Living in Greece

Athens Museums

2008-04-20T16:20:00.003Z

Museums in Athens

The National Archaeological Museum is the most important museum not only in Athens but in Greece and counts amongst the best museums worldwide. The museum hosts the worlds largest collection of Ancient Greek art. It is really a life's experience to visit the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. In the ground floor as you enter the main exhibition hall there are items from the Mycenae civilisation that where discovered by H.Schliemmann during his excavations in Mycenae. Most impressing is the golden mask of king Agamemnon as well as the golden jewels and statuettes from this period. In the same area there are items from the Cycladic period, in this area the most wonderful statute is the Man with the Harp made from white marble a typical artefacts of Cycladic sculpture. Further on there are Vases from the Geometric period and statues of kouros the first statues that the Greeks made with a move (The Kouros is a man's Statue usually 3 met high with a move forwards of the one leg) those statues dating from the Archaic period 4-7th century BC. Very interesting is the exhibit hall of the Classical Greece with most impressing the Statue of Poseidon. In an area of this hall there are clay pieces used by the Athenians of the Classic Athens to choose who of the most dangerous man for the city and the Democracy will be send to exile (Exostrakismos).
The museum was completed in 1889 and is a fine example of neoclassic architecture. Located at 44 Patission street next to the Polytechnic school of Athens.

The Goulandris Cycladic Art Museum located in 4 Neofytou Douka street. In the museum there is exhibition of several statues and other works from the Cycladic civilisation era from the 2000-3000 BC. The Cycladic civilisation flourished in the area of the Cyclades islands especially in Naxos, Milos, Amorgos, Paros. Most of the statues are made of Marble. One of the main reasons of sculpturing in marble was the plethora of marble in many of the Cyclades islands.

The Museum Benaki located at the corner of Vasilissis Sofias Avenue with Koumbari street. The museum exhibits various items from the Greek Antiquity with most important exhibit of 2 golden vases from the 30th century BC, items of Coptic Art, the Byzantine and post Byzantine era from the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until the end of the 19th century. The museum among others has collections of Chinese and Islamic art as well as items of pre-Columbian art. In the museum Benaki there are two paintings of El Greco. In other areas of the museum the visitor will find Greek paintings and works of modern Greek artists and folk art from various areas of Greece. Interesting is the sector of children toys and games. The Benaki museum organises various exhibitions of art from local and foreigner artists.

The National History museum of Athens is located in 13 Stadiou street in the Old Parliament building. the museum exhibits mostly items from the modern history of Greece especially from the times of the war of independence.

The Byzantine museum located at 22 Vasilissis Sofias avenue. The museum exhibits items from the Byzantine times. Impressing Byzantine icons, liturgical garments and equipment, precious books, jewellery and documents from the 14th to the 18th century AD .

Other interesting museums in Athens is the museum in the Ancient Agora that is housed in the Stoa of Attalos (entrance from Adrianou street in Monastiraki. The Numismatic museum of Athens is located in Panepistimiou street after the Academy, the Kerameikos museum in Ermou street (easy to access by the Metro), the Byzantine museum in Vasilissis Sofias avenue 22. In Plaka there are some interesting museums like the Children's museum, the Frissiras museum, the museum of Greek Folk Art and the Kanelopoulos museum in Theorias street under the north slope of Acropolis.

Strolling in Athens

2008-04-02T02:04:00.004Z

Walks in Athens after the snow in February 2008

As the spring arrives with sunny days, almond trees flourishing , the smell of the flowers in the air and the winter clothes taking slowly their way to the wardrobe, I can't say that this winter didn't gave us some really beautiful days like those in February with the surprising snow in Athens who gave us a couple of magical days with the usual grey Athens covered in white and a bright blue sky afterwards. It was on the 17th February that it began to snow and continued throughout the following day, leaving the city wrapped in a blanket of thick snow by the night of the 18th.

We knew it was coming, warnings had been given out on the 16th that a polar system was coming our way. Meteorologists were interviewed on television about this further bizarre effect of the La Nina phenomenon that, unusually this time, turned its stream from Scandinavia to Greece.
This coincided with another polar front which came our way from Russia. As a result, we saw unbelievable temperatures in many areas of Greece. Most unusual was the temperatures on many Greek islands.

Evia in the Cyclades, for example, saw snowfall in some areas that was over a meter and, even more unusual, was the experience of Crete which saw temperatures drop below zero. In Athens we had, in the early morning hours of the 17th February, temperatures with minus degrees .5-6 C.
In the early hours of that morning of the first snowfall, in our western suburb of Athens, I looked out of the balcony to see a gentle falling of snowflakes and I thought it will all have disappeared by morning to be a normal grey winter's day. But around 2 am I looked out again and it was amazing.

Having lived in northern Europe for many years, for one moment I thought I had been transported back in time to my winters in northern Germany and Denmark . Like a child, I stayed awake almost the whole night waiting to see if it would still be there the next morning and, yes, next morning dawned and it was the perfect scenery of a white Christmas: thick white snow covering everything, whilst a glorious sun was shining in a clear blue sky. I can't ever remember seeing such thick snow in our neighbourhood even as a child many years ago.

My father, too, who was born in Piraeus in 1929, agreed that this was something he had never experienced before in his lifetime, even when most of the west and north suburbs of Athens and Piraeus were just empty green fields. Anyway the first thing I did, after the family had woken up, was to take my wife and go to our local square and enjoy a cappuccino at one of our local cafeterias. The square was amazing with the fountains and their neighbouring plants looking like crystallised waterfalls. Children and the older people were out playing and revelling in the snow and snowmen and snow-women had 'mushroomed' all over the neighbourhood. Schools were closed and so were many of the shops and offices in the area with a consequence that there was no traffic, no buses, no taxis - only the metro was functioning. The few cars that were on the roads were those that had foreseen the climatic change and invested in snow chains in order to get about.

As the morning progressed the bright sunshine and general busyness of the metropolis began to slowly melt some of the snow on the main roads and suddenly, out of nowhere, loomed an empty taxi. We decided at that moment to jump in and go into the centre of Athens to take a snowy excursion to Monastiraki , the Parliament square, Plaka and go up to the Acropolis. What a wonderfully, special day it turned out to be. We were so lucky to find that taxi and it took us all the way to Monastiraki and so started our Athens sightseeing with snow.

On our arrival I took some amazing pictures with the Agora , the Stoa of Attalos and the Acropolis covered in snow. We were not alone hundreds of Athenians were taking advantage of the unexpected day off from work and school and, although it was Monday and although many of the TV channels had advised people to stay at home in order to avoid typical slippery snow accidents, in typical Greek fashion, people had ignored advice and warnings and ventured out to enjoy this strange phenomenon. Although it was busy, the fact that there was very little traffic and the peace and stillness that snow brings, this place was filled with an eerie hush, where all sounds were reabsorbed into the banks of crystalline snow heaped about us.

We enjoyed a sunny Monastiraki and from there we took the metro to Syntagma. Hundreds of locals and winter tourists were taking pictures of the Greek guards of the unknown solder monument, although by midday the snow in Amalias Street had already melted. We walked from there to Plaka and stopped for an ouzo at Byzantino, my favourite restaurant in Plaka at Filomouson Square. From there we decided to go up to Anafiotika, the small quarter of Plaka, that is a small Anafi village in the heart of Athens. Struggling on the slippery steps, caked with compacted snow and ice, we did it , Just enjoy the pictures from Anafiotika here.

Walking through the winding narrow streets of Anafiotika we managed to safely arrive under the Acropolis and went on to ascend the Areopagos Hill using the newly built steps and not from the slippery ancient rock ones. The panorama from here, which I have seen many times before, was transformed into something barely recognisable as my city.

All the Attica mountains were covered in snow: Hymmetus , Parnitha , Penteli and Aegaleo - a Christmas postcard or an Alpine scene. We went down to Areopagitou Street and had one more ouzo at the open air cafes in Thiseio. Finding a taxi from this area is not easy in clement weather but today it was impossible. Instead we took the good old ISAP train to Piraeus and from there as more taxis were on the road by then, we went back home to tuck into a big warming bowl of my mother's delicious bean soup, the best winter food.
See our photo Album with Pictures of Athens in snow
Also enjoy a nice Video I took from Monastiraki after the snow was gone and the sun was shining on the bright blue sky of Attica.

Useful Greek phrases

2008-03-23T14:50:00.005Z

Greek phrases useful for travellers to Greece

Some essential Greek phrases and words can be very useful for people that are visiting Greece. Of course almost in every tourist area of Greece in a hotel, in a restaurant, cafeteria or shop almost everyone speaks English some perfect and some quite enough to understand you, but some words and small phrases will help you more in some cases that you will find some difficulty in communication.
This is not going to be a full Greek learning lesson but a few essential things that can help you a lot whilst travelling in Greece.

