Kavala/Philippi Greece

[paumarier]

My husband and I have just booked a Mediterranean cruise for 2022 and one of the ports is Kavala/Philippi Greece. I cannot find any information about this port in the Greece forum. Does anyone have any info to share regarding this port of call. Thank you so much.

[cruisemom42]

I stopped there on a small ship cruise some years ago. Kavala is the port but the main attraction is about a 30-minute drive away -- Philippi, named for the father of Alexander the Great (Philip II of Macedon), who conquered the Greek city in 356 BC. The Romans later occupied it and it thrived on the route of one of their major east-west routes the Via Egnatia.

 

For classicists, it is an ancient city outside of which was held a very famous battle between the forces of Brutus and Cassius (titular leaders in the plot to murder Julius Caesar) and those of Marc Antony and Octavian, seeking to avenge that death. Brutus and Cassius were defeated; Octavian (later Augustus) re-colonized the city.  There are lots of ruins to be seen from this period.

 

The other draw, for Christians, is that Philippi is believed to have been the first place where Paul preached in Europe. Supposedly he was briefly imprisoned there as well -- they will show a cell where he may or may not have stayed. Philippi in the late Classical period became quite a center for the new Christian religion -- there are ruins from this period as well including several small early churches.

 

Sorry I can't help with anything else as this is the only thing we researched and did from Kavala port. If that doesn't appeal, it does look like there are some things to see in Kavala on foot, such as offered here:

 

https://kavalatour.com/en/excursions/around-kavala-city-and-area/kavala-city

 

[paumarier]

Thanks for the info, Cruisemom.