unseen Thessaloniki, 2016-2018 • nicki panou

Unseen Thessaloniki

A surreal photography project, consisting of nine conceptual self-portraits, 2016-2018. Prints and postcard set available.

Statement

I was always drawn to what others overlook. Living in Thessaloniki for the last 18 years, I started discovering aspects of it that were unknown to most people, even locals. These unknown stories of the city led me to create a series of images, where I present these hidden aspects, in my own way.

I chose nine locations in Thessaloniki and the greater area. They are places which everyone knows, but at the same time, they do not. In the images that I created, I highlight each location by creating a different story, using elements of surrealism. The location is the main protagonist, while human presence acts complementary.

Along each image, there is a text with information about the respective story. This way “unseen Thessaloniki” surfaces and waits for you to meet her.

countryside district

The Salem mansion is located in a part of Thessaloniki which was known as the “Countryside district”, outside the city’s walls. Until the mid 19th century there were only some small houses and fields there, thus the name. By the end of the 19th century the rich Greeks, Turks and Jewish merchants from the city started moving there to build their glorious mansions. During the First World War, the army used many of those mansions as their base and after the Second World War, the whole area had lost its splendor and was left to decay until the 60s when most of the beautiful historic mansions were demolished and ugly apartment buildings took their place. However, a few of them were saved and some were luckily restored to their prior beauty. Others though, are still facing decay and neglect.

Nicki Panou

pasha’s gardens: the throne

Just behind St. Demetrios hospital there is a green park, unknown to most. The name “pasha’s gardens” probably refers to old stories saying that this was the place where Safulach pasha came to rest, although there is no historical evidence to support this. The gardens date back to 1904 and they cover an area of 1000 square meters. Inside the park lie remnants of some old stone constructions that are considered a sample of fantastic architecture, a style best known from Gaudi’s works in Barcelona. There is no evidence about who made these structures and for what purpose. The mysterious shapes and symbols and the tunnel that leads to nowhere have led some to believe this was a meeting place for ottoman masons. Others say that here was the end of Thessaloniki’s catacombs. According to another myth, all the stones used in the structures were struck by lightning and human sacrifices used to take place here at some point in the past. The fact that the gardens are located close to old cemeteries, explains many stories connected to them. It is considered an energy site and there are those that claim it is a geomagnetic focal point.

Nicki Panou

lighthouse pier

During the ottoman domination this area belonged to a Turkish bey. After the Minor Asia catastrophe in 1922, Greek refugees came and settled here. Because the refugees came from different regions, they disagreed over the name they should give their new home. Eventually there was a draw and “Peraia” was the winning name. The area is dominated by its long beach, which in past decades was a major attraction especially during summertime. People from Thessaloniki would take a boat and come here to take a swim and relax. These days it’s not such a popular destination anymore, but still remains a beautiful place by the sea, worth a visit.

Nicki Panou

Pavlos Melas camp

At the end of the 19th century, while Thessaloniki was still under ottoman domination, large barracks were being built outside the city’s walls. One of them was the cavalry’s barrack in the Pavlos Melas camp’s area, which was built between 1890 and 1905. In 1912, the camp was named after Pavlos Melas, an officer of the Greek army who is considered a hero. The older part of the camp is considered an historical site since 2003, because it dates back to the last years of the Ottoman empire and it is considered one of the first organized camps on greek territoty. During the german occupation it was a german base and a place of executions. Every time there was an uprising or a hit from the resistance, the Germans picked prisoners from the camp and executed them for retaliation. The army abandoned the camp some years ago and recently granted it to the municipality of Pavlos Melas and its citizens, who plan to turn it into a metropolitan park.

Nicki Panou

byzantine watermills

The archeological park of the byzantine watermills lies in the area of Polichni. In the past, people would come here for small getaways, as the area was remarkably beautiful (water, trees, fauna and flaura at their best). Today five watermills and a press have been saved and they have been declared “monuments of the byzantine and post-byzantine era”. The watermills are part of a 12-watermill system that was developed during byzantine times along the stream, which sprang from mountain Hortiatis and ended up in Thermaikos gulf. In 1996 the municipality of Polichni began efforts to upgrade the area, which was filled with waste over the years, aiming to turn it into an urban park with an archeological and cultural character. According to a study that was made by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, this area is a habitat for rare species with over 194 different native plants.

