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\ Crete
(1) / \Cyclades
(2) / \ Dodecanese
(3) / \ Peloponnese
(4) / \ Attica
(5) / \ Central
Greece (6) / \ Epirus
(7) / \ Ionian Islands
(8) / \ Thessaly
(9) / \ Evia
& the Sporades (10) / \ Macedonia
(11) / \ Thrace
(12) / \ NE
Aegean (13) /
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Grecian
Net © All rights reserved 2002
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First signs of human presence on this land are estimated to be
in an era between 10,000 and 7,000 BC. Neolithic Age findings
from the village of Paradimi denote that during the Neolithic
ages (4500-3000 BC) there had been a lot of human activity in
the area. Later on, during the Bronze Age (3000 - 1100/1050 BC),
Thrace started to establish some kind of relationships with various
other Hellenic territories, but all that suddenly stopped due
to a series of unexpected catastrophes. During the early years
of the Iron Age (1050 - 659 BC) the Thracians as stated by Herodotos
had developed and were proficient in the art of iron-making and
they were also known as great worriers. 
Colonies
founded on the Thracian coasts during the 7nth century BC very
soon became very prosperous, serving as trade stations, since
their location stands between the Hellenic main land and Minor
Asia which was at that time full of other Hellenic colonies. Thus,
most of them were finally turned into powerful city-states with
international relations all over the known world.. During the
Persian Wars (4rth century BC), the Thracian cities were members
of the Athenian Alliance. By the end of this time the Thracian
cities were found to be paying loyalty taxes to the Persian King.
This situation was eventually overturned during the days of the
Macedonian king Philip the Second, who after a series of continuous
war campaigns managed to conquer the entire area. The Macedonian
occupation of the Thracian cities went on while Alexander the
Great was king of Macedonia, and it ended in the days of the King
Persseas who was defeated by the Romans in the first century BC
and so Thrace became -- and stayed like that for quite a long
- a Roman providence. 
After
all, the land was too close to the Capital of the Othoman Empire
(now called Istanbul so as not to remind of the old glorious city
that the Turks had destroyed). However during the 19th century
Thrace has a small period of development and prosperity which
goes on until World War I and the Balkan Wars that followed. Right
after that period Thrace is being taken over by the Hellenic and
Allay Armies and finally freed in 1920 only to be given away as
a present to the Bulgars by the Nazi's during World War II, until
final liberation in 1945 . Thrace has a rich cultural tradition
mainly because the Thracian Hellenism stands right in the middle
of various other populations, such as Bulgarians, Turks, Rumanians
and even Russians, thus producing a unique scenery of combinations
and influences of various other cultures and traditions. Thracian
folk music is cheerful, quick and played with drums violins and
pipes. Threcian scenery ranges from picturesque mountain villages
to crystal clean sandy beaches -- that have all been awarded with
the EEC flag -- and lakes with ducks and swans in them. It is
said that in Thrace, every step is a journey and visitors realize
that since the first time they put their foot on this really Great
Land.