Above: The Saint Patapios Archaeological Site from the period 2–3 A.D. in Veria City

There are things known, and things unknown, and in between are the doors. — Aldous Huxley

Veria City, Greece sits on land in a country that is in and of itself like a time machine capable of transporting visitors to any specific moment in our planet's recorded past. All you have to do is embrace the spirit of a past era and, if you're lucky, the right era might embrace you. The question is, in which century will you find yourself?

A message pops up on my iPhone from the incomparable Sofia Bournatzi of Pass Partout Tourism Marketing in Thessaloniki as we make our way to Veria City. Am I OK? John, in Veria City, is waiting for me. Am I on my way?

We're late, and I'm not happy about it. It goes against the grain of my soul and beats up the reliability gene in my inner Eagle Scout.

But I'm not late because my neurons fail to fire. I lost the power cord to my computer during my journey across Macedonia, and the only place I can buy the one I need is in Thessaloniki. I send Sofia and John a message. I'll be 2–3 hours late.

Above: The author with Sofia Bournatzi of Pass Partout Tourism Marketing, Thessaloniki

You can zip around Greece quickly these days. The new national road makes it easy to do. If you're from a big country like the United States, you'll come to view intercity travel here as a transporter-like experience in Star Trek. You can move from one end of the country to another in a day — great news for travelers.

Touchdown: Veria City

We arrive at the classy Hotel Olganos VL in Veria City and check in. Veria or Veroia is the capital city of the Imathia region of Greece and, Olganos stems from the name of the river god of Imathia.

This hotel isn't easy to find if you're driving and don't know the layout of Veria City. It stands within the old city walls on a side street closed off for pedestrians. Innovation is in order. I move a barricade to drive up to the hotel. It's OK. Other cars are there too.

The Hotel Olganos VL

From the Hotel Olganos VL

The 1850s-era Jewish Synagogue, in the traditional quarter of Barbouta, Veria City, Greece

Visually, the Hotel Olganos VL fits in with city-wide initiatives to restore historic landmarks. Murals on guest room walls in the hotel reinforce the imagery of the temperament and past of this place. The fittings and fixtures are modern. The setting presents Veria as a place where we may discover all of our yesterdays if only we know where and how to look.

When you step outside the Olganos VL, courtyards, cobblestone streets, and 18th-century style manor house buildings command your view. The oldest Jewish Synagogue in the city stands opposite the hotel. It's one of the top tourist attractions here. Visitors hobble over the cobblestone street to experience this place throughout the year.

I've Been Expecting You

At the front doorstep of the hotel, I hear, “I've been expecting you.” It's John from the Veria City Department of Tourism. “Shall we begin our meeting over lunch? It's a short walk from here.”

As we walk through the narrow streets and footpaths, John cites points of interest. I stop to talk with Evi Meska, the resident expert about the Jewish Synagogue across from the hotel. Everything in the old city of Veria is historic. Sites are restored or under restoration. This place would offer an endless supply of tales if only one had the time to stay and research them all. We're here for only a day and a half.

A restoration in progress in Veria City

The manor house style in Veria

Manor houses were the prevalent style in the Balkans in the second half of the 18th century. They follow the architectural scheme of the cities typical of the time. In post-Byzantine times, all homes — elegant townhouses, country towers, working-class homes, and farmhouses — follow the manor house style. Residents used the ground floor for cooking, storage, and craftworks. The high walls protect the main living quarters above.

We follow a path to a footbridge across the Tripotamos River. Yes, you can tell we're in Greece. Potamos means “river” in Greek. Trito stems from the word for “three.” Tripotamos is the place where three rivers converge. We step through and around a dozen work areas. Workers pour concrete to shore up old buildings. Trucks with building materials queue on the sidewalks of narrow streets.

The 12 Grada Restaurant: Scrumptious Macedonian Delights

Above: A partial view of the interior of the 12 Grada restaurant in Veria City

We arrive at 12 Grada, a restaurant par excellence in town. John speaks with the owner, Chef Yiannis Samoukas. Our gracious host and owner of the Hotel Olganos VL, Vasilis Likostratis, joins us. Vasilis serves as a consultant to the city council in Veria. We're in the hands of resident experts.

12 Grada is our base for work over the next hour. Our talk is lively, wide-ranging, and random. Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman history and influences abound here within a few hundred meters inside the old city walls.

John peppers me with questions. Did I know Veria stands at the religious crossroads of the world? Did I know Jews and Muslims co-existed here with the Greeks in harmony since the Ottoman occupation era right up to today? Did I know Apostle Paul was here twice, in 50 and 57 A.D.? Did I know the French and Russian Armies were here during World War I? Did I know Ho Chi Minh — later the revolutionary leader of North Vietnam — made his way through this city on his long journey through Europe in the 1920s?

