Kavala and Thassos Island Quarries, Greece – Marble Research (Following Sadbhuja Das through Europe)

This the third installment of my trip – the final leg of my journey after Turkey and Macedonia was Greece.

The reason I kept Greece until last was because I thought Greece had the purest and a higher quality of white marble. But after having seen the Turkish and Macedonian Marble, I’d have to admit I was wrong, as both countries have a superb quality of marble that is quite capable of rivaling Greece.

Greece has made a name for itself for producing fine White marble just like Italy has made a name for itself with Carrara Marble. I feel the three different countries actually trade with each other, purchasing and selling marble between then and selling, just as Carrara buys a lot of white marble from the Greece, Turkey and Macedonia.

I traveled to three places in Greece; Drama, Kavala and Thassos Island. These three places are very similar in terms of marble quality.

Please see below the quality of marble that is produced in the mines of Greece. They are on par with the quality available in Macedonia and Turkey – and just like the quarries there, the mines in Greece are gargantuan.

Indeed, they produce so much that they use it to build walls to support the surrounding landscape!

The blocks that come out of these mines are also on the same level of clarity as that found in the other two countries I visited. Indeed, the availability of Marble in this part of Europe is quite surprising; given the prices we are quoted in the West.

You can see below that the purity of the slabs is visible before they are polished or prepared for use – it’s reassuring to know that there is such a high-grade of marble available for the temple.