XpatAthens

XpatAthens

Greek series and movies are making waves on Netflix, offering viewers captivating stories, stunning visuals, and a glimpse into Greek culture and history. Whether you're a fan of dark thrillers, emotional dramas, or historical epics, there’s something for everyone. Here are some binge-worthy Greek titles to dive into!



1. Σώσε Με (Save Me) – 2022 (Series, 8 Episodes)

SAVE ME

For fans of dark, Harlan Coben-style thrillers, Save Me is an absolute must-watch. This intense series, set against the stunning backdrop of Komotini, is filled with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It dives deep into the struggles of minorities in Greece, shedding light on the hardships they face while delivering a gripping, fast-paced narrative. With beautiful cinematography and an atmospheric tone, this show is a standout.

Watch the trailer HERE!

2. Αν... (What If) – 2012 (Movie)

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What if every decision you made could change the course of your life? Similar to Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow, written and directed by Christoforos Papakaliatis, this film stars, among others, two legendary Greek actors, Giorgos Konstantinou and Maro Kontou, from the golden era of Greek cinema. It weaves a story of love, passion, and betrayal, exploring how the choices we make shape our destiny. Perfect for those who enjoy heartfelt dramas with a philosophical twist.

Watch the trailer HERE!

3. Σμύρνη Μου Αγαπημένη (Smyrna My Beloved) – 2021 (Movie)

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Written by Mimi Denisi, Smyrna My Beloved is a cinematic masterpiece and a gut-wrenching portrayal of one of the darkest chapters in Greek history. The film takes viewers on an emotional rollercoaster, recounting the tragedy of Smyrna and the suffering endured by the Greek people. While it’s not for the faint-hearted, it’s a powerful and unforgettable experience that pays tribute to resilience and survival.

Watch the trailer HERE!

4. Man of God – 2021 (Movie)

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This biographical drama chronicles the life of Saint Nektarios, a revered figure in Greek Orthodox Christianity. Man of God delves into themes of faith, persecution, and redemption, with an outstanding performance by Aris Servetalis. The film’s serene pacing and moving narrative make it an inspiring watch for those looking for spiritual depth.

Watch the trailer HERE!

5. Maestro in Blue – 2022 (Series)

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Set on the breathtaking island of Paxoi, Maestro in Blue is more than a love story. With Haris Alexiou, one of the greatest Greek singers, in a pivotal role, the series explores human relationships, resilience, and the struggles of minorities. It celebrates strong women and the bonds that unite communities. Beautifully shot, the series captures the essence of Greek island life, blending it with complex characters and compelling storytelling.

Watch the trailer HERE!

 

 



Wednesday, 18 February 2015 13:30

Aegina

The island of Aegina is one of the most popular tourist destinations as it is the closest island to Athens (only 16.5 nautical miles from the port of Piraeus). According to the myth, the island took its name from a nymph, daughter of the river god Asopos, whom Zeus fell in love with and took with him to the island! From 11/1/1827 until 3/10/1829 Aegina town was the temporary capital of the newly founded Greek state.

It was during that period when Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias had impressive neoclassical mansions built to house his headquarters that today are important tourist attractions.

Even though the island is small, it boasts a great number of sights and natural beauties, highlight of which is the famous Aphea Temple. It forms in fact an equilateral triangle with the Parthenon and the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, the so-called “holy triangle” of antiquity. Aegina town, the capital of the island, stands out for its well-preserved buildings. On the outskirts you can find charming little villages with distinctive traditional character, such as Kypseli, Agii and Vagia as well as organized tourist resorts like Agia Marina, Perdika, and Souvala. Aègina is also surrounded by many smaller islands (Moni, Metopi, Diaportia, Lagouses, Kyra, Dorousa, Spalathonisi, Anonyma) that can be reached by boat from the port of Aegina.

