In December of 2013 I purchased my first full-frame camera, the Nikon D600 paired with the Nikon 16-35mm f/4. At that time and in order to become familiar with my new gear, it came to my mind to start a project about a very famous spot in my city, named Kamares (Greek: “Καμάρες” – arches). Kamares is the last part of the aqueduct construction that provided water to the old town of the city of Kavala. It is a magnificent building, elevated above the ground. The water that went through it, emanates from the opposite mountains about 6km to the north.
The medieval aqueduct for some time was considered to be of Byzantine origin. They believed that Andronicus II Palaeologus built it at first as a great wall that filled the gap between the hills and the inhabited peninsula. The peninsula nowadays is called Panagia (Virgin Mary), after the name of its main church. He did that in order to prevent the return of the mercenaries of the Catalan Company back to Thrace. However, it appears that it is a much older building. It is now believed that it is of Roman origin and was built from the 1st to the 6th century to provide water to the small settlement of Neapolis. Neapolis was the seaport of a major Macedonian city. The ancient Philippi.
The aqueduct was restored and expanded to its current state during the Ottoman occupation of the territory. In the years around 1530, Ibrahim Pasha (a former Christian and Greek-born in Parga, Epirus) undertook the task to revive the town and make it prosperous and wealthy again. Ibrahim was the grand vizier of the sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. So he was not someone of no importance. He started by renovating the Kamares. The city had been renamed from Neapolis to Christoupolis in the 9th century (middle Byzantine era) and finally was destroyed by the Ottomans in 1391. Since then Christoupolis had been almost abandoned and most of its citizens fled to the surrounding mountains.
The new city started its life almost 130 years after its destruction with the restoration of the medieval aqueduct. The new city’s name was at first New Skavala. A name taken from the settlement of the Old Skavala where Greek-speaking refugees from Christoupolis had fled to find safety. The years that followed the word “new” and the consonant “s” were omitted to the current name of the city, which is Kavala.
Over the past few years, the aqueduct was extensively preserved by the 12th Ephorate of Byzantine antiquities. A task that when completed, resulted in a fantastic appearance of the monument.
You can buy prints from my Aqueduct wall art collection, like photo prints, framed prints, metal prints, canvas prints. And also home decoration items such as pillows, blankets, shower curtains or even notebooks, greeting cards, puzzles, etc.
Click on this link: https://elias-pentikis.pixels.com/collections/the+aqueduct
My print site above is powered by Fine Art America. Fine Art America also provides a money-back guarantee of 30 days from the order date, in case you are not happy with your purchase.
(For more info see this post: https://photo-ventures.com/commercial-use-of-my-photos-and-art-prints/ )
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