The Beşçınar garden to the west of the port of Thessaloniki

The area of Beşçınar or Bech Tchinar became prominent in 1867 as a "millet baksesi" (national garden) during the Ottoman effort to modernize Thessaloniki. Thessalonians would go to Beşçınar to enjoy orchestras, have picnics, and swim, using the tram of the upper line "Beşçınar" until 1912. After the liberation in 1913, the park was renamed the "Garden of the Princes" in honor of the children of King George I’s royal family, who had moved to Thessaloniki in October 1912. After 1920, the "Garden of the Princes" was mainly visited by the middle class, and in the 1930s, refugees from Pontus, Ionia, and Thrace, who had settled in the nearby refugee neighborhoods, came to the area for swimming and recreation. By the late 1930s, the social activity shifted to eastern Thessaloniki, and the harbor facilities began expanding along the Bech Tchinar coastal zone, with the construction of oil tanks. The total decline of the garden occurred during the occupation when the Germans set up military material storage there. After World War II, continuous urban changes completely erased the garden from this western part of the city. Pictured: The Garden of Beşçınar to the west of the port of Thessaloniki, early 20th century. ©Municipal Photography Museum of Kalamaria ‘Christos Kalemkeris’