John's Island, previously known as Pulau Sakijang Bendera, is one of the Southern Islands in Singapore. It is located approximately 6.5 km to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore.
Saint John's Island formerly housed a quarantine station for cholera cases detected among immigrants in the late 19th century, and starting from 1901, victims of beri-beri were also brought to the island. By 1930, the island gained world recognition as a quarantine centre screening Asian immigrants and pilgrims returning from Mecca. The quarantine station was eventually also used to house victims of other diseases, such as leprosy. When mass immigration was closed in mid-20th century, the island was used to house a penal settlement and a drug rehabilitation centre. The 40.5-hectare hilly island was transformed in 1975 into a tranquil getaway with swimming lagoons, beaches, picnic grounds, trekking routes and football fields. The island is also a haven for a host of flora and fauna, and is popular for weekend visits. There is also a small jetty at the southern end of the island to transport visitors to and from the mainland.
The island, reputedly haunted according to some local traditions, was the site of Sir Stamford Raffles's anchorage before meeting the Malay chief of Singapore in 1819.
The Northern Beach on Saint John's Island.
Also located on the island is the Tropical Marine Science Institute, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore's Marine Aquaculture Centre. A detention centre for illegal immigrants still remains.
Holiday-makers yearning for an island stay on Saint John's Island can book the Holiday Bungalow, which can accommodate up to 10 persons and comes furnished with a kitchen. Organised groups can stay over in the dormitories at the Holiday Camps which can take up to 60 persons. The dormitories are equipped with basic cooking facilities.
Overnight stays are only allowed for occupants at the Holiday Bungalow and Holiday Camps.
In my Singapore trip, I was accidentally discovered a sea travel paradise on an island in Singapore. I went to Singapore and visited some islands such as Setosa Island, Pulau Ubin,… but no where has more beautiful coral than St John’s island – is said to be the most beautiful coral island.
Brief Tour of Saint John Island:
Saint John Island (St John Island for short) has an other name is Sakijang Bendera island, is located in the Southern coast of Singapore, about 6.5 km far from Singapore main island, 40.5 km2 of area and mountainous terrain is mainly. Island is an ideal tourist destination resort.
Saint John Island in the past:
In 1819, St John was the stopover of the naval squadron of Stamford Raffles when met local Malays cheifs.
In 1901, It was a quarantine station for immigrants from other countries.This place mainly checked cholera, beriberi disease, leprosy, … If someone is sick they will be isolated here and be treated.
In 1930, St. John is recognized as a quarantine center for Asian immigrants, as well as pilgrims from Mecca.
In 1950, large-scale migration had ended, so the quarantine station was canceled and instead of jail and rehabilitation center.
In 1975 St John was completely renovated into a swimming-pool resort, beach, campground, walking and football field. As an island has a diverse ecosystem with very rich fauna and flora attract the tourist, especially this place own many beautiful coral reefs.
Saint John Island today:

Nowadays St John is one of the most tourist visited destinations and is a an ideal resort in Sigapore.
Although the island has a dark past, but the island possesses a variety of marine life, entertaining venues spring up like mushrooms with many activities to meet the tourist’s demand.
Come to St John you will be watched a world of colorful coral, coral diversity or swum in beautiful lakes of the island, you will be enjoyed the game on the beach, relaxed on a beautiful beach or you can go see the dolphins.
Everyday, Marine Sciences Institute organizes walking to explore the natural surroundings with guide . Every day, a ferry ride from Marina South Pier dock will go straight into St John’s Island, or you can hire a private boat to get there. Wooden houses and camping facilities are also available on the island.
If you want to stay overnight, you must register at double overnight pleasure-house were: Holiday Bungalow (Wooden House Holidays) with 10 people of capacity and available kitchen, Holiday Camps (Camp Holidays) has a capacity of 60 people, has a place in the collective cooking and camping gear.
Today the island is being invested many hotels and resorts to meet for a picnic tourists at home and abroad.