I have divided that small lesson in some categories and places that are important for every traveller like restaurants, accommodation, travel by boat or by bus, ordering in a cafe and other basic words that can be used in a conversation.
Lets start with some generic words and phrases, first it will be the English word or phrase and next to it the Greek translation and pronunciation.

Important is to now that the right pronounce of the Greek i is pronounced like the i in the words India or it or is or inside, this is important because we have three i's in Greece (iota, eta, epsilon) that all pronounced the same -i-. The letter e pronounced like Eric or Emily and the Greek letter X pronounced like the English H - Hurricane, have, Harry. The combination of T and H makes the Greek letter Theta pronounced like th (Throne or Thorne) , the Greek letter Delta actually is pronounced again like th but as you pronouncing it in the English words (this , that, they ) and not like D (disco, dish etc.)

Now lets see some generic and very useful words when you travel:
I like - mou aresi, I want - Thelo, I have- Eho, Thank you- Efharisto, Good morning- Kalimera, Good night- Kalinichta, tommorow- Avrio, today-simera, My name is- Me lene How are you- ti kanete, Where is - pou ine, Police- Astinomia, Port- Limani, Boat- plio or karavi, airport- aerodromio, tourist police- Touristiki Astinomia, Port Authorities- Limenarhio, bus-leoforio, bus stop-stasi leoforiou, station-stathmos

Some Greek words useful in the restaurant
How much does it costs- poso kani
What is this- ti ine afto
Without oil-horis ladi
A bottle of wine- ena boukali krasi
I don't eat meat- then troo kreas
Do you have vegetarian food- ehete fagito gia hortofagous
Some water please-ligo nero parakalo
a glass of water- ena potiri nero
A forck - ena pirouni
A knife - ena maheri
A spoon- ena koutali
Wine- krasi
Bread- psomi
Salad- salata
tomato- ntomata
potatoes-patates
cucumber- agouri
vinegar-ksidi
cheese - tiri
salt, alati
pepper, piperi
the bill please- ton logariasmo parakalo

In a cafe or cafeterisa
The Greeks are not used as much as most Europeans in the filter coffe and because they have many different kinds is good to know what to ask.
If you want filter coffee you should ask - kafe filtro, If you want a Greek coffe you can say -ena kafe elliniko, because the Greek coffee is made with the sugar inside you should ask the way you want it like, without sugar- horis zahari or sketos, medium- metrios, sweet- glykos. The same as above occurs when you order a caffe frappe the Greek ice coffee, if you want milk in your coffee you should say - me gala- (with milk)

In a hotel or other accommodation especially in self catering apartments, studios and rooms.
Apartment-diamerisma
I want a room- Thelo ena domatio
A single room- ena mono domation
A double room- ena diplo domatio
Does it have a bath- ehi banio
Does it have air conditioning- ehi klimatismo
does it have a refrigerator-ehi psigio
does it have a kitchen-ehi kouzina
Do you do breakfast- kanete proino
Do you have a baby's cot - ehete krevataki gia moro
is it near the beach- ine konta i paralia
How much do you charge per night- poso kostisi i dianikterefsi
Is that price per person or for the room- ine i time gia kathe atomo i gia to domatio
Electric fan-anemistiras
toilette paper-harti toualetas
a bath towel - mia petseta baniou
a sheet-ena sentoni
a pillow- ena maxilari
camping gas-gazaki
pay in advance-prokatavoli

In the port
I want a ticket- thelo ena isitirio
When does the boat lives- pote fevgi to plio
When does the boat arives-pote erhete to plio
On the ship
ship or boat- karavi or plio
ferry boat- same as in English
I want a cabin- thelo mia kampina
Deck-katastroma
Bow- plori (the front of the ship)
stern-primi (the back of the ship)
Garage- same as in English
Engine room- Mihani
Stewart- kamarotos
Sailor-naftis
Captain- Kapetanios

I wont put any Greek words or phrases that you can use in an airport because most of the key phrases like check in , control et cetera , are the same every where but a couple of Greek words are useful here like passport-diavatirio, sutcase-valitsa, departure- anahorisi, arival-afiksi.
(PS) This article is written by a Greek (me) George.

Snow in Athens

2008-03-07T20:31:00.002Z

Athens covered in snow winter 2008

This winter gave to the people of Athens a couple of magical days with Athens covered in heavy snow. It was on the 17th February that it began and continued throughout the following day, leaving the city wrapped in a blanket of thick snow by the night of the 18th.
We knew it was coming, warnings had been given out on the 16th that a polar system was coming our way. Meteorologists were interviewed on television about this further bizarre effect of the La Nina phenomenon that, unusually this time, turned its stream from Scandinavia to Greece.
This coincided with another polar front which came our way from Russia. As a result, we saw unbelievable temperatures in many areas of Greece. Most unusual was the temperatures on many Greek islands.

Evia in the Cyclades, for example, saw snowfall in some areas that was over a meter and, even more unusual, was the experience of Crete which saw temperatures drop below zero. In Athens we had, in the early morning hours of the 17th February, temperatures with minus degrees .5-6 C.
In the early hours of that morning of the first snowfall, in our western suburb of Athens, I looked out of the balcony to see a gentle falling of snowflakes and I thought it will all have disappeared by morning to be a normal grey winter's day. But around 2 am I looked out again and it was amazing.

Having lived in northern Europe for many years, for one moment I thought I had been transported back in time to my winters in northern Germany and Denmark . Like a child, I stayed awake almost the whole night waiting to see if it would still be there the next morning and, yes, next morning dawned and it was the perfect scenery of a white Christmas: thick white snow covering everything, whilst a glorious sun was shining in a clear blue sky. I can't ever remember seeing such thick snow in our neighbourhood even as a child many years ago.

My father, too, who was born in Piraeus in 1929, agreed that this was something he had never experienced before in his lifetime, even when most of the west and north suburbs of Athens and Piraeus were just empty green fields. Anyway the first thing I did, after the family had woken up, was to take my wife and go to our local square and enjoy a cappuccino at one of our local cafeterias. The square was amazing with the fountains and their neighbouring plants looking like crystallised waterfalls. Children and the older people were out playing and revelling in the snow and snowmen and snow-women had 'mushroomed' all over the neighbourhood. Schools were closed and so were many of the shops and offices in the area with a consequence that there was no traffic, no buses, no taxis - only the metro was functioning. The few cars that were on the roads were those that had foreseen the climatic change and invested in snow chains in order to get about.

As the morning progressed the bright sunshine and general busyness of the metropolis began to slowly melt some of the snow on the main roads and suddenly, out of nowhere, loomed an empty taxi. We decided at that moment to jump in and go into the centre of Athens to take a snowy excursion to Monastiraki , the Parliament square, Plaka and go up to the Acropolis. What a wonderfully, special day it turned out to be. We were so lucky to find that taxi and it took us all the way to Monastiraki.

On our arrival I took some amazing pictures with the Agora , the Stoa of Attalos and the Acropolis covered in snow. We were not alone hundreds of Athenians were taking advantage of the unexpected day off from work and school and, although it was Monday and although many of the TV channels had advised people to stay at home in order to avoid typical slippery snow accidents, in typical Greek fashion, people had ignored advice and warnings and ventured out to enjoy this strange phenomenon. Although it was busy, the fact that there was very little traffic and the peace and stillness that snow brings, this place was filled with an eerie hush, where all sounds were reabsorbed into the banks of crystalline snow heaped about us.

We enjoyed a sunny Monastiraki and from there we took the metro to Syntagma. Hundreds of locals and winter tourists were taking pictures of the Greek guards of the unknown solder monument, although by midday the snow in Amalias Street had already melted. We walked from there to Plaka and stopped for an ouzo at Byzantino, my favourite restaurant in Plaka at Filomouson Square. From there we decided to go up to Anafiotika, the small quarter of Plaka, that is a small Anafi village in the heart of Athens. Struggling on the slippery steps, caked with compacted snow and ice, we did it , Just enjoy the pictures from Anafiotika here.

Walking through the winding narrow streets of Anafiotika we managed to safely arrive under the Acropolis and went on to ascend the Areopagos Hill using the newly built steps and not from the slippery ancient rock ones. The panorama from here, which I have seen many times before, was transformed into something barely recognisable as my city.

