Thessaloniki or
Salonica (
Greek Tessa??????,
IPA [?esalo'nici]) is the
second-largest city in
Greece and the capital of
Macedonia, the nation's largest
region. It is also the largest city in the
wider geographical region of Macedonia. The
Thessaloniki Urban Area extends around the
Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17&_160;kilometres (11&_160;mi) and comprises 16 municipalities. According to the 2001 census, the municipality of Thessaloniki had a population of 363,987, while the metropolitan population approximates one million inhabitants.
Thessaloniki is Greece's second major economic, industrial, commercial and political centre, and a major transportation hub for the rest of southeastern Europe; its commercial port is also of great importance for Greece and its southeast European hinterland. The country's Prime Minister traditionally gives his annual governmental speech outlining plans for the year to come from the city.
Thessaloniki retains several Ottoman and Jewish structures as well as a large number of Byzantine architectural monuments. The city hosts an annual International Trade Fair, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and the largest bi-annual meeting of the Greek diaspora.
The alternative name Salonica, formerly the common name used in some western European languages, is derived from a variant form Sa?????? (Saloníki) in popular Greek speech. The city's name is also rendered Thessaloníki or Saloníki with a dark l typical of Macedonian Greek.[3][4] Names in other languages prominent in the city's history include ?????? in Ottoman Turkish and Selânik in modern Turkish, Solun (Cyrillic ?????) in the Slavic languages of the region, Sãrunã in Aromanian, and Selanik in Ladino.
