Stefanos Tsitsopoulos December 3rd, Old color postcards of Thessaloniki, the kind that French and British soldiers stationed here in WWI used to send to their families, preserve the charm and exoticism of the Ladadika neighborhood. In the city was used by the Allies as a launching pad for troops assigned to battle in the Balkan mainland.
Due to its optimal location close to the port, the Ladadika neighborhood was where all business related to the provisioning of the city was conducted. After all, ever since Ottoman rule, this was where the storehouses for oil, spices and foodstuffs were located.
This will give you a sense of the hedonism and heady pulse of life in Ladadika during that period. The neighborhood is an example of the architectural idiosyncracies and urban planning typical of Balkan city business centers at the beginning of the 20th century. Imposing and impeccably restored, it serves as an eloquent reminder of what Ladadika was before its decline, precipitated by radical changes in business practices at the end of WWII. The area became a refuge for rock band studios and moonstruck writers who, inspired by the surrounding rottenness, wrote eulogies to decadence.
In , the Ladadika neighborhood was included in a new urban planning and improvement project. Hundreds of buildings from the interwar period were restored and declared protected historic landmarks. As if by magic, their rooms once again filled with the frantic, hedonistic pulse of nightlife.
Both sides of Tsimiski Street became crowded with restaurants, bars and clubs โ an amusement park of sorts specializing in a variety of indulgences and pleasures. There are dozens of ouzeri, restaurants and specialized eateries focusing not only on Mediterranean and Greek food, but also Italian, Spanish and even Argentinian, Chinese and American.