Moscow Saint Basil's Cathedral Tourism Sights

The original building, known as Trinity Church and later Trinity Cathedral, contained eight side churches arranged around the ninth, central church of Intercession; the tenth church was erected in 1588 over the grave of venerated local saint Vasily (Basil). In the 16th and 17th centuries the church, perceived as the earthly symbol of the Heavenly City,as happens to all churches in Byzantine Christianity, was popularly known as the "Jerusalem" and served as an allegory of the Jerusalem Temple in the annual Palm Sunday parade attended by the Patriarch of Moscow and the tsar.

The building is shaped as a flame of a bonfire rising into the sky, a design that has no analogues in Russian architecture. Dmitry Shvidkovsky, in his book Russian Architecture and the West, states that "it is like no other Russian building. Nothing similar can be found in the entire millennium of Byzantine tradition from the fifth to fifteenth century ... a strangeness that astonishes by its unexpectedness, complexity and dazzling interleaving of the manifold details of its design."The cathedral foreshadowed the climax of Russian national architecture in the 17th century.

As part of the program of state atheism, the church was confiscated from the Russian Orthodox community as part of the Soviet Union's anti-theist campaigns and has operated as a division of the State Historical Museum since 1928. It was completely and forcefully secularized in 1929 and remains a federal property of the Russian Federation. The church has been part of the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. It is often mislabelled as the Kremlin owing to its location on Red Square in immediate proximity of the Kremlin.

Because the church has no analogues, in preceding, contemporary, or later architecture of Muscovy and Byzantine cultural tradition in general,[12] the sources that inspired Barma and Postnik are disputed. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc rejected European roots for the cathedral; according to him, its corbel arches were Byzantine, and ultimately Asian.[30] A modern "Asian" hypothesis considers the cathedral a recreation of Qolsharif Mosque, which was destroyed by Russian troops after the siege of Kazan.

Nineteenth-century Russian writers, starting with Ivan Zabelin emphasized the influence of the vernacular wooden churches of the Russian North; their motifs made their ways into masonry, particularly the votive churches that did not need to house substantial congregations. David Watkin also wrote of a blend of Russian and Byzantine roots, calling the cathedral "the climax" of Russian vernacular wooden architecture.

The church combines the staggered layered design of the earliest (1505–08) part of the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, the central tent of the Church of Ascension in Kolomenskoye (1530s), and the cylindric shape of the Church of Beheading of John the Baptist in Dyakovo (1547),[29] but the origin of these unique buildings is equally debated. The Church in Kolomenskoye, according to Sergey Podyapolsky, was built by Italian Petrok Maly,although mainstream history has not yet accepted his opinion. Andrey Batalov revised the year of completion of Dyakovo church from 1547 to the 1560s–70s, and noted that Trinity Church could have had no tangible predecessors at all.

Dmitry Shvidkovsky suggested that the "improbable" shapes of the Intercession Church and the Church of Ascension in Kolomenskoye manifested an emerging national renaissance, blending earlier Muscovite elements with the influence of Italian Renaissance. A large group of Italian architects and craftsmen continuously worked in Moscow in 1474–1539, as well as Greek refugees that arrived in the city after the fall of Constantinople.These two groups, according to Shvidkovsky, helped Moscow rulers in forging the doctrine of Third Rome, which in turn promoted assimilation of contemporary Greek and Italian culture. Shvidkovsky noted the resemblance of the cathedral's floorplan to Italian concepts by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and Donato Bramante, but most likely Filarete's Trattato di architettura. Other Russian researchers noted a resemblance to sketches by Leonardo da Vinci, although he could not have been known in Ivan's Moscow. Nikolay Brunov recognized the influence of these prototypes but not their significance; he suggested that in the mid-16th century Moscow already had local architects trained in Italian tradition, architectural drawing and perspective, and that this culture was lost during the Time of Troubles.

Andrey Batalov wrote that, judging by the number of novel elements introduced with Trinity Church, it was most likely built by German craftsmen. Batalov and Shvidkovsky noted that during Ivan's reign, Germans and Englishmen replaced Italians, although German influence peaked later, during the reign of Mikhail Romanov. German influence is indirectly supported by the rusticated pilasters of the central church, a feature more common in contemporary Northern Europe than in Italy.

