Heatwave with tourists, no public toilets and taps in Thessaloniki
The fact that even in the middle of the high tourist season and with the thermometer now hitting 40 degrees, in Thessaloniki there are measured public toilets on the fingers of one hand, causes the impression and the questions.
It is questionable why no tourist can find a public toilet in parts of the city to use centrally, to actually pour some water on his face, as they are not sealed while there are so many other places that do not exist.
Typical are the images from Aristotelous Square and Athos Square, where there are public toilets which are out of order.
As explained to Parallaxi by the Deputy Mayor of Cleanliness and Recycling of the Municipality of Thessaloniki Konstantinos Iakovou:
“in order to open all the toilets, there must be the appropriate constructions. After 2.5 years of being closed, you realize that the damage is too great. I am only responsible for cleaning, not technical problems and maintenance.
In order to be fair to the citizens, we first opened the toilets of the White Tower properly and in an organized manner, where a lot of tourists come – we made sure that they functioned properly, that they did not clog and that there was daily cleaning. At the beginning of September, the Aristotelous toilets will be opened properly, which means that there are two hours that she will be a permanent cleaner over there. Then we will undertake to open the toilets of the Triangle”
As requested by Mr. Iakovou in our telephone communication, Parallaxi also visited the toilets of the White Tower, which are in operation and are clean and in good condition. They are simply the only ones from the Concert Hall to the Railway Station that operate.
Of course, continuing the autopsy in central parts of the city, we realized that these may be the only ones that exist in a city like Thessaloniki.
Also, Thessaloniki is a city where you cannot find a public tap. So tourists visiting the city cannot make a stop to drink some water or cool off.
At pl. Courts, in Lefko Pyrgos, at pl. Athos, pl. Agia Sophia, pl. Hanth, at pl. Aristotelus, in the squares of Ladadiki there is no running tap. On the other hand, in the park of Leoforos Stratos, in the park of the Flower Exhibition, in other words, in the playground of the City Hall, in the park of HANTH, in the playground of Pl. Courts, all of which are sealed and out of order. There are also abandoned fountains.
Even the children who play in the minimal playgrounds of the center if, for example, they get dirty, it is impossible to wash their hands.
The only fountain in a playground that works is in Navarinou square, at a distance of tens of kilometers you will not find any other.
What about the monuments and their opening hours?
The impression is also caused by the fact that the archaeological site of the Galerian palace changed its opening hours from Thursday 8/18 to Saturday 8/20. More specifically for these days the area that is open from 08:00 to 15:00.
The reason this happens? As the archaeologist Yiannis Karliambas informs us “Some members of the prison staff have fallen ill with covid. After Saturday the quarantine ends for some people so it will work normally. Regarding the rest of the archaeological sites, there is no issue and they are operating normally, except for the museum of the Ancient Agora, which will be closed from Monday 22/8 until the end of September because planned work will be carried out as part of the site’s development/redevelopment project of. ยป
Finally, the Roman market museum is closed due to work for a month at a time when the city is full of tourists and of course there will be even more during the exhibition.