A voyage through northern Greek Macedonia

For Greece, “Macedonia” is not simply a name; it is the name of its own northern region and an inseparable part of its historical heritage, associated with Alexander the Great. For nearly three decades, the two neighbors wrestled over identity, history, and terminology.

In 1992, as Greece’s dispute with its newly independent northern neighbor over the name Macedonia intensified, Thessaloniki’s Mikra Airport was renamed “Makedonia.” The new name referred to the Greek region of Macedonia and carried powerful symbolism at a time when Greece was asserting its own historical and geographical connection to the name.

I was curious to explore Greek Macedonia and, along the way, to investigate this question of identity. It is a vast and surprisingly diverse corner of northern Greece, where history is only the beginning of the story.

Eight shields and long Macedonian sarissas (spears) surround the monument, evoking the soldiers who accompanied Alexander on his campaigns. Over the years, the site in Thessaloniki (how many of you know that Thessalonike was Alexander the Great’s half-sister?) has also served as a ceremonial gathering point, with wreath-laying commemorative events held at the statue, including an annual tribute by schoolchildren ahead of Greece’s Independence Day.

My destination was pine-covered Sithonia, the middle of the three-pronged Halkidiki peninsula. Here, barely an hour or two from the urban energy of Thessaloniki, Macedonia exchanges monuments and boulevards for turquoise coves, forested hills, seaside villages, and some of northern Greece’s most compelling resorts.

The journey heads east and south into the peninsula stretching into the Aegean. A fascinating story made me curious. Yiannis Carras, a shipping magnate from Chios who sailed into Greek Macedonia, fell in love with this stretch of coastline in the 1960s and went on to create one of the region’s most iconic tourism landmarks. He was the man behind the Porto Carras Grand Resort complex on Sithonia and had a very specific vision when he acquired this vast stretch of land.

Carras envisioned a hotel designed like a cruise ship sailing out to sea, embraced by the coastline and its marina. That vision shaped the Porto Carras Meliton, and more than half a century later, that is still very much the feeling here.

Carras acquired a vast 1,763-hectare estate and set about transforming what was then a largely untouched corner of Sithonia into an extraordinary resort. Today, the Meliton feels almost like a destination in itself: a family resort with four swimming pools, remarkably clear and calm waters along Porto Carras’s nine-kilometer coastline, a wide choice of restaurants, a spacious fitness center, and an impressive variety of activities.

Guests can taste wines at the renowned Domaine Porto Carras winery within the estate, play golf, go horse riding, or choose from sailing excursions departing directly from the adjacent marina.

The scale of the Meliton becomes particularly apparent at breakfast. During our stay, more than a thousand guests were staying at the resort. Yet despite that almost unimaginable number, everyone seemed to find their place with surprising ease. Families gathered in the Athos restaurant facing lavish buffets, their plates piled high with vegetables, cheeses, and freshly prepared omelets, while the morning unfolded at an unexpectedly relaxed pace.

Anyone who has been on a cruise will know exactly what I mean. There may be a thousand people around you, yet somehow everyone finds their own table, their own corner, their own rhythm.

Perhaps that is the most striking confirmation that Carras’s original vision ultimately succeeded: the Meliton was conceived with the spirit of a cruise ship, and decades later, in more ways than one, it still feels like one.

The resort has changed hands since Carras’s time. In 2020, Porto Carras was acquired by Belterra Investments, associated with the family of Greek-Russian businessman Ivan Savvidis, which subsequently embarked on a major redevelopment of the historic resort. Ownership may have changed, but Carras’s vision remains firmly anchored here.

“What can Macedonia, and Halkidiki in particular, offer Israeli travelers that the Greek islands cannot?” I asked Konstantinos Arvanitis, the general manager.

“That variety is one of Macedonia’s great advantages. You don’t have to choose between a city break, a beach holiday, and exploring nature. You can combine all three.

“And then there are the beaches,” he continued. “While many Mediterranean islands are known for smaller or rockier beaches, Halkidiki offers long, wide stretches of sandy coastline and exceptionally clear water.

“As Greece increasingly looks to develop tourism beyond its most saturated island destinations, Macedonia and Halkidiki are becoming a much more important part of the country’s tourism map,” Arvanitis said.

Yet on this journey, I was determined to better understand this Greek Macedonian identity by speaking with guests and hotel staff along the way. Among them was Katerina Athanasiadou, a senior executive at the hotel, whose deep connection to her Macedonian heritage struck me as she spoke passionately about what it means to her to be a Greek Macedonian.

“I still remember an incident from the very beginning of my hospitality career, about 25 years ago, when I was working as a waitress at a hotel in Thessaloniki,” she recalled. “I was serving a couple from overseas who asked me how they could get to Macedonia. I didn’t understand the question. I told them, ‘But you are already in Macedonia.’ They insisted that they were in Greece, not Macedonia.

“It took quite some time to explain that there was no contradiction. Thessaloniki is in Greece, but it is also the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. Eventually, those guests were referring to what is today North Macedonia.”

For Athanasiadou, the encounter was revealing. “That was when I realized how many people from other countries simply don’t understand how important our Macedonian identity is to us here in northern Greece. Macedonia has been alive here for thousands of years, long before Yugoslavia was created, long before it broke apart, and long before the neighboring country became today’s North Macedonia.”

Yet she is keen to separate that strong sense of identity from tension toward Greece’s northern neighbor. “We are proud Greek Macedonians, but that doesn’t mean we cannot feel close to the people across the border. Today, we have friendly relations, and many guests from North Macedonia stay at the resort and love it. For us, being Macedonian is simply part of who we are as Greeks.”

Back in Thessaloniki before departing home, I spent four fascinating hours on a walking tour of the city, guided by the knowledgeable Alana Ditsolas of Saloniki IL. Partly Israeli, she has lived in Thessaloniki for the past 14 years and leads Israeli groups on walking tours of the city. She is married to George, a Greek Macedonian.

During one of our breaks, I ask her how her husband feels about the neighboring country of North Macedonia; she smiles and says its name is best not mentioned around him. “His blue eyes turn red: ‘They are stealing our Greek history,’” she said. “He protests, raising his voice and blaming the Greek government for compromising by giving up Greece’s exclusive claim to the name Macedonia.”

Yet beyond the sensitivities of history and identity, everyday life tells a more relaxed story. People cross the border, travel, shop, and holiday in each other’s countries, while visitors from North Macedonia are a familiar presence in northern Greece and Halkidiki. History may still stir emotions, but on the ground, the two neighbors increasingly share a very normal relationship.