Nicki Panou

train cemetery

The train cemetery lies in N. Ionia, Thessaloniki for at least 30 years now. Thousands of abandoned train wagons lie still like ghosts, on ten abandoned train tracks. It is considered the biggest train cemetery in Greece and it is said that wagons started being left there between 1960-70. Up to this day, this is where wagons go when they can no longer be used. Somewhere among them are even some antique wagons from 1895 that used to travel between Thessaloniki-Instabul (JSC–JonctionSalonique-Constantinople) and even vehicles that were taken as trophies by the Germans during WWII. Sadly, no one cared to highlight this entire heritage somehow. On the contrary, the trains were left unguarded and those that survived the years and the raging nature were taken apart piece by piece to be sold illegally as scrap. Recently the greek railway company stated that they are going to sell all this material that has been abandoned, not only in Thessaloniki but all over Greece. However, the trains are still where they were once left, under the mercy of time, the weather and people.

Nicki Panou

lake Koroneia

Lake Koroneia (or Lagada) lies some kilometers outside Thessaloniki and during the last years it has faced serious drying issues. Before it started losing its water, it was the fifth largest lake in Greece. Lake Koroneia – as well as the neighboring lake Volvi – has been characterized as an internationally important wetland (Ramsar) and special protection zone for wild birds, natural habitats and wild fauna and flora. A beautiful wetland has been drained by thousands of illegal boreholes and infected by nearby factories that turned waters into toxic mud. After the 80s the water levels started to fall gradually. Millions were spent in both greek and european funds for the lake’s salvation, but most of them ended up in a bottomless pit. In the summer of 2007, 30.000 birds died and in 2008 the lake dried out. For a long period no migratory bird would come to the lake, instead they went to lake Volvi, where the food was not enough. In 2014 during the fall and winter seasons, as well as during the spring, the heavy snow and rainfall brought water to the lake, which was 2 meters deep in some spots, and covered spots that were previously completely dry. After almost 10 years the lake became once again home to thousands of wild birds.

Nicki Panou

zeitenlik

Zeitenlik, which means “olive grove” in turkish, lies near Lagada st. about 1.5 km north of Vardaris square. It is the biggest military necropolis in Greece since the end of WWI. This is the resting place for more than twenty thousand soldiers from the Entente forces, French, British, Italian, Russian, Serbian, but also some Bulgarian prisoners of war, who all lost their lives in the battles of the Macedonian front between 1914 and 1919. One tomb that stands out is in the british sector and it belongs to the only woman that is buried here. That woman is Katherine Harley, a British nurse with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH), who served in France before coming to Greece to help the Macedonian front. Even though she was a civilian at the time of her death, her body was taken to Zeitenlik with great honors and the presence of Prince George of Serbia and General Milne, the commander of the British forces.

Nicki Panou

Delasalle grove

Before the villas of the countryside district, Urendjick (“little paradise”, today Retziki or Pefka) was the place with all the luxurious mansions and wealthy residents. One of its most famous residents was Djeck Abbott, who in 1825 spent a fortune to turn his granfather’s land into an enchanting resort, with 300 different species of trees and plants. The most important day for Djeck Abbott in Retziki was when Sultan Abdul Mejid visited in 1858, even though a bad omen prevented him from actually setting foot on the estate. Devastated, Abbott decided to sell his estate in Retziki, a decision that was more imperative after a big fire that destroyed a large portion of his properties. In 1902, the estate was bought by the Fréres de la Congrégation de Saint Jean-Baptiste De la Salle, who ran a French school. In 1968 Delasalle college was transferred in Retziki. Of the 56 acres that the Freres owned, 30 were transfered to the municipality of Pefka in the 90s. Today the Delasalle grove lies next to the college’s facilities, open to the public. All that remains from Abbott’s majestic estate is an old two-story fortress tower, although it’s in critical condition since no restoration has taken place.

Nicki Panou