I woke up very early this morning. I was deceived by the light that broke through the heavy curtain on the window of my hotel room, and the open balcony door let the sounds of the seagulls through to me.
Are they just arguing over the distribution of food - since we are in a port town with lots of fishing boats and ships, there are always some leftover fish for the hard-working seagulls that follow the fishing boats?
Or are they calling their young that have left the nest but are not yet able to fly?
I was surprised by the gray color of their feathers, but the shape of the head, the beak, as well as the movement when they want to escape from a threat, clearly indicates that these are young seagulls.
Anyway, I woke up before the sun rose over Kavala, and decided to take a walk around the port and the town, before the crowds and the sun started to burn.
I left the hotel and went around the ships that had already returned from hunting.
Some of them had already unloaded their catch and packed their nets, and some berths were still waiting for the boats and ships to return.
Until everyone returned, I didn't want to sit on a bench by the pier, but decided to walk along the shore behind the pier and climb into the lower part of the old town.
The walls of the old town and a picturesque unkempt beach with a small canteen that wasn't working yet, was on the way to the steps leading to the old town.
The first thing I encountered when I climbed the stairs was an old lighthouse.
The approach to it was closed, but I was able to take a picture of it.
Right next to the lighthouse, there is the Holy Church of the Dormition of the Virgin, and right next to the gate of the church is a square and a museum dedicated to Mehmet Ali Pasha (born in Kavala), who is known as the founder of modern Egypt.
In addition to his birthplace, which is now a museum and sculptures on horseback, Mehmet Ali Pasha had Imaret built in 1817, the most magnificent building in Kavala at that time.
It was an educational center, a religious school and a charitable institution, and today the red building has been converted into a luxury hotel.
Walking through the streets of the old town of Panagia, I passed a few bars that hadn't started working yet, and I gave up on going up to the upper old town and the fortress, because it was also closed this early.
I headed to the pier to wait for the rest of the ships and walk around the marina a little more.
I made an interesting photo showing the hotel where I am staying.
The sun slowly began to rise, making for
more beautiful pictures.
The reflection of the sun's rays on the surface of the water, the sun's rays breaking through the pillars of the aqueduct, the sun above Kavala...
A few more boats pulled into the harbor and I headed to the entrance of the harbor to wait for the remaining ships at the end of the pier.
A long jetty, with steps used for getting in/out of boats, has benches for watching the sunrise/sunset.
At the end of the pier there is a small lighthouse that directs ships on dark nights where they need to pass the protective ramparts in order to reach the harbor safely.
Considering that this is a large port, with a large marina and lots of speedboats, boats and ships tied up, I was surprised where there were so many sea urchins on the rocks, which are proof of extremely clean water.
One after the other, the ships that were a little late started to arrive at the dock.
Some of them were followed by a flock of seagulls that circled around the ships hoping for a piece of fish, while others drove to their contracted place for the distribution of the catch.
Fishermen on large ships clean and pack their nets, and their colleagues pack the catch into smaller boxes and transfer them to small boats that take the fresh fish around Kavala.
Taking pictures of the hardworking fishermen bringing their night's work to an end, I got a few astonished looks. so I waved at them, smiled and moved on.
I also took pictures of a few amateur anglers fishing in the marina.
Since the cafes in the marina were not yet open, I decided to go back to the hotel, and since it was still not time for breakfast, I drank my coffee while enjoying the beautiful view of the city.
This morning I had a wonderful #wednesdaywalk through Kavala.
I hope you liked it too and that you will enjoy my attempts at photography, which I took with my mobile phone.
Until next Wednesday and #wednesdaywalk, greetings from Kavala, Greece!