Known as briam, tourlou, or even Greek ratatouille, this dish is an easy and healthy summer recipe that uses seasonal vegetables. This briam recipe can be served as a main or side dish and served with feta or rusks on the side. From The Spruce Eats, "this is another beautiful example of how Greek cuisine is known for taking ordinary ingredients and making them taste extraordinary!"

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1/2 cup​ fresh parsley, chopped
• A pinch of dried mint
• A pinch of dried basil
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup of water
• 4 large tomatoes, sliced
• 1 lb. zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

To read this recipe in full, please visit: The Spruce Eats

An initiative developed by the City of Athens, called the Athens Open Schools program, is keeping 25 schools open after class for Greeks, refugees, and residents of all ages. The program, which has won acclaim by the Council of Europe, provides free recreation and development activities in order to revitalize the neighborhood with safe public spaces and opportunities for growth.

The free activities include studying space through a digital planetarium, football team training, lessons in beatboxing, and learning how to film your own documentary.

Athens Open Schools, which is based on an exclusive grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, forms part of a wider effort to leverage the support of the private sector for innovative initiatives that improve the quality of life in Athens.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

Photo Credit: Greek Reporter

Greece boasts over 250 days of sunshine, which is the perfect kind of weather to enjoy a rooftop bar and restaurant. Below are some of the best rooftop bars in Athens, with stunning views, tasty eats, and drinks to satisfy your thirst!

One of the best Roof Top Restaurants in the city, “ABOVE” is located on the 9th floor of Wyndham Grand Athens and certainly offers the most breathtaking views of Athens! 

The perfect spot in the city center for getting a mouthful of delicious food and an eyeful of amazing scenery, from the Acropolis to Lycabettus hill and all the way down to the Saronic Gulf! Lay back comfortably in your deck chair and sip on refreshing cocktails or cool off under the impressive waterfall in the most stylish designed roof top pool bar of Athens! 

Address: Wyndham Grand Athens – 2, Megalou Alexandrou Street 
Telephone: 21 6800 9900

 

The GB Roof Garden offers unobstucted views of the Acropolis, Lycabettus Hill and the Parliament in a magnificent setting. For breakfast or lunch, the elegant environment of the GB Roof Garden Restaurant creates a tranquil atmosphere, while dinner is perfect when the city lights come on. For three years in a row the restaurant has been awarded by the Wine Spectator Magazine.

Address: Syntagma Square
Telephone: 210 3330766

The Metropolis Roof Garden with views of the Acropolis is on the tenth floor of Electra Metropolis Athens and is the ultimate dining experience in Athens. It offers a unique opportunity to enjoy today’s creative Greek cuisine and is one of the newest gourmet restaurants in Athens. 

The driving force behind the restaurant is the executive chef, who creates unique dishes with an emphasis on fish or meat. He works to find the perfect balance between Earth and Sea so that his guests can savour truly exquisite results. And you can enjoy all of this while feasting your eyes on the Acropolis, lit either by the famous Greek sun during the day or by impressive flood-lighting at night.

Location: Electra Metropolis Hotel, 15 Mitropoleos, Athens
Telephone: 21 4100 6290

A for Athens with its magnificent rooftop terrace, located on the sixth floor of the homonymous hotel, offers one of the most spectacular views in Athens. Enjoy cocktails in unbelievable combinations, as well as a menu created with special care, with emphasis on local and healthy products!

Location: 2-4 Miaouli, Athens
Telephone: 210 3244244

Art Lounge, rooftop lounge (7th floor) with a panoramic Athens view serving your favorite food & drinks. Designed to be the ultimate penthouse, Art Lounge features a unique Art library with more than 2000 art book titles. The comfort and scenery of the space is reason enough to visit.

Address: New Hotel, 16 Filellinon, Syntagma
Telephone: 694 637 9500

Once you find yourself on the top flor of the Zillers Boutique Hotel and their Roof Garden, you instantly find yourself intergrate in a multifaceted world; an urban roof garden with industrial details and emerald green marbles creates a regreshing atmosphere where you will enjoy your breakfast,luch or dinnner, a coffee or drink an you will feel the ambience of the old merging with the new to create the perfect Athens experience; especially when you have the view of the Acropolis right in front of you!