To read more, go to visitgreece.gr

Corn breads are very common in Greece, especially in the middle and northern parts where corn was traditionally cultivated. This is a recipe from Roumeli and is a cross between a bread and a pie. It is very easy to make, but the final result is nothing short from perfect. Tender leeks are gently sauteed in olive oil and then mixed with the corn meal, water, eggs and feta cheese to create a wonderful and filling bread. We had it alongside some nice creamy soup, so it is suitable for both an everyday meal as well as any Thanksgiving dinner.
 
Traditionally this bread is also made with an assortment of greens (spinach, chard etc,) with which you could substitute part of the leeks. You can also use less feta cheese if you want a lighter, healthier result, as I don’t believe it would greatly affect the final result or the texture of the bread.

INGREDIENTS for a rectangular pyrex dish or roasting tray measuring 30x40cm

• 500g leeks, white and light green part only, finely chopped
• 600g Greek feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 cup hot water
• 2 tsp baking powder
• olive oil, freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat 2-3 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet and gently cook the leeks until soft, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 oC.
3. Mix the cornmeal with baking powder
4. Place the water in a large bowl and slowly add the corn meal stirring with a wooden spoon to combine. Then add the leeks, feta cheese and eggs, making sure everything has been well incorporated. Season with pepper.
5. Butter or oil your dish and spread the mix evenly. Bake for about 40 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven and brush the top with some olive oil. Continue baking for another 15-20 minutes (if the top gets too brown, cover with foil).
6. Let the bread come to room temperature before slicing. It can also be made a couple of days in advance as it keeps well in the fridge.
7. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate if keeping it for more than one day.

(recipe adapted from Diana Kochylas’ The Glorious Foods of Greece. I have halved the recipe, but if you are making this for more than 6 people you will need to double it and use a larger dish. Kochylas uses the same sized dish for double the recipe and also almost double the baking time. )

www.foodjunkie.eu
 

Three years after film director Theo Angelopoulos died in a motorcycle accident, the Greek Culture Foundation in Berlin has organized a tribute to the great Greek film director. The tribute opens on February 12 with a photo exhibition by Nelly Tragousti, presenting empty scene spaces as well as the actors’ and the director’s faces when they were shooting "The Dust of Time" in Berlin and Cologne in 2008.

On February 23, Greek author, screenwriter and Angelopoulos’ close associate Petros Markaris will present the Greek director’s creation depth and richness in a lecture on Theo Angelopoulos’ Trilogies.

Finally, a documentary titled Theo Angelopoulos shoots The Dust of Time (2008, 47 min), directed by Nikos Ligouris, will be screened for a month, starting on March 13. The documentary recounts how Angelopoulos’ last film was shot in Berlin. In the film, Angelopoulos talks about his artistic beliefs, his way of working and his creative process. The events will take place at the Greek Culture Foundation in Berlin.

 

To read more, please visit greeknewsagenda.gr

 

 

Summer is nearly here and this brings our old friends the mosquitoes! You can find many mosquito repellents on the market but most of them contain chemical substances.Here are 2 mosquito repellent recipes that are great for the whole family! They are easy to make with simple ingredients.
 
Natural Body Mosquito Repellent:

Ingredients:
60 ml Jojoba oil or almond oil or coconut oil
20 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
20 drops of cedar essential oil
10 drops of green tea essential oil
3 drops of geranium essential oil
2-3 vitamin E capsules

Preparation:
Pour the vegetable oil and the essential oils in a spray bottle, shake it. Add the vitamin E, and your mosquito repellent is ready. You can spray your body with it whenever you wish.

To read more, please visit: Family Goes Out
Modest wedding dresses that were once in fashion no longer are, apparently. Fashion trends now require that dresses are  not only "heavier" and voluminous, decorated with luxurious lace, pearls, but also long-sleeved.

Popular wedding fashion website ''The Knot'' has presented the 15 most beautiful long-sleeved wedding dresses. Some are the works of world famous designers like Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera and others of their talented but less famous colleagues.

One of them is Greek designer Christos Costarellos, who lives and works in Athens.

The dresses by Christos Costarellos are unique, with a very fresh vision that aims to emphasize the charm and character of every woman who chooses to wear one of them.

