Ottoman-Era Houses

The most distinctive element of the traditional architecture of Thessaloniki in Ano Poli is the Ottoman-era residential house, known locally as an “archontiko” when it belongs to a wealthier family. These houses share a set of recognisable features:

• Timber-framed construction: The walls are built around a wooden skeleton filled with rubble, brick, or mud plaster, then rendered and painted. This construction method is lighter and more flexible than solid masonry, which was important on the steep, sometimes unstable slopes of the Upper Town.
• Sachnisi (overhanging upper storeys): The most visually striking feature of the traditional architecture of Thessaloniki. The upper floors project outward over the street on wooden brackets, creating sheltered walkways below and additional living space above. In narrow streets, sachnisi from opposite houses nearly touch, forming a canopy overhead.
• Colour palette: Buildings are traditionally painted in warm earth tones: ochre, terracotta, dusty pink, faded blue, and cream. These colours give Ano Poli its distinctive visual warmth and distinguish it from the grey concrete of the modern city below.
• Internal courtyard: Many houses are organised around an internal courtyard, invisible from the street, that serves as a private garden, drying area, and outdoor living space. This introverted layout reflects the social norms of the Ottoman period, where domestic life was conducted away from the public eye.
• Wooden balconies and shutters: Hand-carved wooden balconies, window frames, and shutters are characteristic of the traditional architecture of Thessaloniki. Many have been maintained or restored using traditional techniques, and their craftsmanship is a reminder of the skilled woodworking tradition that once flourished in the city.

Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Layers

Beneath and alongside the Ottoman domestic architecture, the traditional architecture of Thessaloniki includes much older elements:

• The Fortification Walls: The most monumental architectural feature of Ano Poli is the circuit of Byzantine walls that encloses the entire upper city. Built from the late 4th century onward and maintained through the medieval period, these walls use alternating courses of stone and brick in the distinctive “cloisonne” technique. The walls are not just historical backdrop; houses are built against them, gardens adjoin them, and streets follow their line.
• Byzantine Churches: The churches of Ano Poli represent some of the finest surviving examples of middle and late Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture. Their brick-decorated exteriors, cross-in-square plans, and domed rooflines are integral to the traditional architecture of Thessaloniki and punctuate the residential fabric of the neighbourhood at regular intervals.
• Hammams and Fountains: Ottoman-era public baths and street fountains survive in various states of preservation throughout Ano Poli. The most notable is the Byzantine Bath near the Vlatadon Monastery, which was reused and modified during the Ottoman period and illustrates the architectural continuity between the two eras.