Tsinari
Tsinari is a place with traditional restaurants and a historical cafe in Ano Poli.
Modern and Contemporary era (1912 - )
Ottoman era (1453- 1912)
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
In Ano Poli, there is a small neighbourhood with a small square where the traditional cafe “Tsinari” can be found. It is the only example of a traditional cafe of the Ottoman period, with the characteristic perimetric wooden windows. This neighbourhood survived the fire of 1917 and thus the cobbled alleys, original houses of the time, and the traditional local architecture with the sahnisia are preserved. Visiting the area offers a small journey through time, but it is disturbed by the traffic of modern vehicles. The primary focus of attention in the square is the fountain of Murad II (of the Ottoman times), which has a sarcophagus of the Roman era as a basin.
What I can't see
The word tsinari comes from the Turkish “cinar”/ “cinarli” which means plane tree. There was also a madrassa (Muslim school) here, as well as a mosque. At that time, the purpose of cafes was not just to get coffee, but for men to socialize and participate in the “ritual” of coffee, namely the worry beads, backgammon, water pipe (or hookah), and cigarettes. Modern cafes, although of European-international style nowadays, have not lost the basic element of traditional cafes, which is socializing. This is one of the reasons that the so-called “coffee culture” is very strong in Thessaloniki and throughout Greece.
Bibliography
Anastasiadis A., (1997), Άνω Πόλη [Ano Poli] in Liontis K., (1997) (ed), Αρχιτεκτονική της Θεσσαλονίκης, [Architecture in Thessaloniki] in Epta Imeres, Kathimerini, p. 9-11
Anastasiadou Μ., (2008), Θεσσαλονίκη 1830-1912, η μητρόπολη στην εποχή των οθωμανικών μεταρρυθμίσεων, [Thessaloniki 1830-1912, the metropolis in the era of Ottoman reforms] ESTIA
Field observation by scientific editors
Zafeiris Ch. (1997), Θεσσαλονίκης Εγκόλπιον, ιστορία, πολιτισμός, η πόλη σήμερα, γεύσεις, μουσεία, μνημεία, διαδρομές, [Thessaloniki Handbook, history, culture, the city today, flavours, museums, routes], Athens: Exantas
Ζafeiris Ch., (2014), Θεσσαλονίκη, η παρουσία των απόντων, η κληρονομιά Ρωμαίων, Μουσουλμάνων, Εβραίων, Ντονμέδων, Φράγκων, Αρμενίων και Σλάβων, [Thessaloniki, the presense of the absent, the heritage of Romans, Muslims, Jews, Doenme, Franks, Armenians and Slavs], Thessaloniki: Epikentro
Collective work, (1985), Νεώτερα Μνημεία της Θεσσαλονίκης, [Modern Monuments of Thessaloniki], Ministry of Culture
Tsaktsira L, Papanthimou K., Mantziou G., Kalogirou N., (2014), Θεσσαλονίκη, η πόλη και τα μνημεία της, [Thessaloniki, the city and its monuments], Thessaloniki: Malliaris Pedia