All the Attica mountains were covered in snow: Hymmetus , Parnitha , Penteli and Aegaleo - a Christmas postcard or an Alpine scene. We went down to Areopagitou Street and had one more ouzo at the open air cafes in Thiseio. Finding a taxi from this area is not easy in clement weather but today it was impossible. Instead we took the good old ISAP train to Piraeus and from there as more taxis were on the road by then, we went back home to tuck into a big warming bowl of my mother's delicious bean soup (Fasolada).

Aegina day trips

2008-02-25T02:18:00.002Z

A day trip to Aegina

The heavy snow in Athens and throughout Greece made headlines this February in one of the most rare winter in Athens with a heavy snow fall that kept only 2 days unfortunatelly. The temperature on Monday and Tuesday (18th and 19th) was between -5 and -1 centigrade in Athens, but on Wednesday we woke up to glorious blue skies and the streets bathed in golden sunshine. With a sudden change in temperature, soaring to a delicious 17 degrees, it seemed the perfect day to do the Athenian thing and take a day trip to Aegina. Only 30 km away from Piraeus, the 40 minute hydrofoil trip at 22 euros return and leaving every half-hour was money well spent.
The only problem with hydrofoils however, is that there is very little outer deck and, if you want to enjoy the trip, and watch the scenery whilst having a smoke the only place to do this is the small open deck at the back of the craft. Nevertheless, the boat was practically empty and we were the only two who wanted to stand outside and enjoy the amazing views created by the crystal clean atmosphere that gave a visibility of dozens of miles.

As the boat was leaving the Port of Piraeus you could see the whole Attica Basin and the still snowy peaks of Parinitha, Penteli and Hymetus mountains. Within 10-15 minutes of departure we were passing over the west coast of Salamina, where fleets of cargo and container ships lay in anchorage near and around the coast of Salamina waiting their turn to unload or load their goods from the commercial Port of Piraeus in Keratsini and Ikonio. After only a further 5 minutes Salamina is left behind and, in the distance to the south, Aegina can already be seen across the glittering blue Saronic Gulf.

Our approach from the north side of the island gave us enchanting vistas of the numerous villas that have been built on Aegina in the last 20 years. These properties are owned mostly by Athenians as summer houses but also many people from Europe have seen Aegina as the perfect place for a summer residence as well. Just before the hydrofoil turns south towards the port of Aegina we speed past the newly built, huge marina with all kinds of yachts and crafts moored up for the winter months. Finally, there shines Aegina town, the first capital of Unified Greece. Perhaps it is because of this that Aegina Town still maintains an aura of 'aristocratic sophistication' with its wide promenade lined with cafes, its typical neoclassical buildings and attractive 19th century villas, and its elegant ponies and old-fashioned carriages lined up waiting to take you around the town. There is also a beautiful church and, the prettiest of all, the tiny church of Saint Nicholas which stands at the entrance to the port. This tiny church is our first stop after the hydrofoil docks and we enter into its beautifully painted interior to light candles for our loved ones.

I made my first visit to Aegina when I was only 6 years old, and have visited it many times since, but I had never before taken a ride in a pony and carriage. This trip however, the first thing I did, after lighting candles at St. Nicholas church, was to take a 30 minute carriage ride - not to see the attractions as advertised but mostly to enjoy 30 minutes of carriage riding through the beautiful streets of Aegina and out amongst the pistachio trees and pines. Though it was February, the almond trees were in full blossom and the landscape was alive with the whispering of the coming of springtime.
It was already 2pm when Dimitris our carriage driver brought us back to the main promenade. We then took a stroll through the pedestrianised streets of the town with its numerous shops of all kinds. Aegina has this amazing advantage of being an island with all that is most charming about all Greek islands, and also is a highly developed suburb of Athens in matters of shopping, eating out and night life. Music bars, night clubs, cinemas, fashion boutiques are all here. It is something that is rarely found anywhere else - a combination of an idyllic island with all the bonuses of a big city suburb.

There is also plenty of history to be found on the island. Very close to the port of Aegina is the ancient Apollo Temple, the remains of which are a few metres away from Avra beach. here too is the museum that has ancient relics from that time as well as exhibits and information of how Aegina came to have the first printing press, museum, library and Mint of modern Greece. Also there still stands the beautiful Markelos Tower which was built in the 19th century by Spyros Markelos a member of the Greek Parliament and one of the local leaders during the Greek war of Independence, the tower was the headquarters of the Greek government from 1826-1827 and from 1828-1829 was used for offices of the Greek cabinet as well as other buildings founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias the first Governor of Greece.
Here, too you can find many beautiful neoclassical villas, one of which was used in the 1960s film, 'Holidays in Aegina' starring a very young Aliki Vougiouklaki and Andreas Barkoulis. Indeed, this film as well as all the other attractions of the island have made Aegina one of the most popular holiday resorts for Greeks in Athens and Piraeus.
I asked Dimitris, the carriage driver, if the Aegina people live and work on the island or whether many of its population commute over to the mainland for their daily work. He told me that almost 90% of the population live and work on the island, employed as pistachio farmers, fishermen, retail workers or in the tourist business. Real estate also is flourishing all over the island. Unfortunately for us, the prices of the beautiful apartments and villas are only affordable to those with large amounts of money!

After our stroll we stopped for lunch in one of the most well-known places in Aegina the Skotadis Kafe restaurant. Dream of the best Greek mezes and you will find it here! Kalamaris, merides, shrimps, octopus, grilled biftekia (Greek hamburgers), chops and keftedes (meat balls), mixed salads of broccoli, courgettes and horta, skordalia and tirokafteri - all there to enjoy with a karafaki of ouzo or a kilo of red wine or Retsina. We feasted like kings and finally waddled off to buy some souvenirs to remind us of our wonderful winter's day trip to this beautiful sunny island. Weighed down now by not only our sumptuous lunch but also a large clay Stamna pot (typical of the region) a half a kilo of home grown pistachio nuts, jars of honey stuffed full of pistachio nuts and bags of the marshmallow-like Greek sweet, Vanilla, made of mastic and sugar we rested at a nearby cafe, drinking coffee and eating the traditional ipovrihio - 'submarine' (a wonderfully smooth and chewy concoction of mastic, vanilla, pistachio and sugar which clings in a sweet, gooey clump to the spoon immersed in a glass of water) until the hydrofoil came in to take us back to Piraeus.Enjoy as well our pictures of Aegina from this unforgetable day trip.

Greek political parties

2008-02-15T10:10:00.002Z

Political Parties in Greece

The civil war that followed the end of World War Two in Greece affected dramatically Greek politics for many years. The political field of Greece from the early 50's until the Greek military dictatorship in 1967 was divided into three major political streams, the Conservative front under the leadership firstly by General Papagos with the party Ellinikos Synagermos (Greek Rally) and later by Konstantinos Karamanlis with ERE (Greek radical union). The Liberals with the party of the Liberals (Fileleftheroi) of Sofoklis Venizelos followed by Enosis Kentrou (Union of the Centre) in 1961 under the leadership of Georgios Papandreou , and the broad left mainly represented by the party of EDA (United Democratic Left) under the leadership of Ilias Iliou. The dramatic events of this period started with the assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis, who was a prominent member of the Left, in Thessaloniki in 1963.
The assassination of Lambrakis coincided with the fall of the Conservative government after the resignation and self exile in France of its leader Konstantinos Karamanlis and the victory of Georgios Papanndreou with his party Enosis Kentrou in the elections of the same year. During the short time of the Georgios Papandreou government, Greece made great progress towards the establishment of a more Democratic regime, unfortunately the events of July 1965 (engineered by the Greek Monarchy) split the party and gave a green light for the establishment of the seven years of Military Dictatorship in Greece1967-1974 which was one of the main causes behind the drama and splitting of Cyprus.

Today, with the end of the cold war and, as the times and world politics have changed so in Greece, the political climate and political parties are completely different than they were 40 years ago. The leading party of Greece today is Nea Dimokratia (New Democracy), it represents the liberal-conservative stream in Greece with leader and Prime Minister of Greece Kostas Karamanlis. The founder of the Party is Konstantinos Karamanlis former leader of the ERE party and the uncle of today's Party leader. The Party was created in 1974 after his return to Greece from a long period of self exile in France. The Party had many leaders from 1974 until today, after Karamanlis became President of Greece the party leadership went to Georgios Rallis then, for a short period, to Evagellos Averof and then to Konstantinos Mitsotakis. He was followed by Miltiadis Evert and finally, to its leader today, Kosta Karamanli.