Address: 54 Mitropoleos, Athens
Telephone: 210 3222277

Air Lounge Bar


Credit: Fresh Hotel

It’s not only the view that is breathtaking. It’s the whole environment in every detail from the bright colours, right down to the Charles Eames chairs… and, of course, its menu! Their Executive chef is the head creator of their sophisticated Greek and Mediterranean cuisine, transforming sheer inspiration to pure culinary enjoyment.

Located in rooftop terrace of Fresh Hotel Athens, the Air Lounge Bar & restaurant is offering panoramic views of the Parthenon, the Acropolis and Athens skyline, all day long!

Location: Fresh Hotel Athens,  26 Sofokleous, Athens
Telephone: 21 0524 8511

Main Photo Credit: GB Roof garden

Spoudase Festival is returning for the 2nd consecutive year in the most central spot in Athens on May 19 & 20!

All public universities, all private colleges and IEKs of Greece and Cyprus will be participating in the 2nd Spoudase Festival!

Guests will have the chance to learn all about top-rated undergraduate or postgraduate studies, in Greece and Cyprus, but also have the opportunity to claim some of the hundreds scholarships that will be offered by the participants exclusively for the festival's visitors. 

A number of workshops & speeches will also be taking place regarding fields such as education, technology, bitcoin and culinary.

Attendace certificates will be given to those attending workshops.

The biggest educational feast ever held in Greece, will provide the following through 200 career guidance counselors:

• Free Psychometric Tests
• Free Vocational Guidance
• Free CV advice
• Free evaluation of Linkedin profiles and other work platforms
• Free session for handlging stress during an exam
• Free counseling for internships, internships abroad - housing -scholarships
• Free Counseling for Selecting Graduate Programs Abroad
• Free counseling for GMAT - GRE - TOEFL - IELTS sign up

In order to take part, you will have to register by clicking HERE!

FokiaNou Art Space is pleased to present a collaborative art exhibition between two artists, Rea Stavropoulos and Iliana Theodoropoulou.

Rea Stavropoulos is an “Athenian Florentine Londoner” in an age when the notion of nations, boundaries and allegiances shifts and becomes increasingly uncertain. The installation “Shifting Spaces” and related events is a dialogue with the city of her birth. Her “Secret Gardens” project  has travelled across Europe since 2001, developing with each new space. It relates to the search for a personal space in the heart of a city and a place in the world, and to spatial relationships, constantly shifting physically, psychologically and metaphorically. The installation will be like the artist’s studio, a process of shifting spaces challenging us to “re-envision” the world, looking within and without.

Iliana Theodoropoulou‘s work, which began in 2005, also takes part in the dialogue, exploring spatial phenomena such as surfaces, rocks, walls and especially sidewalks or pavements, while observing the linear elements they create. This linearity is felt both as experience and inspiration, resulting in small abstract works that are grouped together and set in a grid. A second, more recent series of folded works which began in 2017 refer to autobiographical routes within Athens and focus more on decay, memory and absence. These pieces open and unfold, revealing an ephemeral moment that is the product of recording and editing.

Rea Stavropoulos is a British artist of Greek origin who works internationally. Currently based in London and Brighton, she continues to collaborate with arts organisations in Florence where she had a studio for 16 years. She studied Art in London (St Martin’s School of Art), Paris (Beaux Arts) and Florence and has exhibited her paintings, artists books and three dimensional works in private and public spaces all over Europe and in  Brazil since 1976. Her practise involves collaborative projects, installations, teaching, lecturing, writing, curating, advocacy and campaigning for women artists. Her work is in private and public collections all over the world. www.reastavropoulos.com

Iliana Theodoropoulou is a visual artist from Athens, Greece. She has studied Surveying Engineering in Athens and Photogrammetry in London. She spent several years doing research and working in Berlin. Since her return to Greece, she has been exclusively working as a visual artist. Her main field is painting, where her work inhabits the border between abstraction and landscape painting, but she also explores the possibilities of photography and film. She has had two solo exhibitions and participated in several group shows. www.ilianatheodoropoulou.com

FoKiaNou Art Space is an artist-run project space in the intimacy of a small apartment in an old building in the center of Athens.  The apartment has been transformed into an open space that encourages collaborative creative efforts between Greek and foreign artists, thereby promoting and supporting the local art community.  The space hosts exhibitions, workshops and projects under the direction of two artists, Mary Cox and Panagiotis Voulgaris.

