Trikala

Trikala (Greek: Τρίκαλα) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala prefecture. It is located NW of Athens, NW of Karditsa, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki and W of Larissa.

Located in the fertile plain of Thessaly in central Greece, modern Trikala is the Homeric Trica (Trikki), one of the places touted as the birthplace of Aesculapius (Asklepios). who is more often said to have been born at Epidaurus, where his main temple was situated in antiquity. Ruins of an old sanctuary to the physician-god, an Asklepieion, or healing place, are located between the central square and the church of Saint Nicholas (Agios Nikolaos) in Trikala. It is the oldest Aesculapium of Greece. This was a kind of medical center, from which the worship of Aesculapius gradually spread.

There are other late Hellenistic and Roman period remains, mosaic floors, a stoa and a baths. Dominated by its Byzantine fortress on Hellenistic foundations occupying the ancient Acropolis, the picturesque city is divided into two by an old aqueduct. The churches of Agios Demetrios and Agii Anargyri lend more Byzantine character to the modern town.

Throughout the centuries Trikala has also been known as the watermelon (karpouzi) capital of Greece. One of its most famous citizens is Vasilis Tsitsanis, the greatest musician of modern Greece.

Trikala also has a hospital.

Sites of interests

• The Asklepeion at Trikala, Website

City twinnings

• Amberg, Germany

Persons

• Georgios Kondilis (August 14, 1879 - January 31, 1936 in Athens), a Greek politician
• Sotiris Kyrgiakos, a football (soccer) player
• Giorgos Margaritis, a Greek singer
• Efthimios Rentzias, (born January 11 1976), a professional basketball player
• Vasilis Tsartas (b. November 12, 1972 in Palaiochori Trikala)
• Vasilis Tsitsanis (January 18, 1915 - January 18, 1984), a Greek singer and a songwriter.
• Apostolos Kaldaras, Laika composer.
• Christos Papanikolaou, athlete, one-time world record-holder in the pole vault.
• Sophia Sakorafa, athlete, one-time world record-holder in the javelin throw.
• Dimitris Mitropanos, singer

External links

• City of Trikala
• http://www.trikala.net
• In German:
  • http://www.in-greece.de/ziele/ort.php4?ort_id=92
  • http://www.nahmobil.com/suche-griechenland-311.htm
• In Greek:
  • http://www.3kala.gr/
  • http://www.forecasts.gr/cf.asp?city_id=54
  • http://www.uth.gr/main/research/synedria/anakoinvseis/tefaa_synedrio_dec2001/Trikala_info/trikala.htm