Via Egnatia

The ancient road Via Egnatia led from Durrës (Albania) via Ohrid (North Macedonia) and Thessaloniki (Greece) to Istanbul (Turkey). Those who travel along the Via Egnatia today do so mainly because of the impressive landscapes in touristy uncrowded areas, the typical places that are not shaped by tourism, as is the case on the coastal towns, and to taste different dishes and wines that can be discovered along the more than 1000-km route.



Understand
The Via Egnatia was a Roman road that ran as an eastern continuation of the Via Appia between Rome and Istanbul (Constantinople, Byzantium), the two great metropolises of the late Roman Empire. Built between 146 and 120 BC, the army road was named after Gnaeus Egnatius, proconsul of Macedonia. He had commissioned the construction. In places, Macedonian royal roads were included in the construction. The ancient road ran through today's Albania, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. The starting point was Durrës on the Albanian Adriatic. A southern branch began in Apollonia (at today's Fier), which was also an important port city at the time. In the valley of the Shkumbin, the two branches first came together again. In the area of Lake Ohrid, there were again two routes that met near Heraclea Lynchestis (now Bitola). Then the route led south to Thessaloniki, from there it went eastwards to Istanbul.

Along the road, stations were built from the beginning of the Imperial era. About every 15 km horse-changing stations (mutationes) and about every 40 km rest stops (mansiones) were built mainly for the state postal and courier service. Later, they were expanded and then used by travelers and traders, who then traveled from one rest area to another in one day. They consisted of stables, horse cart depots, and dining and guest rooms. Among the larger service areas were also workshops and comfortable rest houses (praetoria) with baths (balnea). Vici (settlements) often developed in the vicinity of heavily frequented mansiones with other craft enterprises and larger bathing facilities, some of which developed into cities that still exist (Thessaloniki) or have perished (Philippi, Anastasiopolis).

The road was used by the apostle Paul on his second missionary journey when he traveled from Philippi to Thessaloniki (Acts 16-17). It also played a crucial role in several important moments of Roman history: the armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey marched during the civil war of Caesar along the Via Egnatia, and later the legions during the civil war between Mark Antony and Octavian and those of Cassius and Brutus who met for the Battle of Philippi. Milestones found prove that Emperor Trajan carried out extensive road repairs before his campaign against the Parthians. However, due to political instability in the region, the road was largely abandoned and maintained in the 5th century AD. A 5th-century historian noted that the western parts of Via Egnatia were in such poor condition that travellers could barely travel on it, which also had economic consequences for the places along the road.

Its strategic and economic importance was not lost after the decline of the Roman Empire. Also in Byzantine times, the Via Egnatia was one of the important roads. Crusaders and Ottoman invaders also used this route. The route changed partially in Byzantine times. In later years, the Via Egnatia was revived as the key road of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Procopius of Caesarea was a late antique Greek or early Byzantine historian of the 6th century AD. He is considered the last great historian of antiquity. He reported on repairs of the East Roman Emperor Justinian I from the 6th century, since the dilapidated road even in rainy weather was virtually unusable. Almost all Byzantine overland trade with Western Europe went along Via Egnatia. During the Crusades, the armies that traveled east by land followed the road to Constantinople before arriving in Asia Minor. Even in Ottoman times, this land route still had an important role, when it was known as sol kol ("left arm", as seen from Constantinople's point of view, with orta kol, "middle arm" being the Via Militaris linking with Central Europe through the central parts of the Balkans, and sağ kol, "right arm", the route to Crimea along the Black Sea - the Via Pontica).

Exact maps of the Via Egnatia do not exist, as the route has changed over the millennia and its remnants have been severely damaged in the 20th century by land development for agriculture. Further in Greek part of Thrace some remains of the Via Egnatia were uncovered. There, the route is known more precisely.

Preserved by the old Via Egnatia are only short sections, especially in Albania and partly also in Greece. The Via Egnatia is also part of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and also part of the old Silk Road.

If you like the bathing pleasures by the sea, you will find excellent beaches along the Via Egnatia in Greece near Asprovalta, Kavala and Alexandroupolis.

By plane
The easiest way to get there is via the international airport of Tirana in Albania, 30 km from Durrës, if you want to explore Via Egnatia from west to east. Otherwise, the airport of Thessaloniki offers, if you only want to visit the Greek part of the route, or Istanbul for the Turkish part.

By ship
If you want to travel by car or motorhome, you can take the ferry from Italy (Ancona, Bari, Brindisi, Trieste) to Durres.

