Vlatadon Monastery

As the last standing Byzantine monastery in Thessaloniki that is still functioning, Vlatadon Monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated next to the Byzantine Portara in northern Ano Poli, the monastery is believed to be located at the site where Apostle Paul preached Thessalonians during his second voyage. Out of the original monastery, only a limited number of architectural elements have been preserved to date, including pediments, semi-columns, and curved arches.

There is a stone slab in the southeastern aisle of the church, which is said to be the seat of the saint. The building of the main monastery, the Katholikon of the temple, is a relatively newer construction and possibly stands on the skeleton of an older church. The monastery preserves several historical and religious Byzantine antiques, including scripts, codecs, manuscripts, Turkish firmans, patriarchal sigillum, and imperial golden seals. Some holy relics like the remains of Saint Athanasius the Great, Saint Gregory the Theologian, unmercenary healers Cosmas and Damian, James the Persian, and Saint Modestus are kept here. The monastery was founded by brothers Dorotheos and Markos Vlatades, disciples of the-then Archbishop of Thessaloniki, Agios Grigorios Palamas, in 1350 A.D during the directorship of Empress Anna Palaeologina. It has since survived all the natural and man-made calamities, including the Great Fire of 1917 and the Second World War.