Tour 2009 - Churches, Mosques & Bath Houses Oh My! - Too Windy to Cycle!

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OK I'm done my bitching from yesterday - As you might have been able to tell, yes I was pretty grumpy. After a nice dinner (actually the food was not too great but I didn't care) and a long sleep - I am MUCH happier today. We got up this morning around 6 and the wind was just a howling. Thankfully, Barry decided it was a good idea to stay put. It is actually probably borderline dangerous winds. So I'm glad about being able to spend another day here.

Alexandroupolis is a cute little city situated on the Aegean Coast, about 20 or so Km from the Turkish border in a region called Thrace. An interesting region at that – historically it has been a big melting pot of Greeks, Turks, nomadic (gypsy-like) tribes and Slavic cultures. Still lots of Muslimism the area, despite the conflicts during the Balkan war in 1912/1913 and WWI that Northern Greece (Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaloniki and others) did not officially become part of independent Greece until 1928. Up until then, it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after WWII, a civil war forced the Greeks and Turks to either side of their respective borders, causing most of the animosities that are present today. I now finally understand too, why my grandmother always hated the Turks… I guess this is around the time that she fled to Canada…anyway – it now puts it a bit more into perspective. So my original point being that this is a region with a myriad of cultural influences, and they are evident from a culinary, architectural and dress perspective…

We spent the day just exploring the city - stopping in cafes, museums and the like... great way to spend a day off....

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