O.T.E Tower in Thessaloniki

The OTE Tower in Thessaloniki is a construction with the main purpose of transmitting telecommunications. It is 76 meters high and is located within the area where the Thessaloniki International Exhibition is held every September. It was built in two phases. In the first phase in 1969, the architectural and structural design was carried out by architect Alexandros Anastasiadis and the foundation, basement and first floor were constructed. It first operated in September 1969 at the 34th International Exhibition. In the second phase, in 1970, its construction was completed, as it operates in its current form. For several years, it also operated as a pavilion of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) at the Exhibition. At the top of the tower there is a restaurant-cafe-bar. It is the only building with a rotating floor in Greece. It rotates at a speed of one full rotation in sixty minutes. During this rotation, you can observe the entire center of Thessaloniki with its Byzantine sights and the beach of the Thermaic Gulf. In October 2011, we decided to visit the Tower and admire the entire city from up there. When we left, we took a glass bottle of water as a souvenir. The Tower is imprinted on the front of the bottle and its history on the back.