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| Silk production and weaving flourished from Byzantine times in Greece, whose Alexander the Great opened up much of The Silk Road and the surrounding regions for the first time to Western culture and thought.
Located on the edge of the eastern world, Greece was a major player in the commerce of the valuable textile and in the past Greek merchants developed a maritime silk route which led to silk manufacturing in their own homeland.
The industry lasted in some Greek cities until the 19th century or the early years of the 20th century and silk making is still being practised in one small north-eastern town - providing a gossamer link with the ancient past.
Besides its importance to The Silk Road, Greece is also the cradle of Western civilisation. Its many temples, monuments, theatres and other sites dating from those ancient days are powerful attractions for travellers, as are the country's lovely islands, sparkling Mediterranean beaches and charming fishing villages.
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The Island of Chios in the north-eastern Aegean Sea is said to be the birthplace of Homer, and from the 14th to the 16th century was under the occupation of the Genoese, whose merchants and craftsmen established a local silk industry. There are two distinguished museums on the island. The Byzantine City of Mystras in the southern Peloponnese is a very well-preserved example of a metropolis of the time and today one can wander along its grass-covered streets past ruined churches, palaces, monasteries and noblemen's houses. It was the region's most important silk manufacturing centre until the 19th century. Athens, Greece's capital, gave the world democracy, the famous Parthenon and the first Olympic Games of the modern era. An entire neighbourhood in the city centre is named after the now-defunct silk factories, which are being converted into cultural centres. Soufli is a small town in the north-eastern region of Thrace where sericulture, the raising of silkworms, and silk production began in the last century and still continues today. A traditional mansion here has been transformed into a museum of silk which explains its history and manufacture. Cocoon houses have been converted into guest houses. Thessaloniki is the capital of the region of Macedonia from where Alexander the Great first set off on his campaigns. It is named for his sister. Another silk-producing city, Thessaloniki boasts fine museums, elegant Byzantine churches and archaeological sites. Piraeus is a seaport used during the era of the maritime silk route. Kalamata, a town in Peloponnese, is renowned for its silk scarves. Sparta was famous in ancient times for its military might and discipline. The village of Zagora in the region of Epizus is a charming example of traditional village architecture. Andros is a picturesque island in the Cyclades. |
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