The second largest party of Greece is the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) and its founder is Andreas Papandreou. PASOK was created on the 3rd of September 1974 with the friction of the resistance movement of Andreas Papandreou PAK (Pan-Hellenic Liberation Movement ), Dimokratiki Amyna (Democratic resistance) and many other Greeks of the old Enosi Kentrou (Union of the Centre) and the broad left. With its manifesto, the Party achieves to unite thousands of Greeks with the political ideal of social changes, emancipation, sovereignty and Democracy. With the famous political slogan, 'Allagi' (Change) Pasok won the national elections in 1981 with a huge majority. After the death of its leader and founder, the President of the Party became Kostas Simitis. Today's leader of Pasok is the son of Andreas Papandreou, George Papandreou.

The third largest and oldest party of Greece is the Greek Communist Party (KKE). The history of the Greek Communist Party has effected dramatically the history of Modern Greece. It was founded in 1918 under the name Socialist Labour Party of Greece and since then was the avant-garde to all struggles of the labour and agricultural classes of Greece. KKE fought fascism and imperialism during both world wars and resisted the military dictatorship of Ioannis Metaxas. It was the largest resistance movement (EAM Greek liberation front) during the Nazi occupation of Greece . Thousands of its members together with many other Greek Democrats and resistance fighters were executed, imprisoned or sent to concetration camps by the Nazis. The same happened also during the dictatorship of Metaxas and the dictatorship of the Greek colonels in the period 1967-74. The civil war that followed World War Two resulted in the banning of the Greek Communist party and it wasn't until 1974 that it was finally legalised. Among its famous political and military leaders was Markos Vafiadis, Nikos Zachariadis, Aris Velouhiotis, Stefanos Sarafis, Vasilis Samariniotis, Nikos Belogiannis, Charilaos Florakis. Today's general secretary of the Greek Communist Party is Aleka Papariga.

The fourth largest party of Greece is Syriza.The party of Syriza today is a broad union of the left, together with ecologists and other progressive movements. Its bigger part though was created in 1968 after the split of the Greek Communist Party. Its name after the splitting was KKE Esoterikou (Communist Party of Greece of the Interior) . Its political youth 'Rigas Fereos' was one of the most active resistance groups during the dictatorship. In 1987 the party was split and a new party created under the name EAR (United Left). The first leader of this Party was Leonidas Kyrkos. This Party followed the new European communist ideas that had been followed by the Italian Communist party and its leader Enrico Berlinguer; the Spanish Communist party of Santiago Carrillo; and the French communist party of Georges Marchais. (At this point I would like to mention that I was lucky enough to attend a public speech by Enrico Berlinguer and George Marchais back in the 70's when I was studying at the university of Paris VIII Vincennes) In 1992 EAR amalgamates with the Party of Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) which later made a coalition with other smaller parties that formed today's Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left). Its new president, voted in only a few days ago, is Alexis Tsipras, aged only 33 years and one of the youngest party leaders in the world. After its election, several polls showed an amazing increase of the popularity of SyRiZa.

The fifth largest party is LAOS with leader George Karazaferis. The party represents several conservative and religious ideologies of the right wing. Outside of the Greek Parliament there are several smaller Marxist-Leninist parties that mostly were created after the split of the KKE. It is also worth mentioning is the Liberal Party of George Leventis, who has for the last 20 years tried to resurrect the old Central Union with his party known as Enosis Kentroon (Union of the Centrals). Another party that always brings a entertaining break in the usually loud Greek National Elections is the Ecological Party of Demosthenes Vergis a lover of the nature and the beauty of life.

Athens Videos

2008-02-02T09:07:00.003Z

To all of you that have never been to Athens the Capital of Greece we present some videos taken on February during a sunny afternoon.The videos include the Acropolis of Athens ,the Athens Metro ,main squares of Athens like Omonoia and Syntagma square ,the most importent main streets of central Athens like Panepistimiou street ,Stadiou Aeolou and Patission streets ,the famous Plaka and the flee market ,the national gardens and finally the Port of Piraeus
THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS
The video is taken from a distance (area of Thission from the end of Adrianou street)during a walk in Plaka without the tourist wave of summer.

THE ATHENS METRO PIRAEUS TERMINAL
The old terminal station of Piraeus ,located just opposite the exit Gate of the Port of Piraeus so it makes easy access to all travellers from the Ferries that coming from the Greek islands ,this year a bridge is build so you can cross the busy street as you coming out of the port.From the Piraeus terminal you have access to Athens and many north and south suburbs as well to the Athens airport with the Proastiakos rail and further to Aspropytgos Elefsina Megara and Agious Theodorous and Kineta ,sea resorts on the west side of Attica peninsula.

THE NATIONAL GARDENS OF`ATHENS
A small oasis in the hart of Athens offers a peacefully atmosphere away from the noise of the big city.The National Gardens located exactly next to the Greek Parliament buildings in Vasilissis Amalias street.During the Royalism in Greece it use to be called Vasilikos Kipos (Royal garden)

Modern Music in Greece - Rock and Pop

2008-01-18T11:41:00.000Z

Pop and Rock Music in Greece

Greece has its own history in Pop and Rock Music, starting from the early 60's when Nikos Mastorakis was actually the one that turn the Greek youth to the pop and rock music with his radio show "Leoforeio i melodia" (a bus named Melody). At this time many pop groups start appearing in the big cities, among them in Thessaloniki, the Forminx, from which 2 members the well known Vangellis Papathanasiou and Demis Rousos, later formed in France the famous group Aphrodite's Childe.

During the 60's and early 70's other Greek pop music groups had a great success in Greece like the Charms, the Idols, the MGC, the Vorioi with Pashalis, and many others. Later the Greek groups might never made such world stars like Vangelis and Demis Rousos, but they have created many good bands and singers with their music and sound being inspired from the British and US rock music mixed with Greek folk sounds. If you see below the 2 videos of Socrates you will realise that the solo guitar sounds are not quite Jimmy Hendrix like, but they are giving the sounds of the Greek mountain shepherd's flute.

Among those Groups best ever to my opinion was Sokrates with one of the best Greek guitar players, Giannis Spathas, other good groups where before Sokrates the famous Peloma Mpokiou, Giannis Poulikakos, and the Bourboulia of Savopoulos. Later on new groups with new sounds created like Fatme, Trypes and Spyridoula while the eccentric Jimis Panousis created a lot of reaction with his ironic songs. Nikolas Asimos and Pavlos Sidiropoulos who died very young, left great songs that still the Greek young and older ones sing.

Another one that made quite lot of hits in the Greek rock scene, was my good old friend from the times of the high school, Giannis Giokarinis, one of his best songs was Evlambia. Finally Vasilis Papakonstantinou that started from a different musical background became the best rocker in Greece with famous songs that are between hard rock and soft ballads, like Hellas, Koursaros, S'akoloutho and many others .
Here are some nice videos with rock and pop music from Greece

A unique video from the Forminx from a Greek film of the 60's can you spot Vangelis?

The Idols 60's

The Charms 60's

Sokrates with their best song starvation

Sokrates Mountains

Aphrodite's Child - Spring, summer, winter and fall
Demis Rousos Vangelis Papathanasiou Lucas Sideras

Enjoy

Modern Greek Culture and traditions of Greece

2008-01-14T21:54:00.000Z

Greek Culture and Traditions of Modern Greece

Civilisation: The location of Greece on the crossroads of 3 continents has had a dramatic effect on the Greek civilisation and culture. Using the Greek High School history books as an example, civilisation and culture began with the history of older civilisations like the Mesopotamian, the Middle East and Egypt and then moving on to incorporate Prehistoric Greece and Ancient Greek History. As a result, the Greeks took many elements from all these ancient civilisations around them, adapting the ones that were close to their nature and way of life whilst the remaining elements served to further develop and move them forward, like the development of astronomy, sculpture and architecture. Because of these developments a unique civilisation was created which always had the human at its very centre. From these things sprung the renowned Greek philosophy, democracy the arts and sciences that is to be read in any major publication about ancient Greece. It was these things that were created by the ancient Greeks which was offered to the rest of human kind. Still today the Greeks do what their ancestors did 3000 years ago, they hold on to elements and affections both from the east and the west. The links with the East are still strong and the effect of Byzantine Greece can be seen today in the Greek Orthodox religion, and modern Greek Music.

Music: The Ancient elements of Greek music can be found in the music of the Greeks of the Black sea (Pontos), in the ancient sound of the goat skin bagpipes (Tsampounes) on many Greek islands , in the sounds of the flute of the Greek shepherds in northern Greece and in the sounds of the Cretan Lyra in Crete. All of these Byzantine and ancient elements come together with the Smyrneika. Smyrneika is the music that the Greeks of Asia Minor brought with them and is the most typical of Greek folk music. However, as in the past so as today, the Greeks love to mix things, with the consequence that Greek music has adapted and adopted the musical elements from the West including Latin rhythms and sounds, Italian music, Rock and Blues as well as rap and hip hop music.

