In the footsteps of Odysseus

Makri is for most people a popular tourist resort, just 12 km from Alexandroupolis and a top destination for swimming every summer. And its long, sandy beach, along two natural bays on the coast, may be a very important reason to visit, but the area hides many more.

Inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, Makri preserves finds that place it as an important site of human activity through the millennia. One of the most important Neolithic settlements in the Balkans was discovered in a cave above its picturesque little harbour, while remains of Byzantine fortifications are still around and on the hill of Prophet Elias. Finds confirm the existence of Makri in the Bronze Age (3000-1050 BC) and the Early Iron Age (1050-650 BC), while remains of buildings date back to the Classical and Hellenistic periods, as well as the Roman period with a piece of wall.

The olive grove of Makri is a monument of natural beauty and the 220,000 olive trees, which produce the renowned, Protected Designation of Origin olive oil of Makri, make a special sight. Some of the trees date back as far as 2,500 years ago, yielding fruit from antiquity to the present day, while the huge trunks and super old, olive-laden branches are awe-inspiring.

Inside the village, the Church of Agia Anastasia, dating back to the early 19th century, is a beautiful three-aisled, timber-roofed basilica, with a 17th century carved gilt-wood iconostasis and a series of icons from the 17th to the 19th century of considerable artistic value. As a tourist destination and a fishing centre, Makri has several taverns with fresh fish and seafood caught in the Thracian Sea, often being the exclusive choice for food for residents and visitors of Alexandroupolis.

Of course, a visit to Makri could not fail to include the short ascent from the port to the "Cave of Cyclops", the cave with two rooms where tradition identifies with the place where Cyclops Polyphemus kept imprisoned and ate Odysseus' companions until he blinded him and escaped with his remaining companions. The rocks in the sea of Makri are but the huge stones thrown by the blinded giant to sink their ship.