Vogatsikou & Kouskoura street: From the Fortified Vogatsiko to the Secrets tastes of Thessaloniki

In this episode of "The Street Has Its Own Story" with Giannis Stefanidis, we wander through downtown Thessaloniki to explore two of its most vibrant and historic alleys: Vogatsikou Street and Kouskoura Street. Discover how these parallel streets connect the modern city to a heroic mountain village in Kastoria and an inspiring schoolteacher who revolutionized the Greek free press.In this episode, we cover:

• • The Historic Vogatsiko: How Ottoman expansion in the 14th century forced the local population to flee to the mountains, leading to the merging of seven older settlements (Gkouliasanos, Agios Dimitrios, Katsantovo, Prosilio, Poros, Koutsoufliani, and Palyokklisi), known also as "Genti Kioi" (Seven-village) or "Bogaz Kioi" (Gorge Village).
  • The Incredible Biography of Ioannis Kouskouras (1867–1935): From a schoolteacher in Vogatsiko to a pioneering publisher in Thessaloniki. In 1903, alongside Salvatore Muratori, he published "Alithia", and in 1909 founded "Nea Alithia", the first daily evening newspaper in the whole of Greece which documented the city's turning points (1912 liberation, 1917 Great Fire, 1922 refugee crisis, and the 1926 founding of AUTH and the International Fair).
  • The Secret Wireless of WWII: How Kouskouras' sons, Kostas and Thanasis, joined the National Resistance, sheltered an Allied wireless operator in their home at great risk, fought in the Aegean, were decorated, and faced post war imprisonment in the Varna district.
  • The Modern Vibe: From the unique neoclassical architectural preservation on Vogatsikou Street to the international culinary explosion of the "Kouskoura Project".

As the great writer Ion Dragoumis, whose roots lie in Vogatsiko, beautifully put it: "By learning where you come from, you know where your path is to go"...