Photo by GNTO (Greek National Tourism Organization)
The Vale of Tempe is a valley formed between the mountains Olympus and Kissavos, it has a length of 10 kilometers, while at its narrowest point a gorge is formed with a width of 25 meters and a depth of about 500 meters. The valley is crossed by the river Pinios, which then flows into the Aegean Sea. The Vale of Tempe has been of great importance, since antiquity, as it is the main passage from Macedonia to Thessaly.
The name Tempe (Tempi) has been preserved since ancient times. During the Turkish occupation it was also called Baba. It is a verdant area with abundant springs that end up in Pinios.
Very close to Tempi is the Pinios Delta, a place with great biodiversity and ecological value. Pinios is important for its unique riparian forests with plane trees, which create the aesthetic forest of Tempi and the islets with oak forests.
Tempi is a refuge for rare birds-waders and predators (225 species, among them cormorants, herons and flamingos), while aquatic trees (plane trees, poplars, willows, etc.), which grow through the waters of the river, forests of plane trees and rare flowers on the rocks, compose a breathtaking landscape where natural water sources gush.
Greek mythology is rich in myths associated with the valley of Tempe. According to a legend, the valley was opened by the trident of Poseidon. Another legend says that the god Apollo was in love with Daphne, daughter of Peneus. So that the god would not grab her, her father, transformed her into a plant, the laurel, which abounds in the valley. It is also reported that the god Apollo transferred the laurels to Delphi from the lush area of Tempi. There was even a temple dedicated to Apollo.
Mythology also tells us that in the Vale of Tempe the god Pan hunted the Dryades and the Nymphs. It was also here for some time that Aristaeus, son of Apollo and Cyrene, lived and it was here that he hunted Eurydice, wife of Orpheus. While she was trying to escape from Aristaeus, who was chasing her, she was bitten by a reptile and died. 
Photo by GNTO (Greek National Tourism Organization)
According to the historians Herodotus, Apollodorus and Strabo, a few millennia ago the mountains of Olympus and Kissavos formed a single mountain range. The waters of the rains and springs could not find a way out to the sea. The constant rise of the water level transformed the Thessalian basin into a vast lake. After serious geological upheavals (the flood of Deucalion in Greek mythology) a seismic fault between Olympus and Kissavos created the valley of Tempi and the waters of Thessaly found their way to the sea of Thermaikos, leaving behind a fertile valley.
The first tools and fossilized animal bones of the Middle Paleolithic era were found on the banks of the Pinios River in 1958, near Larissa, and date from 50,000 to 30,000 BC.
From 30,000 BC remnants of human activity in Thessaly reappeared after the end of the glaciers, around 7,000 BC, i.e. in the Neolithic era.
Inside the rock of Mount Olympus is built the chapel of Agia Paraskevi. It is connected to the highway by a suspension bridge, which passes over the Pinios River. It dates back to the 13th century AD and is built on a spot of special natural beauty. It is one of the most important pilgrimage places in the area with thousands of visitors every year.
The Vale of Tempe is a place of unique natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. You really must visit it at least once in your life!
