Things to Do in Edessa, From Karanos Falls to Varosi
by Bill Giannopoulos · Greek City TimesThings to do in Edessa range from a 70-metre waterfall and old watermills to Byzantine frescoes and an ancient city.
Abundant water has shaped the story of this town in Pella. Built on the edge of a cliff, it pairs urban waterfalls with Varosi, a quarter of fine Macedonian architecture.
Out on the plain lies the ancient city at Longos. As a result, the things to do in Edessa stretch from nature to history.
Things to do in Edessa at the waterfalls
Every visit begins with the waterfalls of its geopark, which covers 100,000 square metres. The Edessaios river crosses the park, and its old name was Vodas, while the town went by Vodena.
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Considered the largest falls of the Balkans, they formed in the 14th century. An earthquake opened cracks in the rock, so the stagnant waters drained away.
Their source is the Agras-Vryta-Nisi wetland. Snow from Mount Voras and its peak, Kaimaktsalan, feeds it.
The highlight is the spectacular Karanos waterfall, named after the founder of the Macedonian royal house and floodlit at night. Corridors and steps lead down to its base, where the roar is thunderous.
Here the water plunges 70 metres, throwing up spray and, when the sun catches it, rainbows. Limestone has built up on the moss beneath the falls, forming a cave. Exploring it ranks among the more unusual things to do in Edessa.
Mills, machines and a 1909 rope factory
Since Byzantine times, steep slopes and plentiful water have powered local industry. Flour mills, sesame mills, tanneries and fulling mills came first.
By the late 19th century, six textile mills ran on water, and the trade peaked between the wars. Problems emerged in the late 1950s, though, and the last factory shut in 1962.
Visitors can retrace that story at the Open-Air Water Museum, one of the key things to do in Edessa. Under plane trees and ivy, cobbled paths and water channels also wind past gears, belts, giant wheels and cast-iron machines.
At the old Arditsoglou sesame mill, a rare horizontal water wheel that once drove the millstones has returned to life. Nearby, the Pertsemli sesame mill, or Mill of Taste, also showcases local produce.
Giannakis’s watermill houses an aquarium and reptile house, the first in Greece with endemic freshwater fish. Turtles, crabs and snakes also live there, making it one of the family-friendly things to do in Edessa.
Lower down stands a water-powered textile factory, unique in Greece, which made ropes and twine from Indian hemp. It dates from 1909, to designs by Austrian engineer Leopold Eigl.
Varosi and its Macedonian mansions
Beside the Mills lies Varosi, the most beautiful part of town, overlooking the plains of Pella. For many, a stroll here tops the list of things to do in Edessa.
About 85 of its Macedonian-style houses survive, because German and Italian troops burned much of the town in 1943–44. Since 1983, the law has protected the quarter, and in 1992 its regeneration study took first prize among 1,282 entries.
Byzantine frescoes and a folklore museum
Among the cobbled lanes of Varosi stands the 14th-century church of the Dormition of the Theotokos. This timber-roofed basilica holds superb frescoes from 1380.
Until 1955 it served as the metropolitan church, but before Ottoman rule it honoured Agia Sophia. Its column capitals, taken from an older church, rank among the finest in any Christian church.
On the same block, the 14th-century church of Saints Peter and Paul keeps a few frescoes from 1370 to 1385. Two museums then round out the cultural things to do in Edessa.
Inside the late 19th-century Varosi Mansion, modern technology presents local history. A three-floor Folklore Museum also traces daily life from the 19th century to the 1950s.
Bridges, a mosque and the old railway station
Since the Civil War, a newer town has grown at the foot of Vermio, on the spot called the Rock.
Roads cross 47 bridges, but none is older than the Turkish bridge at Kioupri. Look out for the Yeni Mosque of 1904, one of six that once stood here.
Then see the 1900 poros-stone Clock and the railway station, with its traditional cafe and 1960s and 1970s air.
Beside the central market, the Park of the Small Waterfalls offers little bridges, tavernas and cafe-bars. Young people love it, so an evening drink here ranks among the liveliest things to do in Edessa.
Ancient streets at Longos
Ancient Edessa took shape as a Macedonian city in the late 4th century BC. It stood on the Via Egnatia, which linked Constantinople with the Adriatic coast. As a result, it flourished in Roman and early Christian times.
An acropolis guarded by water and cliff formed the upper city. Below it, excavations at Longos have uncovered a fortified lower city.
People lived there until the late 6th or early 7th century AD. Raids then pushed them into the acropolis, which later became the Byzantine castle of Vodena.
Visitors can walk the colonnaded main road, the Via Colonnata, once lined with workshops and shops, with homes above. The Horreum, a public storehouse, and a probable bishop’s residence also stand at Longos.
Finally, two 6th-century basilicas and the surrounding cemeteries complete one of the most rewarding things to do in Edessa.
Source: travel.gr
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