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THESSALONIKI
Thessaloniki is the second-largest city of Greece and
the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. It is also
the capital of the Thessaloniki prefecture and the
capital of the EU region (or, synonymously, Greek
periphery) of Central Macedonia.
The Thessaloniki metropolitan area, stretching along a
bay of the Thermaic Gulf for approximately 17 km, is
comprised of a total of 13 municipalities and has a
population of 809.457. The Thessaloniki prefecture has a
population of 1,099,598 (2005).
Thessaloniki is a thriving, vibrant city, also being a
major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural
center as well as a transportation hub in southeastern
Europe. Its commercial port is of a strategic importance
for Greece. The city has two universities that host a
large student population and it is widely renowned for
both its large number of monuments of Byzantine
architecture as well as for its eminent nightlife.
As the city's population grows at a steady rate so does
the emergence of such problems as traffic congestion and
a lack of a sufficient number of parking lots. The
construction of a subway line that will stretch along
the central districts will begin in 25th June 2006 and
is expected to be completed by 2013. This major project
along with the construction of an undersea tunnel that
will connect the port and the Macedonia Palace Hotel
area will significantly improve the forementioned
predicaments. |
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