The 1983 academic edition of Monuments of Architecture in Moscow takes the middle ground: the church is, most likely, a product of the complex interaction of distinct Russian traditions of wooden and stone architecture, with some elements borrowed from the works of Italians in Moscow.Specifically, the style of brickwork in the vaults is Italian.

One of Russia’s most iconic images is undoubtedly St Basil’s Cathedral, with its riotously colourful tent roofs and twisting onion shaped domes, each with their own distinctive pattern and colour scheme. Located on Red Square in Moscow, opposite the Kremlin, St Basil’s Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1552 to mark the 1552 capture of Kazan from Mongol forces. It was designed by architect Postnik Yakovlev and completed in 1561. According to legend, Ivan was so ‘blown away’ at the beauty and intricacy of Postnik’s work; he had him blinded so that he would never be able to design anything as fantastical again! A chapel was added in 1588 above the grave of Basil Fool for Christ- a Russian Orthodox saint, after whom the cathedral was popularly named. Its official name is ‘The Catheral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat’. 

The whimsical cathedral consists of nine small individual chapels built on a single foundation, the interior design of cathedral is suprisingly understated, each chapel is filled with icons and the walls are decorated with beautiful floral designs in muted colours. Connecting the chapels are narrow corridors, a gallery and winding staircases. In front of the Cathedral is a large bronze statue of Pozharsky and Minin, two prominent figures in Russia’s army when the Time of Troubles hit. 

No visit to Moscow is complete without a trip to Red Square. Interestingly the word ‘red’ doesn’t refer to the colour of the bricks or to Communism. In Russian, Moscow’s famous Red Square is called Krasnaya Ploschad. The word Krasnaya simultaneously means ‘red’ and ‘beautiful’, the latter of which was originally used to refer to stunning St Basil’s Cathedral at the southern end of the square. 

Red Square is not only famous for St Basil’s Cathedral, here you’ll also find the GUM Department store - Moscow’s original department store - a kind of hangover from the Soviet era, which runs along one side of the square. Located at the northern end of Red Square is the History Museum housed in the 19th century church of St John the Divine Under the Elm which boasts an enormous collection covering the whole Russian empire from the Stone Age onwards. Red Square is also home to the eerie, almost macabre mausoleum of Lenin – the creator and sustainer of Communism. Following Lenin’s passing way back in 1924, and against his wishes, it was decided to preserve the former Soviet leader’s body for national pride and posterity. A secret embalming process was perfected and his wax-like cadaver lies peacefully in a dimly lit, almost macabre setting. in a large Art Deco style, red granite monolithic structure. Humourless guards ensure that visitors remain at all times respectful. Without stopping, you are able to walk round three sides of a glass case in which Lenin lies. Behind the mausoleum on Red Square is the walls of the Kremlin, Russia’s political power house. 

Preservationist societies monitored the state of the church and called for a proper restoration throughout the 1880s and 1890s, but it was regularly delayed for lack of funds. The church did not have a congregation of its own and could only rely on donations raised through public campaigning; national authorities in Saint Petersburg and local in Moscow denied financing from state and municipal budgets. In 1899 Nicholas II reluctantly admitted that this expense was necessary, but again all involved state and municipal offices, including the Holy Synod, denied financing Restoration, headed by Andrey Pavlinov (died in 1898) and Sergey Solovyov, dragged on from 1896 to 1909; in total, preservationists managed to raise around 100,000 roubles.

Restoration began with replacing the roofing of the domes. Solovyov removed tin roofing of the main tent installed in the 1810s and found many original tiles missing and others discoloured;after a protracted debate the whole set of tiles on the tented roof was replaced with new ones.Another dubious decision allowed use of standard bricks that were smaller than the original 16th-century ones. Restorators agreed that the paintwork of the 19th century must be replaced with a "truthful recreation" of historic patterns, but these had to be reconstructed and deduced based on medieval miniatures. In the end Solovyov and his advisers set upon a combination of deep red with deep green that is retained to date.

In 1908 the church received its first warm air heating system, which did not work well due to heat losses in long air ducts, and heated only the eastern and northern sanctuaries. In 1913 it was complemented with a pumped water heating system serving the rest of the church.