Greece - Korina Miller [250]
Mantziaris Restaurant ( 24670 29492; Valala 8; mains €6-9) Unpretentious Mantziaris serves mayirefta and made-to-order grills.
Lithos ( 24670 26760; Orestiados 51; mains €6-10) The traditional wood-and-stone decor here matches the hearty taverna fare; the few innovations include ‘Lithos aubergines’ (herb-laced fried mushrooms).
Doltso ( 24670 24670; Plateia Doltso; mains €7-10) Housed in a rather imposing restored arhontika, Doltso’s menu is standard, though the speciality, meatballs in makalo sauce (onion, garlic, flour and tomato), is unusual and excellent.
Getting There & Away
Kastoria’s Aristotelis airport ( 24670 42515), 10km south, offers flights to Athens (€120, four weekly). Olympic Air ( 24670 22275; www.olympicairlines.com; Leoforos Megalou Alexandrou 15) is centrally located.
From Kastoria’s bus station ( 24670 83455; Athanasiou Diakou) buses depart for Thessaloniki (€15.90, 2½ hours, seven daily), Ioannina (€16.30, 3½ hours, two daily), Konitsa (€12.10, 2½ hours, two daily), Athens (€41.60, nine hours, three daily) and Veria (€10.30, two hours, two daily). For Florina (€3.20, 30 minutes, eight daily), take a bus to Amyntaio and wait for a connecting bus.
Taxis ( 24670 82100) are also available.
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THRACE ΘΡΑΚΗ
pop 363,300 / area 6129 sq km
Diverse, dusty and still somewhat mysterious, Thrace (thr-aaa-kih) is one of Greece’s most striking but least-visited areas. Once home to a powerful, non-Greek ancient Thracian civilisation, the region in more modern times has been dramatically affected by other neighbouring peoples, such as Bulgarians and Turks (the cumulative geographical entity of Thrace is indeed shared with Bulgaria and Turkey).
Thrace and its peoples have always lived from agriculture, still visibly attested by its tobacco crops, rolling wheat fields and vivid plains of sunflowers. The relative lack of tourism has preserved its character. The visible Turkish minority, with its own traditions of language, culture and cooking, has roots in Ottoman times. The landscape is dotted with mosque minarets and little villages of Turkish-style, red-roofed houses, and the traditional sweet shops are among Greece’s best.
Other attractions in this sparsely inhabited province include unique expanses of wilderness. In the north, the rolling Rhodopi Mountains form the border with Bulgaria, full of pristine forests and animal life, while Thrace’s eastern stretches nearer to Turkey host significant migratory bird populations at the Dadia Forest Reserve and the Evros Delta on the Aegean coast. The largest town, Alexandroupoli, is also the jumping-off point for ferries to Samothraki.
Thrace may be a hinterland, but as Greece’s only land border with Turkey, it’s a strategic one. Around 30,000 Greek soldiers are stationed here. However, the only Greek warriors you’ll see are the ones socialising in cafes along with university students called up to serve at various far-flung faculties. Since there’s still little tourism, local communities appreciate the economic boost these twin armies provide.
History
What is known about the ancient Thracians comes from Greek sources; few inscribed records survive in their own, now lost language. Myth and supposition thus go into reconstructing this ancient civilisation, which had a reputation for warlike ways and mysterious religious practices. The most important, the cult of the Great Gods, began influencing Greek pagan religion after 1000 BC. At the Thracians’ supreme temple on Samothraki, ancient Macedonian, Roman and Egyptian rulers were initiated into the cult. Secret rituals associated with Orpheus, the mythical, tragic Thracian father of music, also captivated society.
During the 7th century BC, powerful Greek city-states conquered the Thracian coast, and the Persians soon after. Athens prevailed after defeating Persia at the Battle of Plataea, but was ousted by Philip II of Macedon in 346 BC. With the Roman Empire’s AD 395 division into western and eastern