Kavala and Philippi Guide: Northern Greece and Thassos

Kavala's old town occupies the Panagia peninsula, a finger of land jutting into the sea on the eastern edge of the modern city. Narrow stone streets, timber-framed Ottoman houses with overhanging upper floors, and fishermen's cottages fill the walled quarter. At the peninsula's summit stands the castle, its foundations reaching back to the Byzantine period and later expanded under Ottoman rule, still standing intact today. From the castle walls, both the harbor and the outline of Thassos island are visible across the water. The Kamares aqueduct, which links the peninsula to the mainland town, is one of the city's most recognizable landmarks; built during the Ottoman period in the 16th century, it long supplied the town's water.

Kavala was an important tobacco-trading and administrative center under Ottoman rule, and that history still reads clearly in the town's architecture. The Imaret is a large soup-kitchen and religious school complex commissioned in the early 19th century by Mehmet Ali Pasha, the town's most famous native son, as a gift to the city of his birth; its row of domes along the waterfront is instantly recognizable, and part of the complex now operates as a hotel. Further into the peninsula, the house where Mehmet Ali Pasha was born has also been preserved, with wooden upper-floor overhangs and a courtyard typical of the period's residential architecture. Mehmet Ali Pasha went on to become the Ottoman governor of Egypt and founder of a ruling dynasty there, a connection Kavala still visibly carries.

Inland from Kavala, a few kilometers to the northwest, Philippi takes its name from Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, and was the site of the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. The site today preserves a Roman-era forum, traces of the Via Egnatia, and the remains of large-scale basilicas. Philippi holds a distinct place in Christian history as one of the first sites in Europe where the Apostle Paul preached, and the ruins of its major basilicas reflect that early Christian community. A theatre of Hellenistic origin, later reworked under Roman rule, is another prominent structure on site; Philippi was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016.

Thassos lies just offshore from Kavala, an island known for its pine forests and marble quarries. The most common crossing runs from the port of Keramoti, east of Kavala, with ferries that also carry vehicles. A direct ferry service from Kavala's own port is available as well. Visitors to Kavala often spend a day exploring the old town and Philippi before crossing to Thassos for a few additional days on the island. The city's central harbor, bus connections, and short distances make it easy to combine all three in one itinerary.