In the area of the town a plundered ancient Macedonian tomb has been found, which is undamaged even today. Alistrati is mentioned in 1460 in a manuscript of the holy Convent of Ikosifissa Pageo as a small town. A traveler from Turkey mentions it with the name Al-Strati in about 1650.Alistrati was built by the people of the ancient town Alektrioupolis, situated 2 km southwest from Alistrati, where you can find the Monastery of Agia Kyriaki nowadays. That town lived until the mids of the 19th century as a small settling near the big number of roosters, which crew and made their presence audible in the area around. When the town was struck by an epidemic at the beginning of the Turkish occupation, most of the inhabitants moved to the today's Alistrati place.At the beginning Alistrati was a small village, but it soon changed into a small town because of its geographical position and the merchandise, as well. It enjoyed great prosperity during the Turkish domination as it was a tobacco's industry centre and the religious and cultural centre of East Macedonia. After the revolution of 1821 against Turkish occupation, it was a transport, trade station between the area Serres-Drama-Kavala and that was now a remarkable business and trade activity had developed. It had also developed into an intellectual and religious center especially after it had been the seat of the See of Fillipi-Drama and Zichni (one can see the graves of three plelates in the yard of the Ag. Athanasios church) and after the establishing of the famous for that time Greek Central School of Alistrati where pupils from all the area of eastern Macedonia came to study. Today Alistrati attracts a lot of tourists not only because of the famous cave but because of all the natural beauty around it as well. The small neighborhoods with the narrow streets and the typical up-hill alleys, the hospitable inhabitants, the nice old Square, the beautiful belfry and the elaborate old reredos of the church of Agios Athanasios are tokens of the inhabitant's taste. There are also a lot of houses built in neoclassical or Macedonian architecture and picturesque narrow streets. So as the visitor strolls around the village he can travel back into time. Visitors can enjoy their stay here in some nice places, such as Hotel Boziki or the hotel run by the Women Cooperative e.t.c. All these places meet the visitors’ update needs. There are also many cafes, and tavernas with delicious, traditional dishes. And all these things combined with the excellent climate (there is very low humidity) help the visitors have a great time and escape from their everyday life routine.
Source: www.wikipedia.org