Religion: As a Greek Orthodox myself, the Greek Orthodox religion does have some rules but, in my opinion, is more free than other denominations of Christianity. In Greece, a priest can marry (although this is not allowed for monks and bishops). Furthermore, following a divorce, Greeks can remarry in church. As a nation, although the Greeks are religious they are not seriously devout or fundamentalist in their approach to religious matters. The huge majority of Greeks will go only occasionally to the church for a service. This may be for a marriage, funeral or baptism. Everyone will go to the church on Good Friday and Easter Saturday partly to listen and follow the Liturgy but mainly for the spectacular firework displays that are a traditional part of a Greek Easter. Inside the church, the congregation will mostly consist of the older generation of especially women. Having said this, almost every Greek, young or old, will cross themselves when passing by a church and, in cases of danger and need, will cry out "help me Christ and Mary". Yes, the faith is deep and strong for almost every Greek even if they don't go to church often or don't take communion every Sunday leaving such religious rituals to once or twice a year. One of the main reasons for this is, I believe, the Greek spirit of independence and freedom, a spirit which lives within every Greek soul. Greeks have their strong faith to Christ and Mary but also don't want to be bound by rules that have been dictated from several emperors, patriarchs and monks of the old Byzantium era.

Greek Traditions related with the religion:

Apokries: There is a main period of feasting that covers the 40 days before Easter week , the Sarakosti (the name derives from the number 40, Saranta). This feast starts at the end of the four week Greek Carnival time (Apokries) which begins around the middle of March on Clear Monday (Kathari Deftera). Clear Monday is the first Monday that follows the 4 weeks of Apokria. Even though the Greeks will not feast for the next 40 days, on this particular day, the Kathari Deftera, they will go to the countryside to celebrate with special feast food (Vegetables, Pickles, taramosalata, grilled octopus, lots of wine and the special flat bread made specially for this day (the Lagana). A part of the tradition beloved by children is kite flying. As a child myself I used to make my own kite for that day using newspaper, string and straws. Today the children by plastic ready-made kites from the shops but the enjoyment and the tradition is still very much alive.

Klydonas: The Feast of Klydonas and the jumping over fire during St John's celebration at the end of June is one of the traditions that has slowly disappeared. The reason why this is so is not surprising. As the cities got bigger and more crowded there was no longer anywhere that one could safely pile up logs and make a fire in the neighbourhood streets. 40 years ago though this was an exciting event that could be experienced in nearly every neighbourhood. A quaint tradition that happened the day before this Feast of Klydonas was for young unmarried girls to try and fish out of a jar of water a ring or coin that had been previously placed there. The Jar would be placed on the roof of buildings and covered by a white cloth and, the next evening, all the neighbours would gather at the doorstep of a house for the opening of the jar with the (Amilito Nero) the silent water. The young girls would fish around in the jar without being able to see deep into its contents, then as one was picking out of the jar a ring or a coin, an older woman would recite poems from the popular Almanac Calendar. These poems were a kind of prophecy for the girls and would ensure that they would find their true love to marry in the near future. This ceremony was followed with the jumping over the fire that had been lit in the middle of the street.

My Big Fat Greek Marriage: The Marriage traditions in Greece vary slightly from place to place. In the islands you will find a more intensive and colourful tradition going on. In the Dodecanese, for example, the celebration starts a couple of days before when relatives and friends will go to the new house of the couple "to make the marriage bed". This is like the kitchen party found in some Western countries or similar to adding to the new couples dowry. However, instead of gifts for the house, money (and sometime serious money) inside envelopes is given. Usually the couple's fathers will set the ball rolling by throwing money on the marriage bed as a gift to the new couple. Depending on their financial status, the amounts of money the fathers throw can sometimes be very large indeed. This is followed by friends and relatives who will add to this their envelope with money, afterwards a baby will be placed on the bed in order to bring prosperity and fertility to the couple. On the day of the wedding, from early in the afternoon, the two houses of the bride and groom's families will be very busy. At the bride's house, the bride's girlfriends will dress her and make her beautiful for the marriage ceremony, whilst at the house of the groom the main event of the preparations will be in full swing. As his friends are dressing him and getting him ready, the gathering of friends and family of the groom sing the marital song. In the meanwhile visitors, friends and relatives have a great drinking party in the main lounge or on the veranda if it is good weather. The party is usually accompanied by live music played by local musicians. A half hour before the ceremony the gathering will go to the church. Traditionally musicians will follow as well, playing wedding songs, and this can still be seen - especially on the islands of Greece. At the gate of the church, the groom will wait for the bride and when she comes the ceremony will continue with a small liturgy, the exchanging of vows and the dance of Hisais. The Priest and the bride and groom must walk 3 times around the altar whilst the priest sings the Hisaie dance. The marriage ceremony is followed by a huge party usually held at a big restaurant with music and dancing. Traditionally, the best man or best woman of the bride and groom will be the Godfather or Godmother of the first child born to the couple.

Popular Greek songs

2008-01-09T06:15:00.000Z

collection of Popular Sonds of Greece

I deside to make a collection of my favourite Greek songs from youtube
Enjoy them.

MELINA MERKOURI-POTE TIN KYRIAKI (NEVER ON SUNDAY)

VIKY MOSHOLIOU WITH GEORGE ZAMBETAS-AGAPI MOU

TA TRENA POU FIGAN-VIKY MOSHOLIOU

GRIGORIS BITHIKOTSIS MIKIS THEODORAKIS-ENA TO HELIDONI

GRIGORIS BITHIKOTSIS-VREHEI STI FTOHOGEITONIA

ALIKI VOUGIOUKLAKI GRIGORIS BITHIKOTSIS-YPOMONI

LYRICS OF YPOMONI

Gitonia o dromos sou stenos Neighborhood your street is so narrow
Pagonia ke grizos ouranos Cold and Grey sky
Vrady proi mavri zoi Night and Day misserable (black) Life
Yia sintrofia mia sinnefia Having for company the grey clouds
Ypomoni Patience
Ypomoni Patience
Ypomoni Patience
Kant' ypomoni Make Patience
Kio ouranos tha yini pio galanos And the sky will become more blue
Kant' ypomoni Make Patience
Mia lemonia anthizi sti gitonia A lemon tree blooming in the naighburhood

A tribute to one of the Greatest Greek singers Grigoris Bithikotsis

STELIOS KAZANDJIDIS-APONI ZOI

The Best New Year's Eve in England with Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh

2008-01-01T16:16:00.000Z

NEW YEARS EVE IN ENGLAND

by George:
As a professional rock musician for the last thirty years, I have had many opportunities to experience the New Year's Eve in many countries around the world. This particular New Year, however, I was in England and spent probably the best time ever. No, it wasn't with the thousands crowded along the River Thames to watch the firework display and queue up for hours to see London from the London Eye and it wasn't at some 'posh do' that would set me back a month's wages. It took place in a small leisure centre just outside a small village somewhere not far from London, cost me less than £50 and not a drop of alcohol was available to drink.
'The best?' I hear you say but this sounds really boring... Oh no, my friend, this is the third time I have attended this event and each time is a magical experience and I can't imagine that it could get better but each year it does, and this year was the New Year of all New Years! So what was it that has caused me so much excitement? Maybe you are thinking I have experienced some kind of religious revelation, perhaps I saw a star hovering over this small venue in this small obscure English village?

Well, in one way you would be right! But not one star - there were many. And these stars were not celestial bodies but real human ones! One was called Eric, another Gary, there was Pete and Joe, Andy and Richard. Let me share my story with you.
Every year I am lucky enough to get hold of tickets to this private function that is organised by some of these above named to raise money for a particular charity close to their heart. Because the venue is small, the tickets are limited to as many people you can comfortably get into a large sports hall without contravening Health and Safety Regulations. The hall is laid out with decorated tables around the edge of a large dance floor and towards one end , a large stage is constructed at one end which professional sound and stage technicians have set up to give an impressive Wembley Arena output with the intimacy of a village hall.

On this stage, every year a special band plays live for more than three hours and it is this band that makes the celebration so magical. As a band, it is completely unknown and you will never find reference to it wherever you search in the musical media. Each year the band takes a different name and this year it was called the 'Complete Abandon' Band and not Totally Abandoned as many mention on the web. Its leader, for one night only, is probably one of the best rock and blues guitarist England has had and is known worldwide. Some songs that you will all know from this guy are Layla, I Shot the Sheriff, Lay Down Sally....now perhaps you can see why I am so excited....yes, it's Eric Clapton!