Not all that exists in Veria is old. John regales us with facts. Seventy percent of national beef production stems from here. Local milk and cheese are notables, as is a wine they call Xinomavro. The latter is thought by some to be the best red wine in the country.

The offerings at 12 Grada are a marvelous distraction to our brainstorming. We enjoy five-star dining at its best with Chef Yanni in command. Prices are exceptional for the quality — plan on roughly €20–25 per person for a full meal.

Smoked Veal with Pontine Syron

Pasta, taratari sauce and green olive — καπνιστό μοσχαράκι με ποντιακά σιρόν

Veroia Roasted Meatballs

Veal meatballs with tomato sauce and warm yogurt cream, topped with handmade spice herbs

Traditional Macedonian Fried Pork With Leek

A 12 Grada specialty — σιγοψημένο χοιρινό με πράσο

Beef Calf in Xinomavro Red Wine

Oven cooked with plum — a traditional Macedonian dish from Imathia

Pastramadopitaki

Traditional leaves of pretek, Imathias beef paste, tomatoes and roasted peppers

The 12 Grada Farmers Salad

A reinvention of the classic Greek village salad, with the 12 Grada touch

A handmade Mastika liqueur from the resin of the Mastic Tree — from the island of Chios. λικερ μαστιχα, χειροποίητο από μαστίχα Χίου

Left to right: The Author, Chef Yannis Samoukas (Owner-Chef, 12 Grada), and John Valachis from the Veria City Department of Tourism

There's a 12 Grada variant — or shall I say reinvention — of all tasty morsels Macedonian. Chef Yanni paves a unique path in the kitchen, as you'll note from the photos and captions. As goes 12 Grada, so goes this city. Much of what happens in Veria is a variant of Macedonian traditions. The entire city is something old and new wrapped in a distinct Veroia package.

I wonder if I can find a way to live here for a while so I can eat at 12 Grada and drink Mastika, a favorite national liqueur that stems from the resin of the Mastic tree, a variant of the pine or cedar tree family typically found in places like Macedonia and the isle of Chios.

A Modern Day Muse

Above: The witty, erudite John Valachis, A Modern Day Muse from the Veria City Department of Tourism, at the 12 Grada Restaurant

It's difficult to focus more than a few moments of adoration on the delicious creations Chef Yanni heaps on us. John and I bounce through various ideas quickly — this is unbounded brainstorming at its best. We talk about sites to see in the old city. There is ancient Aigai, 8.2 km just outside of Veria City in the town of Vergina. Aigai is the first capital of Macedonia and home to the royal burial tombs of Alexander the Great and his father, King Phillip II of Macedon.

As we speak, it occurs to me John isn't just talking about Veria present and past. It seems he is living in these places in their time as we speak. I am on these journeys with him. What does this say about us?

There is a difference between a vicarious and extrasensory experience. The former involves projecting oneself into a place or situation through recall or projection in the future. The latter occurs when one lives through an unusual phenomenon like a metaphysical or inter-dimensional experience.

John Valachis, B.A., MSc., Ph.D., presents as a mortal human and to all outward appearances, evidence suggests this notion is true. He is, of course, Greek and lives in Veria City with his wife and children and is from Halkidiki. He'll appear — seemingly out of thin air according to the way he talks about it — at family holdings in Neo Marmaras, Halkidiki where he was born. He dallies in a multitude of interests that include interludes with a stringed musical instrument called a Bouzouki.

Despite these appearances of normalcy, John displays an ability to invoke emotive transference and embed himself and others in history. It's a quality the ancients told us the temple priests and pagan Gods would display millennia ago. Of course, this quality presents him as an ideal representative for Veria.

Has John had extrasensory experiences? I don't ask. I watch and listen.

The Human Connection

Long before the ancient Greeks arrived, Veria was a Paleolithic era settlement. Today, the old city presents 48 post-Byzantine era churches, the Jewish Quarter, a shrine to Apostle Paul, and the remains from ancient Greek, Byzantine, Vlach, and Ottoman influences. Are the sites in Veria — and nearby Vergina and Aigai — a gateway to all of our yesterdays via an interdimensional experience?

Researchers at Stonehenge in England and Carnac, France found that famous temples and human-made stone field alignments are built on electromagnetic hotspots on Earth. These hotspots interact as energy portals between the Earth and the Sun and align with star constellations. They generate auroras, rapid appearances and disappearances of lights and lightning around mountaintops — like those some see with UFO sightings — and cause some people to experience interdimensional or time travel-like experiences on Earth.

