Salonika 2011

 
MONDAY 16 MAY TO SUNDAY 22 MAY 2011

  A PILGRIMAGE TO MAINLAND GREECE AND MACEDONIA (FYROM)

“ Salonika, outwardly a lovely white city, extended to its grim Mediaeval walls and abruptly stopped. Then began Macedonia. Imagine the hilliest country of Wales and extend it to an horizon 5,000 ft high. Take away all trees, roads and civilisation, replacing the towns by wretched poverty stricken villages. Sear it with constant winds, freeze it in winter and scorch it in summer and you have Macedonia..We had great heat, much dust, and mules and mules and mules, flies by divisions, hills and the sense of monotony.”

Written by the Adjutant of the 11 Welsh (Cardiff Pals) this description only begins to help us understand the difficulties and privations faced by the soldiers and all those who served in the wild countryside of that “very strange and distant land!”

Salonika still remains one of the “forgotten” battlefields of the First World War, and is relatively unspoiled and infrequently visited. 

It is still not easy to explore the battlefields and we are pleased to be able to provide such an opportunity. During this Salonika Battlefield Tour we visit the outstandingly beautiful and well maintained Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries, the imposing memorials, the sites of the Inner Defences and the Birdcage, the important Struma Valley where so many suffered with disease, especially malaria, which caused thousands more casualties than those caused by enemy action and this is a moving experience.

Travelling north we then cross the Border into the mountainous countryside of Macedonia. The area here was known as the Doiran Front and played an intrinsic part in the Campaigns particularly in 1917 and in September 1918, and one of the highlights of any visit is the day spent exploring the slopes of the Grande Couronne, the Bulgarian stronghold and an impregnable position, with its dugouts, bunkers, old Bulgarian Army Road and discovering the positions of such famous names as the Petit Couronne, Pip Ridge, Jumeaux Ravine and hillocks which caused such problems in September 1918 such as the Knot, The Hilt and the Tassle.

Our visit is initially based in the City of Thessaloniki, where our hotel is in the City Centre and within easy walking distance of Salonika’s iconic landmark, the White Tower. Our hotel in Macedonia is close to Lake Doiran and at the foot of the lower slopes of the Grande Couronne.

Such an Expedition has proved an unforgettable experience for many who have travelled with us in the past, and we would be pleased to forward further details if you are interested.