Now Eric Clapton by himself would be pretty mind-blowing. But put him together with Gary Brooker and from Procol Harum and Henry Spinetti who played their hit Whiter Shade of Pale, Andy Fairweather Low originally from the 1960s British band Amen Corner and still going strong touring with some of the best musicians of the 60s and 70s, and to this mix Joe Walsh from the US band, The Eagles, stir in Pete Townshend from the Who and sprinkle liberally with Ringo Starr from The Beatles and ........be blown away!!!! A jamming session pare excellence!

As a professional musician myself, having spent 30 years of my adult life earning my living in this precarious profession, to see 'The Big Boys' like this and to be able to get so close to them was beyond any dream I could have had. Top this though! My wife's friend and her family are the warm up band and this friend's husband kindly took me backstage where I could have a clear and private view of Ringo drumming whilst singing 'Boys'.

Later I sidled in there again and this time was met by an extremely friendly Pete Townshend who shook my hand and wished me a Happy New Year.
So that was it....my New Year celebration....breathing the same oxygen as my heroes. A big thanks to everyone who made this event something I will take to my grave. Not just to the Boys but to all the staff who made the night such a resounding success. Can't wait for New Year 2009!!
Happy New Year everyone.

And, in Ringo's words: 'Peace, Man'

Here are some of my favourite songs from those Great Guys.

Ringo Star(Beatles) with a little help from friends...(too many on the stage)

Eric Clapton (Yardbirds and the Cream) : Sunshine of your love

Pete Townsend (The Who) My Generation

Joe Walsh (The Eagles) (Take it Easy)

Finaly I want to add that the Support band was Great and the last song of the night was Chuck Berry's 'Johnny be Good'

Santorini, Holidays in Santorini

2007-12-28T03:28:00.000Z

Holidays in Santorini

The popularity of Santorini is due to its unique volcanic nature and its incredible excavations in Akrotiri. This latter brought to light a prehistoric town from the Minoan era, buried by the massive eruption of the Santorini volcano 3,500 years ago. Because of these two factors Santorini is probably one of the most visited places in Greece after Athens.
Thousands of holiday makers, backpackers, honeymooners, celebrities and Greeks visit the island every summer,pictures of Santorini with sunset views are a trademark of the island. Many cruise ships dock at Santorini every day during the cruise season with hundreds of passengers joining the holiday makers who arrived by other means like flights to Santorini airport in Kamari.
The centre of all activities in Santorini is Fira. The most important part of the city is between Erythrou Stavrou Street, which has much of the nightlife in Santorini, and Iapapantis Street where you will find many of the upmarket Santorini restaurants and hotels.

On Ipapantis Street you can see the best views to the blue Aegean, the amazing sunsets and the view of Caldera. In the town there is a museum and many beautiful churches, with the Cathedral being one of the most lovely. One kilometre north of Fira is another popular village of Santorini namely, Imerovigli. The place itself is quieter than Fira and is an ideal place to stay due to its central location which has the same beautiful views you can get in Fira. Further to the north, about 10 km., is the village of Oia.
Here many holiday makers choose to stay because of its picturesque atmosphere and the fantastic views high above the sea level.
As a result of its huge popularity as a tourist resort, every kind of tourist business has been developed on the island. This includes luxury
hotels, pensions, campsites, restaurants, beach bars, souvenir shops as well as shops selling high fashion, jewellery and furs. In fact, Santorini
provides everything that a top holiday resort needs - and more. The plethora of tourist shops in Fira, the main town of Santorini, reminds me a lot
of the Republic of San Marino in Italy. With its narrow streets and winding steps filled with tourist shops, specialist shops, eateries and cafes
all bustling with trade.

One of the most famous products of Santorini is its local wines. A visit to the local wineries is something you should do and almost every tour of
the island includes a visit to a Santorini winery. The Santorini beaches
are unique in Greece due to their volcanic nature with grey sand and black pebbles.
Fira, Oia and Imerovigli are amongst the most popular three towns in Santorini. However, one of the most important places to visit whilst on
your holiday is Akrotiri. Akrotiri is probably one of the main reasons that the tourist industry developed on the island. This is because
of the archaeological findings made there that many believe is the Lost Atlantis. The archaeologists are still slowly bringing to the light
of day the remains of an astonishing ancient town that had a very high level of civilization.

Other holiday resorts of Santorini are the beach resorts of Koumari and Perissa to the east, the villages of Vourvoulos north east of Fira,
Emporios, 12 km. southeast of the main town, and Megolohozi, with its fine Cycladic architecture and neo-classical mansions. In Megolohozi it is well
worth visiting the church of the Virgin Mary that contains many old Russian
Icons. Another well known resort, located to the north near to the town of Oia, is Finikia. Among the villages of Santorini, Pyrgos is
the first village you will find after you disembark from the Santorini ferries at the Port of Athinios, Pyrgos is an alternative place to stay as it has lots of cheaper accommodation than you will find in the other, much advertised resorts, of Santorini. The same can be said for the small village of Gonia, a bit further east from Pirgos.

One thing you should know before you visit the island is that Santorini is not one of the cheapest islands in Greece and accommodation can be a problem in
high season if you haven't pre-booked. Many non-European visitors, who visit Greece as part of their once-in-a-lifetime European tour, have Athens and
Santorini on their itinerary as both these places are the most well-known Greek places outside of Greece. Therefore, good advice is to arrange your accommodation in Santorini before you arrive.

Modern Greek Music

2007-12-19T00:13:00.000Z

Reference to the Modern Music and songs of Greece

For more than 30 years I have worked as a Greek professional musician and during this time I feel I can say I have acquired some knowledge as well as personal opinions about the evolution of contemporary Greek music, especially from the 1950s to nowadays.

As a child, my first encounter with Greek music was the radio. I can still remember all the family, gathered around the set on Sundays, listening to the show 'Nea Talenta' (New Talents) of Giorgos Economides. During the early 50s the Greek music, or certainly what you could hear in the mass media of radio and films, was the Laika (music based on the bouzouki) with sounds that the Greeks from Asia Minor brought with them back in the 1920s. The Greek soft music (elafra mousiki) with flavours of western European sounds, the most representative of which came from the songs of Manos Hadjidakis and Mimis Plessas that was sung by famous performers like Nana Moushouri, Tzeni Vanou, Giannis Vogiatzis and others, was also very popular. Also, during this time, the music of famous duos and trios like the Katsamba Brothers and Trio Athena became fashionable. Their particular sound was an imitation of Spanish and Mexican music which they transformed into Greek. , As well as this, there was the other kind of music, the Demotica or Greek folk music which unfortunately negative memories for many older Greeks as Demotica was promoted as Greek nationalist music during the seven years under the dictatorship. Hopefully, as the years have gone by, these bad connotations are beginning to fade.

Laika developed from the Rebetika which was popular among the underclasses during the 1940s and 1950s. It was not well known to the masses until around the 1970s when George Dalaras and many others reproduced many old Rebetica songs. This coincided with the making of the famous Greek film, Rebetico (that tells the story of Marika Ninou one of the first rebetiko woman singers) which popularised this kind of music even more. The Laika was, for many years, neglected by the Greek middle class. It is said that it was Manolis Hiotis who brought the bouzouki music into the middle-class drawing room. Manolis Hiotis was probably the best virtuoso of the bouzouki though he was a former guitarist, he also invented the eight string bouzouki and created unforgettable songs using for the first time in modern Greek pop music the styles of Jazz, Samba and many Latin music elements integrated with his bouzouki.

From the end of the 1950s onwards, the Greek Laika became more and more popular. This is partly to do with the economic development of Greece that was slowly recovering from the two wars, the Second World War and the Civil War. More and more Greeks could afford to buy radios and record players. The Greek record companies, seeing the potential of Laika, signed contracts with singers, musicians and composers and the mass production of popular Greek music really began to take off.

Throughout the 1960s saw the growth of the well-known tavernas that offered live music shows, the Bouzoukia. This occurred particularly in areas of Athens. One of the most fashionable area at the time was Tzitzifies. The 1960s saw the absolute domination of Laika. Great performers became known to all Greek households. Names such as Grigoris Bithikotsis, Stelios Kazantzidis, Manolis Angelopoulos, Marinela, Giota Lidia, Doukisa, Poly Panou, Panos Cavalas with Ria Kourti, Viky Mosholiou were all singing the songs of famous composers like Vasilis Tsitsanis, Giannis Papaioannou, Markos Vamvakaris, Giorgos Zambetas, Giorgos Mitsakis, Apostolos Kardaras and many others.