Hours:  Thursday to Saturday, 17:00-20:00

This May, the Meet Market returns to the fabulous venue of the Athens Conservatoire, Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th, with 70+ Greek brands of spring essentials in the ‘Ω2’ exhibition hall.  Located 5 minute walk from Syntagma Square or Evangelismos, this super central venue is an architectural piece of art, a cultural landmark, and the perfect place for the Meet Market to kick off the spring-summer season.

Whether it’s a weekend stroll you’re after, a refreshing cocktail, a Greek Craft Beer, a coffee and a chat, a big scoop of ice cream, a spontaneous shop or a place to come meet up with friends or take your kids, join us because there is something for everyone including nonstop dj sets, plenty of creativity to admire and lots of free stuff to win at the central cashier.

A Weekend for Kids: Moms and dads, make sure you bring your little people because there’s lots going on for them too!  And there will be plenty of shade from the hot days ahead to keep your kids cool while keeping them busy.  For the first time this May, the Meet Market is doing a very special collaboration with the Hellenic Children’s Museum, located right next to the entrance of the Meet Market at the Athens Conservatoire.  All kids are welcome to come and play all weekend long at the Hellenic Children’s Museum, or head downstairs to enjoy a puppet theater show, stretch their little bodies with Yoga for Kids, or get creative at our Doodling and Graffiti workshops!

It’s official.  Spring has sprung.  See you there!

Adopt, don't shop! There are so many stray animals in Athens and around Greece who need loving homes. If you are looking for an animal to adopt, please see the organizations below that help with rehoming stray animals.

KAZ Shelter for Stray Animals

The KAZ (Shelter Stray Animals) is a non-profit association founded in 1988.  The shelter's activities rely on the love and voluntary actions of its members, donations, and sponsorships. KAZ offers care and treatment to stray animals at its privately-owned facilities in Markopoulo, Attica. The shelter operates exclusively as a transit center for the animals and not as a place for their permanent residence.

To 'Virtually Adopt A Dog' please click HERE.

Animal Welfare Society Of Marathon

All the cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies are vaccinated and are given with health papers, while adult animals are also neutered. The society does not provide a place for fostering animals, nor is an animal shelter. Rescued animals are taken care of in houses and yards of volunteers until they get well and then they return to their initial neighborhoods unless they are adopted.

Adoptions are finalized with an “Adoption Deed” signed between a liable member of the society and the prospective guardian according to Greek Law. The fees for each animal’s vaccination, deworming and microchip tagging are €30 and are lifted only in the case where the animal has passed through the Municipality’s strays management program, otherwise is paid in full by the prospective guardian.

Please click HERE for more information.

Nine Lives Greece 

Nine Lives Greece is a network of volunteers dedicated to the reduction of stray cat overpopulation through trap-neuter-return programs.

Each year they get hundreds of stray cats in Athens neutered/ spayed (1,577 cats in 2016 alone) and they help improve the quality of life of some 450 street cats through daily feeding programs and veterinary care. They also try to find responsible homes for as many stray or abandoned cats and kittens as possible.

Please click HERE to view the cats available for adoption.

Save A Greek Stray

Founded on Erietta Kourkoulou-Latsis’ private initiative Save A Greek Stray is a non-profit organization whose volunteers share one vision: a country where pets will be stray no more whilst given the opportunity to live a decent life within a loving domestic environment. In order to assist with the implementation of the above goal, SGS has created a shelter for stray animals, offering them a safe haven until their family comes along.

Please click HERE to see the pets up for adoption.

Dog's Voice

Dogs' Voice is a non-profit organization that supports the work of 112 animal welfare organizations throughout Greece. It has the largest network for promoting stray dogs in responsible adoptions, implements an integrated urban animal protection program at the local government level, and provides legal support for animal abuse complaints. 

The organization's mission is a Greece without strays; a country where citizens respect animals and their rights.

Greek Animal Rescue 

Greek Animal Rescue is a UK-based registered charity, which aims to help the abused, neglected, stray and injured animals of Greece.

GAR was founded in 1989 and works to alleviate the suffering of animals in Greece by supporting a number of animal shelters, sterilizing as many dogs & cats as funds allow, and finding homes for the lucky few in the UK and several other EU countries.

Cat Rescue Athens

With the motto "Until the last cat is loved", Cat Rescue Athens is a voluntary union for live-saving and adoption promoting for stray cats. 