Veria, Vergina, and Aigai sit squarely in this ancient landscape, not far from the slopes of Mount Olympus itself. The Macedonian Kingdom chose Aigai as its first capital, and its royal dead were buried there with extraordinary ceremony. These were not arbitrary choices. The ancients sensed something in this ground.

We have a tiny pine cone-shaped gland in our brains called the Pineal Gland. Almost all vertebrates have this gland. It contains Pinealocytes, the same photo-sensitive material found in our eyes. When our eyes detect light or darkness, our brain sends a signal to the Pineal Gland to produce melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleep and helps us adjust to seasonal cycles.

The Pineal Gland also produces DMT, a powerful psychedelic found in hundreds of plants and almost every mammal. DMT episodes in humans account for reports of visions, spiritual insights, and compelling, emotive experiences with the Earth and universe — precisely the kinds of encounters that ancient Greeks described when Zeus appeared from the heights, or when priests at Macedonian sanctuaries reported divine communication. Electromagnetic hotspots, where the Earth's geophysical energy concentrates, may be sufficient to trigger these responses in receptive humans.

It could explain why ancient Greeks thought of Zeus as God rather than a man. It may explain why monks built monasteries across Athos and Meteora. And it may explain why, in places like Veria, Vergina, and Aigai — sites that have drawn human reverence without interruption for thousands of years — some visitors still feel something they cannot quite name.

Is it possible John Valachis has experienced such phenomena at ancient sites in and around Veroia? I still wonder. And I am tempted to ask.

Veria City Sites: Portals In Time?

Veria is delightfully dense yet deceptive. A visit here assures you can step into different points in history every time you visit. Will you set foot on a hotspot and encounter an interdimensional experience? I can't say. One thing is for sure: Veria is jam-packed with sites to see. Here are a few that are sure to pique your interest.

Site #1: The Tribute To Apostle Paul

The emergence of Christianity in Greece stems in part from Apostle Paul preaching throughout the country. He made two visits to Veria in 50 and 57 A.D. — within 50 years of the birth of Jesus. A monument and statue mark the spot where Paul would share Christian teachings with the people of this city.

Statue — A likeness of Apostle Paul

The Sacred Word of Apostle Paul — He visited Beroia in 50 and 57 A.D.

From The Tribute To The Pilgrimages of Apostle Paul to Veria, circa 50 and 57 A.D.

Site #2: The 1850s-Era Jewish Synagogue

On the northwestern edge of the open courtyard of the Jewish Quarter next to the Tripotamos River stands an 1850s-era Jewish Synagogue. It is the oldest of its kind in northern Greece and one of the oldest in Europe. Jews from across the world travel to Veria to pray here. This building stands as a monument to harmony between Christians, Muslims, and Jews, all of whom co-existed here peacefully during and since the days of the Ottoman Empire.

Above: Inside view of the Jewish Synagogue at Veria City

Site #3: Monasteries, Churches and “Little Jerusalem”

Above: This town isn't just full of churches. Religious history and period architecture for Greek, Muslim and Jewish practitioners abound here.

Many buildings of archaeological interest in Veria stem from the Byzantine era. You can pick up a booklet about the city from the local tourism office. Between the 11th and 14th centuries, Veria stood as one of the most important Byzantine Centers in Macedonia, a tradition until the end of the Ottoman Empire occupation of Greece in 1821. Veria gained a reputation as “Little Jerusalem” over the millennia as a religious center for the Byzantine Empire. Today, 48 out of the original 72 post-Byzantine churches that existed here at one time remain.

Site #4: The Archaeological Museum of Veria

Above: The Author, Vasilis Likostratis (Owner of the Hotel Olganos VL), and Karla Talleur, CEO, RoverTreks, at the Archaeological Museum in Veria City

At the Archaeological Museum of Veria, you'll see discoveries from the late Stone Age up through the end of the Hellenistic Age. Most displays present pieces from the Macedonian Kingdom with relics from the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. You'll also find five other museums in Veria. Our time there was limited. But you should put them on your visit list if you have two full days to spare.

Site #5: The Ancient Roman Road Via Ignatia

After the conquest of Macedonia by the Romans in 168 B.C., Veria developed into a cultural powerhouse in the region. The Romans improved ancient roads running through Macedonia across northern Greece up to the Dardanelles in present-day Turkey. The Ignatia road was essential to move the Roman armies and material across northern Greece. Today, you'll find part of the Ignatia road smack dab in the center of Veria, where portions are exposed near Mitropoleos Street.

Site #6: The River Tripotamos

Above: A segment of the Tripotamos River — where three rivers converge at the edge of the old city

No trip to Veria is complete without a visit to see the River Tripotamos. You can walk behind the Jewish Synagogue to see running waters — the same confluence of three rivers that has shaped the boundaries and character of this city since antiquity.