The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, North Macedonia Greece and European Turkey as a continuation of Via Appia. Starting at Dyrrachium (now Durres) on the Adriatic Sea, the road followed a difficult route along the river Genusus (Shkumbin), over the Candaviae mountains and thence to the highlands around Lake Ohrid. It then turned south, following several high mountain passes to reach the northern coastline of the Aegean Sea at Thessalonica. From there it ran through Thrace to the city of Byzantium (later Constantinople, now Istanbul). It covered a total distance of about 1,120 km (696 miles/746 Roman miles). Like other major Roman roads, it was about six meters (19.6 ft) wide, paved with large polygonal stone slabs or covered with a hard layer of sand.