The city of Xanthi didn’t exist during ancient times. However during the Byzantine Empire, there was a city with the name Xanthia which was built on the hill north west of the present city of Xanthi. The name Xanthia first appears in 879 a...

The Holy Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was built around 1839, by workers of Epirus, when bishop was Eugene. During this period, the reform decree of Sultan, the Hatt-i Serif, gave privileges to all, non-Muslim communities of the Ottoman...

The Bishop's Palace was built, in 1897, at the request of Bishop Joachim Sgouros, in the elders of the city, in 1892, to house the services of the Bishop Church of Xanthi and Peritheorio but it also served as living space, of each Bishop. ...

In Byzantine times, Abdera was renamed into Polystylon (which means many coloumns), probably from the many ruins that there were generally at that time and mainly from ancient columns (pillars) transported from the area. The city was shrin...

Episcopal church The Episcopal Church is the largest church found within the walls of Polystylon. You can notice the marble threshold of the entrance with the cavities where the door of the Church rests. The Episcopal Church is the larg...

Baptistery The octagonal Baptistery, belonged to an earlier church. It was placed on the north-eastern corner of the Episcopal Church, and it was certainly used in the early years (9th – 10th century) of operation of the Episcopal Church. ...

During our time, and on a trip back to the mythical ages, the history of the region emerges while reading again a Homeric verse: Odysseus, after the capture of Troy and his wanderings in the unknown and rich places of Asia Minor, during his...

Ancient Theater On the way to the Synaxis region, on the smooth slopes of the mountain Ismaros, at the location which is called Kabana, among dense olive groves, the ancient theater of Maronia has revealed. Visitors of the site could spot ...