On foot
The preparations depend on whether you really want to hike the route or drive off in the motorhome. In Albania and northern Macedonia, it leads through mountainous areas with the typical rapid weather changes and low temperatures, while in Greece and Turkey it travels a lot through lowland where sun and heat can be a challenge for the hiker. Hikers usually go the route in 2 stages: (1) Durres to Thessaloniki, and (2) Thessaloniki to Istanbul. To prepare for a hike, the guides of the Via Egnatia Foundation and the Facebook Via Egnatia friends are recommended. Also the App | Via Egnatia Hiking is useful.

By car
Almost no rental companies allow the border crossing into another country.

Albania Flag of Albania.svg
For hikers, the wild mountain landscapes in Albania are a highlight of the Via Egnatia. For car or motorhome riders the poor road conditions in Albania might bring some trouble. In general, Albania has had modest tourism only since the fall of communism, after decades of abject poverty and also almost exclusively on the coasts. If you are traveling inland, you often have to be content with less luxurious accommodation and restaurants and expect difficulties in understanding.

Durrës - Peqin
From Durrës, the road used to run along the coast, then inland following the valley of the Shkumbin River to Peqin, where it joined with the branch of the Via Egnatia that came from Fier.







Peqin - Elbasan - Perrenjas
From Peqin the Via Egnatia continues to Scampis, today's Elbasan and on to Perrenjas to the present border with North Macedonia on the. Remains of the ancient road are still partially preserved in the Polis Mountains high above the Shkumbin Valley. Here the road did not run for long stretches in the valley of the Shkumbin, but high up on the southern mountain slope. In some places near the Albanian city of Librazhd you can still see or guess the ancient course.

North Macedonia Flag of North Macedonia.svg
The western part of the country is an area of picturesque mountains, lakes, forests and fields, nestled between the Povardarie region and Albania, home to most of the attractions of North Macedonia.

Struga - Ohrid - Bitola






Greece Flag of Greece.svg
The route through Greece leads through Macedonia and Thrace. Although northern Greece, with the exception of Chalkidiki, is significantly less touristy than the islands or the south, it is significantly better developed than Albania or North Macedonia, especially along the coastline.

The Egnatia Odos, a modern motorway named after the ancient route, roughly follows the path of its predecessor between Thessaloniki and the Turkish border although its western terminus at Igoumenitsa is much further south than that of its ancient namesake.

Florina - Edessa - Thessaloniki
The landscape around Florina is mountainous but from Edessa on it gets flatter. In the course to the Turkish border the landscape is more or less flat. with only a small mountain range before reaching Alexandroupolis.



Thessaloniki - Amphipolis - Philippi - Kavala
The following route of the Via Egnatia led through scenic and partly hilly areas, south along the lakes Koronia and Volvi until it reaches at Asprovalta, a popular seaside resort, continuing along the sea to Amhipolis. From Amphipolis the route led in the time of the Romans north along the Pangaion Hills to Philippi. In Byzantine times, the southern bypass of the Pangeon was preferred, where today also runs the highway. Philippi was not necessarily the destination at that time any more, but directly Kavala.

Kavala - Anastasiopolis - Mosynopolis - Mesimvria - Traianoupolis
The route goes through lowland until before Alexandroupolis, where you have to cross a range of hills.













In the further course of the Via Egnatia in the east of Komotini there are no known stations until you reach the coast. Only at the village Mesti a piece of the old road was found and uncovered.



The ancient road crossed the Hebrus (modern Evros/Meriç), perhaps the most major river on the route, probably on a man-made ford in a locality named Taşlısavak (Turkish for "paved sluice"). Remnants of the crossing reportedly still exist on the site; however, this is a closed military zone as it lies on the border of two countries that have tense relations at times. The modern highway, E90, crosses the river on a half-Greek, half-Turkish bridge about upstream (north).

Turkey Flag of Turkey.svg
As with many other Roman roads in the country, the Via Egnatia (or at least parts of it) was in use well into the 1960s, when a new nationwide highway network was implemented and major realignments took place.

It is believed that the Turkish part of the route led from İpsala across the Turkish Thrace region to Tekirdag and then along the Marmara coast to Istanbul. Because of the enormous construction activity along the entire Marmara area, especially on the coast, there are hardly any witnesses of Via Egnatia and its former stations. Many things, regardless of history, may have been overbuilt here. Of some stations, the name is known, but not the exact location, so you can not visit them. The entire coastal region is heavily influenced by tourism and on weekends with a lot of traffic through the weekend tourists from Istanbul.







Stay safe
See relevant country articles: Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Turkey.

Go next
Just off the route of Via Egnatia are some very well-known sights or landscapes

Albania




North Macedonia








Greece