OUR TOWNSights

and historyBy the students of 7th Primary School ,

HALKIDA , GREECE

We are ready to take you for a

tour !

Get on this

lovely TRAIN !

Evia island

is the second

largest island

in the

Aegean Sea.

It’s 175km long and lies opposite

the mainland of Greece. The sea between

the 2 parts is called

Evoikos Channel.

Population : 230.000

Halkida

Old Bridge

Our school

The castleLighthouse

Halkida or Chalkis is the headtown

of Evia island.

It has about 90.000 inhabitants .It is famous for Evripos Channel or straits and the phenomenon of tide .

It is located at the narrowest place of the channel.

• The waters flow up

and down the channel !

• They change direction every 6 hours !

• It’s the tide !

• All the visitors admire these

“ crazy waters”.

video

The first bridge was builtin 540 AD

in the Byzantine period .

In 1883 it was replaced

by a mechanical bridge .

The sliding bridge which we have today was made in 1962 .

The old bridge

The two parts of the bridge open every night

– at midnight to let cargo ships

and big sailing boatssail to the North

or to the South Evoikos Channel .

Kayak lovers love to go under the bridge .

We can see Karababas Hill . It’s across the channel ! At the top is the old castle .

We are going over the bridge now !

The old castle

lies on

Karababas hill

on the mainland !

It is located

on a strategic

position

overlooking

the straits

of Evripos

and the town.

The castle was probably built by the Turks in 1684

in order to protect Chalkis from the Venetians.

We can see the sea and Saint Nicolas square from the castle.It is our favourite square. There is a playground,

a basketball court and lots of cafés.

In winter there is an ice -skating ring. It is cool !!!

This is the view to the South of the bridge.We can see the harbour , too.

This is the view to the North of the bridge.We can see the lighthouse, too.

Can you see the snowed mountain in the background ?It is the highest mountain on the island -1743 m !!!

Here we are at the central fish market.

It is getting dark. The train is taking us back to the seafront and we can see the lights of

the hotels, the houses and the Town Hall.

This is the seafront where both the local people and the visitors go for a walk.It is the most popular place of our town.

This is our Town Hall at Christmas time . At night it looks brilliant !!!It has got two domes on its roof !!!

The Town Hall is a 3 storey neoclassical building of 1906. It is very delicate and it has

got some baroque decorations. There are 2 domes on its roof. It looks magnificent at

night when it is lit up.

This monument is in memory of the people

who were killed in the 2nd World War.

Today many teenagers meet their friends “at the statues”…

The house with the statues was built in 1891.There are 4 statues - 2 women and 2 men at the

top. Today it hosts the Folk Dance society.

The Red House is located at the north of the seafront.It was built in 1884. During the German occupation

it hosted the military Headquarters.

Today it is a library and a cultural centre.

This is our museum .

It opened in 1960.

The visitors can see finds

from all over Evia.

They show that people

have lived on our island

since the Paleolithic

period! (110.000 B.C.)

Neolithic pottery

from

various parts

of

Evia island

(6000- 3000 BC)

Jewellery

A

delicate figurine

made of clay

and

painted white .

(4th c. BC )

Pottery

from

Archaic period.

( 700BC – 500BC)

These are

black figures

on

reddish background.

These are vases

with

red figures

on

dark background.

Kouros heads ( 6th c. BC )

Miniature art

Golden wreath from the Hellenistic period.(336 – 146 BC )

Goddess Demetra

or

Persephone

4th c. BC

Statues from the Roman period146BC – 4c AD

Saint Nicolas

church

is made of stone

and

it has got

two beautiful

bellfries.

It was built in 1900

on the site of

a Muslim mosque.

It is decorated with

marble pillars ,

wooden sculptures

and wall paintings.

Saint Paraskevi is the Patron Saint of our town .Archaeologists believe that it is built

on the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Jeus .

There are festivities on the 26th July and there is a big fair famous in the area .

The Muslim mosque .It reminds us of the Turkish occupation

of the island.

Our Railway Station is beautiful ! It is 105 years old .

The first train to Athens left Halkida on 10th March 1905 !

This is the train going to Athens – the capital of Greece .

The Light House . Its light helps the sailors at night .

They must cross the narrow channel very carefully !

The new bridge is a suspension bridge. It is a feat of engineering! It is 694m long and 13m wide. It is 35m above the sea.

They started building it in 1993 and took 8 years to finish.

Some adventurous people from all the country Come to this bridge

for Bungee Jumping !!!Can you hear them ?

Some people love sailing . This is the small marina .

The local people love fishing , too . They have learned to make or repair their own boats .

Kite Surfing is very popular at this beach .The wind is blowing from the North !

There is a kayak club.Many teenagers are members . They enjoy

the view of the town from the sea !

They don’t go when the current is very strong !

Teenagers love Graffiti !

On the train !

“ Ithaki ” As you set out for Ithaki

hope the voyage is a long one full of adventure , full of discovery .

Laistrygonians and Cyclopes ,angry Poseidon

- don’t be afraid of them !

You will never find things Like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts

raised high ,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body .

…

Laistrygonians

And Cyclopes ,

wild Poseidon

you won’t encounter them

unless

you bring them along

inside your soul ,

unless your soul

sets them up

in front of you . Konstandinos Kavafis

Greek poet

THE END

• We hope you have enjoyed

this tour of our town.

• We , the students and our teachers took all these photos with our cameras !

• There are only 3 photos from the internet !!!

Goodbye !