Kavala

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Kavala Καβάλα
A view of the castle from the sea

Location

Coordinates	40°56′N 24°24′E / 40.933, 24.4Coordinates: 40°56′N 24°24′E / 40.933, 24.4
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (min-max):	0 - 53 m (0 - 174 ft)
Government
Country:	Greece
Periphery:	East Macedonia and Thrace
Prefecture:	Kavala
Districts:	15
Population statistics (as of 2001^[1])
City Proper
- Population:	63,293
- Area:^[2]	112.6 km² (43 sq mi)
- Density:	562 /km² (1,456 /sq mi)
Codes
Postal:	65x xx
Area:	2510
Auto:	KB
Website
www.cityofkavala.gr

Kavala (Greek: Καβάλα), is a city in northern Greece, the second biggest at north greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala prefecture. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos.

1 History
2 Twinnings
3 Postage stamps
4 Culture
5 Historical population
6 Notable Figures
7 Subdivisions
8 References
9 External links
10 See also

[edit] History

The city was founded by settlers from Paros in about the 6th century BC, who called it Neapolis ("new city"). Neapolis was a town of Macedonia, and the harbor of Philippi, from which it was distant 10 M. P. It probably was the same place as Datum (Δάτον), famous for its gold mines (Herod. ix. 75; comp. Böckh, Pub. Econ. of Athens, pp. 8, 228, trans.), and a seaport, as Strabo (vii. p. 331) intimates: whence the proverb which celebrates Datum for its good things. (Zenob. Prov. Graec. Cent. iii. 71; Harpocrat. s. v. Δάτος.) Scylax does, indeed, distinguish between Neapolis and Datum; but, as he adds that the latter was an Athenian colony, which could not have been true of his original Datum, his text is, perhaps, corrupt in this place, as in so many others, and his real meaning may have been that Neapolis was a colony which the Athenians had established at Datum. Zenobius (l. c.) and Eustathius (ad Dionys. Perieg. 517) both assert that Datum was a colony of Thasos; which is highly probable, as the Thasians had several colonies on this coast. If Neapolis was a settlement of Athens, its foundation was, it may be inferred, later than that of Amphipolis. Neapolis also minted coins in antiquity.

It became a Roman civitas in 168 BC, and was a base for Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, before their defeat in the Battle of Philippi. (Appian, B.C. iv. 106; Dion Cass. xlvii. 35.) The Apostle Paul landed at Kavala on his first voyage to Europe (Acts, xvi. 11), and in Byzantine times the city was called Christoupolis by the Greeks and Morunets by the local Bulgarians.

Picture of the port and downtown

Kavala was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1371 to 1912. In the middle of the 16th century, Ibrahim Pasha, the Greek-born Grand Vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent, contributed to the prosperity and growth of Kavala by the construction of an aqueduct.^[3] The Ottomans also extended the Byzantine fortress on the hill of Panagia. Both landmarks are among the most recognizable symbols of the city today.

Mehmet Ali, the founder of a dynasty that ruled Egypt until 1952 was born in Kavala in 1769. His house has been preserved as a museum.

Theodoros Zagorakis, the captain of the Greece national football team that stunned the football world by winning EURO 2004, is a native of Kavala.

[edit] Twinnings

[edit] Postage stamps

Cavalle 4pi

Between 1893 and 1903, the French post office in the city issued its own postage stamps; at first stamps of France overprinted with "Cavalle" and a value in piasters, then in 1902 the French designs inscribed "CAVALLE".

View of Kavala

[edit] Culture

Kavala's medieval castle is located at a hill above the town. Additionally, the town's fortifications are still widely visible, especially in the coastal front.
Kavala FC is the football team of the town.
Cosmopolis International Festival, one of the biggest ethnic festivals in Greece.

[edit] Historical population

Year	Population	Change	Municipal population	Change	Density
1981	56,705	-	-	-	-
1991	56,571	-134 or -0.24%	60,187	-	-
2001	58,663	+2,092 or +3.7%	63,293	+3,106 or +5.16%	566/km²

[edit] Notable Figures

Despina Vandi, a Greek singer
George Georgiadis
Muhammad Ali Pasha of Kavala, ruler of Egypt between 1805–1848
Nikos Vertis
Sofoklis Schortsianitis (b. June 22, 1985), professional basketball player with Olympiakos
Theodoros Zagorakis (b. October 27, 1971), captain of the Euro 2004 champions, currently chairman of PAOK.
Vassilis Vassilikos (b. November 18, 1934), a Greek writer
Zisis Vryzas (b. November 9, 1973), member of the Greece national football team that won Euro 2004, currently playing for PAOK FC
Vasilis Karas,a Greek singer
Anna Verouli, 1982 Gold Medalist, European Championship, javelin thrower)
Nikos Karageorgiou, (b. December 9, 1962) Manager of Greek team Ergotelis.

[edit] Subdivisions

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1856).

^ PDF (875 KB) 2001 Census (Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΣΥΕ). www.statistics.gr. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
^ (Greek) Basic Characteristics. Ministry of the Interior. www.ypes.gr. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
^ Kiel, Machiel (1971). "Observations on the History of Northern Greece during the Turkish Rule: Historical and Architectural Description of the Turkish Monuments of Komotini and Serres, their place in the Development of Ottoman Turkish Architecture and their Present Condition". Balkan Studies 12: 416.