Kavála, the principal port in eastern Macedonia, is beautifully situated on the slopes of Mt Symvolon, rising from the harbor to the Byzantine castle on the acropolis.
The town was founded, probably in the sixth century B.C., by settlers from the island of Páros, who called it Neapolis. It owed its rise to prosperity
to the gold in the nearby Pángaion hills. In 168 B.C. it became Roman, and in 42 B.C. served as a base for Brutus and Cassius before their defeat at Philippi. In A.D. 50-51 the Apostle Paul landed here on his first journey into Europe. After the victory of Christianity the town became the seat of a bishopric subordinate to Philippi and took the name of Christopolis. Later the name Kavála came into use.
From 1371 to 1912 the town was in Turkish hands. It was the birthplace of Mehmet Ali (1769 - 1849), an Albanian who rose to become Pasha of Egypt and founded the royal dynasty which ended with the abdication of Farouk in 1952.
Kavála was occupied by Bulgarian forces in 1916-18 and again in 1942-44. It is now important as a center of the cotton trade and a port for the shipment of tobacco.
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