ASIANOVERLAND.NET WINTER EUROPEAN DAY 30/203:  KOMOTINI TO ALEXANDROPOLOUS, GREECE

"10/1/81 ISTANBUL HERE WE COME!!!?

FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH REAL SNOW IN GREECE.

KEL MAKING LEMON ICE BLOCKS. EVERYONE MAKING IT HARD FOR KEL.

SHORTLY AFTER THIS "INTER" TOOK A DIVE. AT THE MOMENT OF WRITING, "INTER" WAS NEATLY PARKED AGAINST AN OLIVE TREE AND GARRY WAS NOT SMILING."

The roads are still icy and visibility negligible, and an oncoming truck runs us off the road (again), down a ditch and into an olive tree. No problem, we've done that before, no great damage, and we continue east to Alexandropolous,  the capital of the Evros regional unit in East Macedonia and Thrace.  It is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.

Alexandroupolis  was only a fishing village until the late 19th century. The zone of Alexandroupolis, as well as the whole area from the Evros Delta to Lake Vistonida  (memories!!!) and the foothills of Rhodope Mountains, was inhabited by Thracian people with whom, according to mythology, Odysseus and his comrades clashed on their return from Troy.

Alexandroupolis benefits from its position at the centre of land and sea routes connecting Greece with Turkey. Landmarks in Alexandroupolis include the city's lighthouse in the port, the archaeological sites of the Mesimvria Zone, the city's waterfront, the Ethnological Museum of Thrace, the thermal springs (Hana) of Traianoupoli, the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus and the nearby Evros delta.

Alexandropolous was captured by the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), who saw that reconstruction incorporated wide streets running parallel to each other, allowing the quick advance of troops. This was very unlike the narrow alleys, cobbled streets, and dead-ends that were characteristic of Ottoman cities. The city returned to Ottoman control by the end of the war, but the brief Russian presence had a lasting effect on the design of Alexandroupoli's streets.

Ottoman control of the town lasted until the Balkan Wars, when it was captured by Bulgarian forces with the assistance of the Hellenic Navy. Bulgaria and Greece were allies during the First Balkan War, but opponents in the Second Balkan War. The Treaty of Bucharest (10 August 1913) determined that Alexandropolous returned to Bulgaria along with the rest of Western Thrace.

The defeat of Bulgaria by the Allies in World War I (1914–1918) ensured another change of hands for the town. Western Thrace was withdrawn from Bulgaria under the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly.  In the second half of April 1920 in the San Remo conference, Western Thrace was given to Greece. However, Bulgaria retained the right of transit to use the port of Dedeagach to transport goods through the Aegean Sea. The change of guard occurred in 1920, and the city was soon visited by Alexander of Greece, the first King of Greece to visit the town, which was renamed in his honour.

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