There is a big dispute about what is considered as Greek popular music during those days because, as is well known in the modern Greek music world, many composers of those years were tuning their radios every night to the short wave frequencies and listening to the music from several Arabian countries as well as India. The music they then went on to compose was highly influenced (and in some cases even copied) from songs of these countries. I can recall personally that, back in the 1980s, I was playing in a Greek folk band where we had amongst our members a bouzouki player who was Iranian. He taught us a famous Persian folk song (Masta) which, some years later became a top hit in Greece but played by a completely different Greek band.
Many they say that authentic Greek folk music was developed firstly by Marcos Vamvakaris, with his famous song Fragosyriani . With this song Vamvakaris introduces new musical roots with more Western sounds that blend perfectly with the old sounds of Rebetiko. The same happens also with Vasillis Tsitsanis and his song Omorfi Thessaloniki. Both these songs are the typical Hasapiko dance songs. Finally, there is George Zambetas with the song Syko Horepse
Syrtaki which seals a whole era that follows with the name 'Greek tourist music'. At this point it is interesting to mention that during the 1960s The Beatles were said to have visited Greece and met with Zambetas to learn some of the techniques of Greek music and bouzouki. It is not strange therefore that, to the Greek ear, the Beatles' song 'Girl' is a typical Greek Hasapiko.

In the middle of the 1960s a new kind of music began to be heard in Greece. this was the Greek New Wave music which was inspired by Western ballads and styles that were first introduced in Paris in the Boifes music halls. the New Wave became the favourite music style of the young Greek intellectuals and sophisticates. The Buite Esperides of Yiannis Argyris and Apanemia of George Zografos, both in Plaka in Athens, became the shrines of this New Wave. It was the time of great performers like Dionyssis Sourpopoulos to make a huge turnaround in the Greek music scene developing it towards Western ballads, Blues and Rock. During this time new performers of the Greek new wave like Giannis Poulopoulos, Kostas Hadjis, Arleta and others make a significant presence.

Of course, the composers that made the Greek music known internationally are Mikis Theodorakis with his famous Zorba the Greek Manos Hadzidakis with Never on Sunday , and Stavros Xarhakos with his music in the film The Red Lights. These three composers are acknowledge as the greatest composers of modern Greece and you will often hear their names mentioned in musical circles as 'the fat' (Hiadjidakis) 'the tall' (Theodorakis) and 'the short' (Xarhakos). Of course, we should not forget another great composer, Vangelis Papathanasiou, who left Greece with Demis Roussos in the late 1960s to set up the famous group, Aphrodite's Child, in Paris France which was the beginning of their international careers.

From the 1970s and 1980s onwards, the Greek music became more and more distant from the original sounds of the 1950s and 60s. This decade saw the introduction of new sounds, digital recordings with sound effects and the absolute domination of the synthesiser keyboard pushing away the original folk instruments of 25 years before and, in particular, delegating the bouzouki sound to a backing role. In fact, if you ask me what I recall about today's popular music in Greece, or what it represents, I have to say that I have no idea. Names come and go like shooting stars. Only a few performers like George Dalaras, Giannis Parios and some more are keeping alive the original sounds of modern Greek music. Of course Greece finally recieved a Eurovision award with Helena Paparizou 2 years ago but this is not to compare with the success of Zorba the Greek or Never on Sunday witch made the Greek music internationally famous.

As for the Greek pop and rock music there is a great development from the early 60's onwards , more of this you can read in the article about the Greek pop and rock music here.

TWO GREEK LEGENTS SINGING TOGETHER MELINA MERKOURI WITH MANOS HADJIDAKIS

A CLASSIC GREEK SONG THAT MEANS A LOT FOR THE GREEKS
1977 LIVE IN LYCABETOUS MIKIS THEODORAKIS GRIGORIS BITHIKOTSIS
"ENA TO HELIDONI"

HERE IS ONE OF THE BEST EVER MADE GREEK MODERN SONGS IN THE 5 LAST YEARS
'MONO STA ONEIRA' BY MICHALIS HATZIGIANNIS

Getting to Greece by train and ferry-travel information

2007-12-12T23:03:00.000Z

information on travel to Greece by train and ferries

There are 2 ways of travel to Greece by train, the one that I personally recommend is to travel until Italy and then get the ferry to Greece from Ancona ,Bari or Bridisi and the other is the old traditional Orient Express route that goes through the Balkan peninsula mostly via Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Fyrom, entering Greece at Idomeni border station on its way to Thessaloniki and further on to Athens. That use to be the good old days rail trip, during the 60's and 70's, of many young backpackers, InterRail holders and Greek emigrants from Germany and other western European countries. Still today that is the route of all trains coming to Greece from France , Italy , Germany (Deutsche Bahn DB), Austria ( train information Österreichische Bundesbahnen ÖBB) and all other Western Europe countries that trains have to go through them.

Getting to Greece by train from the UK:
From England you can use either the fast way getting to France under the British channel with the Eurostar from Waterloo International, Ashford or the brand new Ebbsfleet railway station, or alternatively the "take it easy way" by Ferry from Dover to Calais and then to Paris by train, be sure to get a direct one and not the trains that go via Lille. If you are lucky with your timetable you can get the Eurostar from Calais Frethun that gets to Paris in 90 minutes about.

From Paris (rail info SNCF ) the best way is to get the night train to Italy that lives from the Gare de Bercy direction Milan. Be sure to get a reservation a day ot two before you travel on the night train. If you want to travel by day and enjoy the scenery you can get the train direction Paris, Lausanne, Milan from Gare de Lyon. From Milan Italy (trains info Trenitalia ) usually you must change train for Ancona, the same railway line is serving Bari and Brindisi, all fery ports to Greece.

Getting to Greece by train from Scandinavia and Germany:
All trains from Scandinavia go through Copenhagen and further on to Germany (German railways information Deutsche Bahn) by Flensburg or Puttgarden. The railway route goes through Hamburg and from there through Munich, Kufstein, Austria Innsbruck, Brenero to Italy via Verona Bologna to Ancona if you will continue by ferry, or if you want to continue by land go straight by train through Austria via Vienna, Belgrade ( Serbia), Thessaloniki-Athens or via Vienna, Sofia (Bulgaria) Thessaloniki-Athens.

From the Iberian peninsula, Spain and Portugal the rail route goes along the south coasts of France and entering Italy from Ventimiglia.

Travel to Greece by Ferry. Travelling from Italy to Greece by ferry is to my personal opinion the best and relaxing way for both foot passengers and car drivers. Always a travel to Greece by land through Europe is long and makes you tired so an overnight on a boat with or without cabin is a good way to refresh and enjoy the rest of the journey to Greece. From the ports of Venice, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi, dozens of ferries departing to Greece daily. From Ancona high speed luxury ferries make the journey in 19-20 hours (eliminating the old 36 hours journey) the Ancona ferries stop over in Igoumenitsa and Corfu as well as the ferries from Bari and Brindisi before they arive to Patras port the main sea gate of Greece to Italy.

Greece getting there by Airplane: I will not go on details here because I have covered the subject in the article about information on flights to Greece the same occurs about getting to Greece by car as I have wrote an extended article about driving to Greece from the UK. For any further information you can post a comment.

Greek Christmas recipes and cooking

2007-12-04T20:39:00.001Z

Greek Christmas recipes

As Christmas approaches the kitchens of Greece begin to fill with the sweet aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice as the majority of women begin to prepare the variety of Christmas cookies and pastries that are traditionally eaten during these festivities. The most famous of these are Melomakarona, dripping in honey and coated with crushed walnuts and Kourabiedes a delicious melt-in-the-mouth shortbread dusted liberally with icing sugar. Below are the instructions for making these popular Greek Christmas cookies as well as a recipe for the Christmas roast turkey with the Greek version of chestnut stuffing.
Recipes:

Melomakarona

Ingredients:
1 small glass of cognac
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 cup of fresh orange juice
2 teaspoon of grated orange rind
2 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 can of lager beer
2 teacups of sunflower oil
1 teacup of fine semolina
1 kilo plain flour
For the coating
1/2 kilo crushed walnuts mixed with sugar and cinnamon

For the syrup:
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of runny honey
2 cups of water.