In his penultimate collection he uses vapoury tulle, silk organza and other sheer fabrics like muslin and dotted tulle. The dresses are neo-romantic in style with the addition of some discrete and elegant traditional elements. Their main feature is movement.

To see a selection, please visit: Greek Reporter
Wednesday, 02 December 2015 16:16

The Children's Museum Of Athens

The Hellenic Children’s Museum (HCM) is a non-profit organization of public welfare, legally established in Athens, Greece in 1987 by a group of young professionals.  The Children's Museum of Athens itself was established in 1994 as the result of the collaboration between the Cultural Organization of the City of Athens and the HCM.
 
Our Purpose is to help children develop all aspects of their personality in order to become citizens who respect their own individuality and to obtain a social conscience.  

The Museum is for all children, without exception, families, school communities and everyone who is interested in the multilateral development of children or is directly or indirectly related to children.
 
Our Mission is to encourage every child to discover, to understnad, to learn, to enjoy and to shape the world in which (s)he lives with a respect for individuality and an emphasis on team work.

Hours:
TUES-FRI:   10:00-14:00
SAT & SUN: 10:00-15:00 

Entrance is Free!
The perfect Valentine’s Day meal may very well be Greek stuffed tomatoes (ντομάτες γεμιστές). Simply delicious, gorgeous red and filled with love.

The crunch of the pine nuts and sweetness of the red currants in this recipe are just amazing and bring so much to the dish so do try and find both, if possible. It’s also a good idea to take an extra minute in the grocery store to choose large, meaty tomatoes all of approximate similar size and shape. This will help to ensure even cooking and will be prettier on your plate!

You can easily make the filling ahead up to 5 days and keep covered, in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake. Just remember to bring filling to room temperature before filling.

Ingredients
•8 medium/large tomatoes
•1 cup chopped onion
•1 cup (uncooked) rice
•1⁄2 cup olive oil
•1⁄4 cup currants
•1⁄4 cup pine nuts
•1⁄4 cup fresh mint
•1⁄4 cup fresh dill
•2 cups water
•1 1⁄2 tsp salt and pepper
•1 cup of tomato insides, mashed
•3⁄4 cup warm water (in addition to 2 cups above)

To read more, and Instructions on how to prepare, please visit: Pappas Post
Long isolated from the rest of Greece, the Mani peninsula is home to a clannish community that claims warrior heritage. BBC describes the Mani peninsula as having “jagged, rocky cliffs jut from the Peloponnese at the southernmost tip of mainland Greece, forcing the landscape to heave and billow like ocean waves. From the steep hilltops, stone houses resembling small castles stand with their backs to the colossal Taygetos mountains and look out over the stoic Ionian Sea.”

It is also the land where a clannish community lives, called the Maniots, who are believed to descend from the Spartans, the legendary warriors of Ancient Greece.

“Nearly three millennia ago, when Ancient Greece was made up of ‘polis’, or individual city-states, much of the Peloponnese belonged to Ancient Sparta and its allies. Unlike the people of rival city-state Athens, who were artists and philosophers, the Spartans were fighters; boys were said to begin military training at age seven, challenging one another in physical competition before becoming full-time soldiers at the age of 20.”

To read this article in full, please visit: BBC
Thursday, 22 February 2018 07:00

What Is Greek Rebetiko?

Inscribed in 2017 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Greek Rebetiko is a musical and cultural expression linked directly to song and dance. It initially spread amongst the lower and working class people in the early twentieth century, but Rebetiko songs are now a standardized repertoire in almost every occasion involving music and dance.

The element is performed in public and performers encourage audience participation. The practice is open to everyone and participants can include any Greek or Greek-speaking person who enjoys this form of music and dance. Rebetiko songs contain invaluable references to the customs, practices and traditions of a particular way of life, but above all, the practice is a living musical tradition with a strong symbolic, ideological and artistic character.

To learn more about Rebetiko, watch the video below!



Source: Intangible Cultural Heritage UNESCO
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