Kavala (Neapolis), Greece

A major seaport for the Macedonia region of northern Greece, Kavala captivates visitors with more than 2,500 years of history. Known as Neapolis during antiquity, the port’s enviable position along the Via Egnatia — an ancient trade route that linked Europe and Asia — made it a cultural crossroads for East and West. Byzantine and Ottoman influences abound, from Kavala’s medieval fortress and Halil Bey Mosque to its dramatic, 16^th-century aqueduct that divides the old town from the larger city. The Imaret, constructed in 1817, served as an Islamic seminary for more than 100 years; the exquisite complex is now a luxury hotel. Kavala was a hub for the tobacco industry during the mid-1800s; the interactive Tobacco Museum offers excellent insight into this “Mecca of Tobacco,” while Kapnergatis Square and Kyprou Street are lined with grand neoclassical buildings and mansion of former tobacco merchants. Just to the north lies the UNESCO World Heritage site of Philippi, one of the world’s most important Greco-Roman cities and a center of Christianity after Apostle Paul visited in 49 AD.