Method:
Place all the main ingredients, except for the flour and walnuts, in an electric mixer and blend until well
mixed and smooth. Put the mixture in a plastic ball and gently fold in the sifted flour until a dough-like consistency is achieved. Mould
the dough into oval shapes by hand, approx 6x3 cm. Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a
moderate oven 180C until light golden brown. Whilst the biscuits are cooking prepare the syrup by
putting all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring slowly to simmering point. When the syrup
becomes thickened it is ready.
When the biscuits are ready, dip them one by one into the syrup until well coated. Layer onto a dish,
sprinkling each layer with a generous handful of crushed walnuts mixed with cinnamon and sugar.
Continue layering and sprinkling until all the biscuits are piled onto the plate.

Kourabiedes

Ingredients:
250grms butter
1 cup of sunflower oil
1/2 cup water
small schnapps glass of cognac
1 egg yolk
50 grms sugar
1 kilo flour (approx)
1.5 cups of ground almonds
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn ground nutmeg
1/2 tspn ground cloves

Method:
Blend the butter and sugar together in an electric mixer until white and creamy. Add the egg yolk, oil, water and cognac with a couple of tblspns of flour, blending vigorously all the time until well mixed. Pour into a large mixing bowl and fold in the almonds and flour sieved with the baking powder, nutmegs and cloves. Knead until well mixed and a dough-like consistency. Shape into flat oval shapes as in Merikalades (which is the traditional shape) or into any shape that you like. Bake in a moderate oven 180C until pale golden. When cooked remove from the baking sheet and leave to cool. When quite cold, dip in sieved, powdered icing sugar until well coated. Pile on a dish and sprinkle liberally with more icing sugar.

Greek Christmas Roast Turkey and Chestnut Stuffing.

Stuffing Ingredients:
turkey giblets - heart and liver
1 onion, finely chopped
150 grms tomato paste
1/2 tspn ground cloves
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
100grms pine nuts, finely chopped
10-15 boiled and skinned chestnuts
200grms of coarsely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 kilo long grain rice
salt & pepper

Method:

Fry the chopped onion in a little oil until golden. Add the coarsely chopped giblets and fry for a few minutes. Mix in all the remaining ingredients and stir until well blended together. Stuff the turkey with this mixture and secure both ends of the turkey to prevent the stuffing from falling out. Wrap in foil and roast in the oven until ready. The length of time will depend upon the weight of the turkey with the stuffing included. Normally allow 20 minutes per 1/2 kilo and 20 minutes extra. Uncover the foil for the last half hour to brown the turkey breast.
See more recipes of Greek food

Merry Christmas !!!

Greece flights information on cheap flights to Greece

2007-11-26T21:06:00.000Z

Tips and information for a cheap flight to Greece

Greece is one of the top holiday destinations but finding a cheap flight to get there, especially to Athens Greece, can be a bit tricky and there are some good reasons why this is so. One of the main factors that affects the price of a flight ticket is the departure date you require, specifically whether your booking request is in or out of season. A second factor is the country from which you are departing and finally, which airline you are using to fly to Greece.

there are some very good reasons why the flights in peak season are not quite as cheap as advertised on the web from the many travel websites. Firstly, Greece is a popular holiday destination and, secondly, there are also more than around 4 million Greeks, who live abroad and wish to return for the major holiday periods, namely, Christmas, Easter and the summer months. These ex-pats. plus the tourists all add up to a lot of flight bookings which is a factor that pushes up the ticket prices during peak times.

What to do then? It is important to make a search of prices, comparing one company with another, using independent travel agents as well as websites. Today I made a quick search to see what flights were available to Athens from London Heathrow. With a departure date of June a web search gave me prices ranging from £169-£715. Many of these flights to Athens were not direct ones. However, for the same date you can find much better value with a direct flight to Greece leaving from Luton Airport straight through to Athens for only £60, you can also try other smaller airports near London like Stansted and Gatwick airport. Luton is almost the same distance from central London as Heathrow but is east rather than west. The point to make then is that it needs some knowledge about certain airlines, airports and patience during your web search to winkle out the best flight deals.

For some years now there have been several good airlines that do this route. From England is Easyjet which offers flights to Athens on a very low budget, especially if you book well ahead. Looking at some other European countries, Germany offers low cost flights to Athens, Thessaloniki and other airports in Greece through budget airlines like Air Berlin , Germanwings, and charters like LTU, TUYfly (former Hapag-Lloyd ) and others. Looking at Greek airlines, Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines cover a range of international flightsto and from Greece but, as mentioned above, it is important to book well in advance to be sure to get the cheapest deal.

Another way to get a good deal is by looking at charter flights to Greece and the Greek islands. These are the kind of cheap flights that include hotel accommodation as well. What we might call package deals. They can be especially good if you are looking for only a week or two and so cheap that you can ignore your hotel booking for all or part of your holiday and still be quids in! Often people use this method of travel and book into the hotel for the whole period but only stay there for the first and last nights of their holiday, spending the rest of their trip island hopping and staying in reasonably priced studios on the islands that they decide to visit. This kind of air booking can sometimes work completely in reverse of the above advice. Often the best bargains for cheap package holidays in Greece as well as cheap accommodtion are the last-minute deals to Greece. So if your decision to visit Greece is an impulsive one, this might be one way to choose to have secure hotel accommodation near your point of arrival and departure.

Alternatively you could book a flight to a Greek island. All of the larger islands and many of the smaller ones have a small domestic airport served by Olympic or Aegean Airlines. Many Greek islands that belong to the zone of package tourism during the summer season (which begins as early as the end of March and continues until the end of October) have direct flight connections with most European countries and airports. However, if you want to fly to one of the smaller islands, that do not have direct European flights, you will have to go via Athens airport and change flights there onto the domestic lines of Olympic or Aegean airlines.

One last point, if you are intending to fly from Athens to a smaller island using Olympic or Aegean, be sure to pre-book your flight - and if your intended holiday dates are during the peak season, you should book several months in advance to ensure you get a seat. Because the planes are often small, they get booked up very quickly and, remember, you will be competing for seats not only with other tourists or with Greeks who are returning to their roots from other countries , but also with local Greeks who are visiting friends or family on the islands or, having a relaxing island holiday of their own.

Living on a Greek island

2007-11-19T22:10:00.000Z

In the last 20 years, moving permanently to Greece has become very popular for many European citizens over the last 20 years.
Most of these new residents have bought a house on the mainland or one of the many islands in Greece and many have adapted very well to the Greek way of life.
On the other hand, there are others who still feel somewhat distanced from the locals.
This is more likely to occur in places where other ex-patriots also live in the same area and, together, they create a separate cultural group within the small world of the island. Those who adapt best to the Greek mentality and culture are the ones who are married to a Greek person.

In my opinion, the best way for anyone who wants to live on a Greek Island or somewhere else on the Greek mainland, the most important thing is to learn the Greek language.
This is probably the most essential step because the complexity of the Greek language can lead to misunderstandings and confusions without a good grasp of it. It is often quoted by people who have either travelled or lived in Greece, that they think that when they hear Greeks speaking loudly during conversations that they are having an argument or fight.
This isn't true, but merely a normal way for Greeks when they communicate together.

A good way to start establishing a first contact if you don't understand Greek, is the body language. Greeks use a lot of this. If you happens to be living on a tourist island, quite possible you will find that a large percentage of the local population speak either English or some other European language. For example, in the Dodecanese Islands, you will find that many of the older generation in particular speak almost perfect Italian. This is due to the Italian occupation of these islands before the Second World War. Also, in many places, you will find many older Greek people who have lived their younger lives as emigrants in places like USA, Australia, Germany, Scandinavia or other places, and they will be able to speak these languages with a good deal of competency. As for the younger generation, most of them speak English, even on the tiny Greek Islands due to an educational system whereby English is a compulsory taught second language on the curriculum.Living in the summer on a Greek Island can be like having constant summer holidays because the foreign expatriate will have the chance to meet people from many other countries and be able to chat more than they did in the winter and make new friends.

Winter, however, can be the biggest problem for someone who wants to live on a small Greek island. Like everywhere else in the world, Greeks in winter tend to stay indoors. Of course this doesn't apply to the young people, nor to many of the Greek men who will visit frequent the local Kafeneio, sitting there for some hours, and between a glass of retsina and a game of backgammon they will spend away the hours as men the world over do.

The kafenio is the best place for the foreigners to meet the older, local Greeks and is the ideal place to get in contact with the locals. Of course, it is very unlikely that you will meet a Greek woman in a kafenio. Though the kafeneio has its special place in the Greek culture the more popular place now, is the cafeteria. Here you will find the younger generations as well as women. Cafeterias exist everywhere in Greece, including the islands. they are a mixture between cafe. snack bar and pub. and they have a more modern style than the old traditional cafes. Many of them offer internet access, television, and board games.