Mayor's Invitation to Turks Hurts Greek Pride

To Lure More Tourists in Current Age of Austerity, Thessaloniki Heralds Attractions from the City's Ottoman-Ruled Past

BY JAMES ANGELOS THESSALONIKI, Greece—The mayor of this northern Greek city wants to capitalize on the more than four centuries that Thessaloniki was under Ottoman rule by inviting Turkish tourists to visit landmarks of that history. His message strikes some Greeks as heresy.

Although Greeks have long celebrated their Hellenic, Roman and Byzantine heritage, many see the Turkish-Ottoman occupation as a period of oppression. Relations between Greece and Turkey remain tense to this day, and many Greeks still view their neighbor as a threat.
Mayor Yiannis Boutaris argues that luring more tourists of any nationality is essential for his city, Greece's second largest, ...http://online.wsj.com/