Nea Fokea, Kassandra Halkidiki

The beautiful seaside village of Fokea, with the well-preserved Byzantine tower of St. Paul, the picturesque small port, the beautiful beaches and the clean sea, attract every year thousands of tourists of every age.

It has 1500 habitants who during the summer come up to 10.000 and it’s only 78 km away from Thessaloniki. Is one of the youngest villages of Kassandra as it was established in 1922 by Near East refugees. Although it’s a new village, it has a long history. The region is populated by the ancient years.

During the ancient years, two villages sprung up: Sani, an Eretrian colony erected on the west shore, and Skithai, founded on the Toronaios gulf. Many “metoxia” (monasteries) on Mount Athos existed in the 14th century. Ioannis Palaiologos bequeathed the land that is now the settlement to the Monastery of St. Paul on Mount Athos in 1407. At the period, the Byzantine Tower was most likely constructed. Emmanuel Papas, the revolution’s commander, established his headquarters in yonder tower in 1821.

The Apostle Peter and Paul Fair, which takes place on the 29th and 30th of June, is quite intriguing. The service is held in the church of St. Paul, which is located at the village’s entrance. It is about a carved Macedonian tomb in the village’s rocky region that is very wonderful, and according to legend, Apostle Paul retreated there to shelter himself from his persecutors. There are various rooms inside the tomb, as well as an underground tube that leads to the holy water.

The hamlet offers an impressive tourism infrastructure, including luxury hotels, rooms for rent, restaurants, taverns, fish taverns, cafés, patisseries, and so on. Those who enjoy nightlife may select from a variety of nightclubs with live music in addition to the village’s bars.

Many cultural activities take place in the Tower during the summer as part of the Kassandra Festival.