They help street cats with sterilizations, they give sick and/or injured and weak cats and kittens shelter and care, veterinary treatments, and medications, and provide food for struggling street cats.

Hellenic Animal Welfare Society
 

Collects injured and ill strays in its animal ambulances and takes them to its clinic near Athens airport for treatment, sterilization, and rehoming; works with Attica municipalities on neutering and vaccination programs; organizes information campaigns on TV and other media. 

A Little Shelter

Founded in 2020 by Katrina Tsantali and Tonia Sotiropoulou, a little shelter is a functional temporary accommodation facility with decent and safe living conditions and a large courtyard area. The shelter's actions include hospitalizations, treatments, sterilizations, and of course adoptions, always in collaboration with a very experienced veterinary team.

 

Greetings to all of our followers and friends in the community!

We wanted to raise awareness about a recent issue we've had in our Classified listings. Unfortunately, some people have fallen victim to a scam disguised as 'Puppies For Sale.' This incident has since been reported and handled accordingly. We want to let everyone know that: 

1. Any kind of animal for sale will no longer be allowed on XpatAthens. Although not all of these posts are scams, we have decided as an organization to support animal adoption. If you're looking for a puppy, dog, cat, or other please visit our list of animal adoption organizations in Athens.

2. Users who post inappropriate content (scams or other) will be blocked from posting on XpatAthens in the future.

As always, if you come across any suspicious content in our Classified or Event postings, please contact us at info@xpatathens.com so we can solve the issue as soon as possible.

At XpatAthens, we always strive for the best for our community. Our priority is to provide our readers with positive and quality content. We will stand by our efforts in making XpatAthens a safe place to receive news and other useful information within the international community in Greece.

Sincerely,

The Team at XpatAthens

What’s hidden on a Greek hillside can change your destiny …

Edinburgh journalist Bronte McKnight is summoned to a hillside village in the wild and beautiful Mani region of Greece by her estranged expat father Angus to help him with a medical problem. But she soon discovers that Angus, whom she has barely seen in 10 years, has lured her there with a tougher challenge in mind – solving a mystery from the Second World War when his father disappeared in Greece during the disastrous Battle of Kalamata, ‘Greece’s Dunkirk’.  

With the country gripped by economic crisis, and the clock ticking against them, their near-impossible quest to discover how and where Kieran McKnight died, takes them from Kalamata to a remote mountain village where its few remaining inhabitants are bound by old traditions and secrecy. As the tensions of their own fractured relationship rise, Bronte and Angus are helped in their search by a cast of intriguing Greek characters, especially charismatic doctor, Leonidas Papachristou. He has a pivotal role, not least in challenging Bronte’s assumption that she hasn’t the time nor the courage to fall in love in Greece. 

The secrets unearthed by Angus and Bronte will be painful and astonishing. This is a compelling tale of heroism, faith, and love - with a heart-warming conclusion.

To buy 'A Saint For Summer,' please visit: Amazon

About The Author

Marjory McGinn is a Scottish-born author and journalist, brought up in Australia. She worked in Scotland for 10 years from 2000 as a freelance feature writer. Her journalism has appeared in leading newspapers in Britain and Australia, including The Daily Mail, The Times, The Telegraph; and The Scotsman, The Herald. In Australia she was a senior feature writer on The Sun-Herald, and stories have appeared also in The Australian and The Age.

A youthful work/travel year in Athens inspired a lifelong fascination for Greece. In 2010, together with her partner Jim and their Jack Russell dog, Wallace, she set off from Scotland  on an adventure to the southern Peloponnese that lasted four years and was the basis for her three travel memoirs (Things Can Only Get Feta, Homer’s Where The Heart Is and A Scorpion In The Lemon Tree.

For more information on McGinn and her other books, please visit: Big Fat Greek Odyssey

EgyptAir's regional director for Greece and Cyprus recently stated that the airline will add two new flights from Athens to China. The two flights will connect Athens to Hong Kong and Shanghai via Cairo.

The addition of the two new routes comes as part of EgyptAir's 5-year plan to boost its presence in Greece and the wider region. After their success with the Santorini route added in 2017, the airline will plan to add more flights to the Greek islands.

In 2017, EgyptAir carried over 112,000 daily passengers from Athens to Cairo and Alexandria. In addition to adding new routes, EgyptAir also pans to add new aircraft to its fleet.

Source: Greek Travel Pages