As part of the implementation of the XpRience Thess Program, the Pilot Test of the Walking Tour Route in the center of Thessaloniki took place on Saturday, December 21, 2024. Through the relevant campaign that preceded on social media to inform the public and express interest, 72 participation applications were collected from all age groups. The number of participants in the Pilot Test was set at 25 people, who, despite the adverse weather conditions of the day, were present at the predetermined time at the meeting point; in Aristotelous Square, for the start of the tour.

The main objective of XpRience Thess is the design of three Walking Tour Routes, which are enriched with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) digital applications, as well as an interactive map. The thematic axis of the Routes is the period 1850-1950 and the three large religious communities of Thessalonians of that period: Jews, Muslims, and Christians. The XpRience Thess Routes unfold in three different areas of the city and the tours, along with references to relevant historical sites and events, are accompanied by the narratives of the biographies of three fictional characters created by the Program’s working group: Aharon Halevi, a Jew who lived in the center of Thessaloniki, Tarik Husseinoglou, a Muslim born and raised in Ano Poli, and Katerina Sarafi, a Christian who lived in the neighborhoods of the Exoches area.

The Pilot Walking Tour Route that took place in the center of Thessaloniki, focusing on the Jewish element of the city, started at 11:00 from the meeting point —Aristotelous Square (AR app)— and during the route, stops were made for a tour at Yahudi Hamam on Komninon Street, at the Kapani and Modiano markets, at Athonos Square (VR app), at Bit Bazaar, at the Dioikitirio, at the Monastirioton Synagogue on Syngrou Street, on Frangon Street (AR app), at Eleftherias Square (VR app), and at the Stein Mansion (AR app) on Venizelou Street. The tour concluded at 14:00, followed by the completion of evaluation questionnaires by the participants in an adjacent dining area where, with warm drinks for the guests, a discussion took place about their experience and the recounting of events from the personal family history of Jews in the city continued.