PREFECTURE OF EVROS

The Prefecture covers an area of 4,241.6 square kilometres; it has a population of 149,354 (NSSG, 2001) and is divided into 13 municipalities.
The central and south-western part of the Prefecture is covered by the end of the Rodopi mountain range, while the south-eastern and northern areas are covered by the plains of the Evros Delta and Orestiada, respectively.

The island of Samothraki is also part of the prefecture. It has a surface area of 178 square kilometres and a population of 2,723 (NSSG, 2001). The capital of the island is the town of Samothraki (Hora), population 677 (NSSG, 2001). Its main port is Kamariotissa, population 969 (NSSG, 2001).

Alexandroupolis, the capital of the Prefecture, has a population of 48,885 (NSSG, 2001). It is a coastal town built to a contemporary plan which has enjoyed its main period of expansion since the liberation of Thrace in 1920. The Alexandroupolis of today is enjoying rapid growth, its port and airport making it an important commercial, economic and tourist centre.

East of Alexandroupolis, on the road towards the "Democritus" Airport, we come to the Traianoupolis baths, close to the village of Loutros. Traianoupolis was founded in Roman times by the Emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98-117 AD) and was a staging point along the Via Egnatia. In the Byzantine period it was the largest military, administrative and ecclesiastical centre in Thrace, west of Evros, and continued to prosper until the 14th century, after which it began to decline and be gradually deserted by its population. No excavation has yet taken place. In the centre of the city a large vaulted building has survived, which served as a guesthouse for travellers and for those using the Ottoman healing baths, dating from the 16th century, which stand just behind the guesthouse. The vaulted building, known as the "Hana", was constructed by Gazi Evrenos Bey in 1375-1385 and is regarded as one of the finest early Ottoman monuments to survive in Thrace.

Farther east we come to Feres (Byzantine Vira), population 5,206 (NSSG, 2001). At the entrance to the town we see the remains of the Byzantine aqueduct. In the centre of Feres stands the catholicon of the Byzantine Monastery of the Panayia Kosmosoteira. The monastery was built in the mid-12th century at the junction of the Via Egnatia and the road leading to Traianoupolis, and subsequently the Byzantine settlement of Vira began to grow up around the monastery. The monastery was founded by Isaac Komnenos, son of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (1081-1118), who established the monastery's rules in 1152. The church is a domed basilica and it is remarkable how the architect managed to support the weight of the dome on the external walls of the church with the aid of the four arches, the four squinches and the recesses in the external walls.

To the north we pass the the Kipoi intersection and come to the village of Tychero, with its unique fossilised forest - 25 million years old. Here we find an eco - tourism guesthouse with restaurant, sports field, a riding club and moto - cross track. Farther on we come to the internationally renowned National Park of the Dadia Forest (see Forest and Mountain Trail's section), and the Kornofolias Monastery, before coming finally to Soufli. The town has a population of 4,258 (NSSG, 2001) and is famous for its long tradition of silkworm breeding. The architecture of the town is dominated by one distinctive type of building, known as the koukoulospito, in which the living quarters are combined with the area where the silkworms are bred - which in fact takes up the greater part of the house. Among the most striking of these houses are those on Mokali, Kyrillou VI and Kourtidou Streets, and on Zachou Square. There is an interesting Greek Silk Museum, housed in the traditional mansion house of the great Thracian teacher Konstantinos Kourtidis, at 73 Venizelou St. It is also worth visiting the Church of Agios Georgios (early 19th century) and of Agios Athanasios (1840) with their famous carved wooden iconostases. At Soufli the visitor should definitely call in at the shops selling silk goods and make sure to purchase some of the delicious local sausages.