More than 140 events are expected to take place at dozens of archaeological sites, monuments and museums across Greece on Saturday, August 29 – the night of the full moon. The special events and activities include music and theater performances, puppet theater productions, guided tours, exhibitions and film screenings as well as stargazing. A number of sites and museums will offer free admission on the day and in many cases visitors will be welcomed up until 1 a.m.

Although there are no events taking place at the Acropolis in Athens (the site will be open during its regular opening hours, until 8 p.m.), the archaeological site of Sounio will welcome visitors with free admission until midnight!

There will also be an event from 8pm at the Acropolis Museum - Tango At The Acropolis

To read this article in full, please visit: eKathimerini

Greece is quite well known for its alcoholic beverages including wine, ouzo and raki, but what's been brewing in recent years is a very strong Greek beer culture (and rightfully so). With a fairly long tradition of beer brewing in Greece, here's a run down of the history from ancient to modern, as well as some great Greek beers that you should try... if you haven't yet!

Beer In Ancient Greece
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, considered beer to have valuable medicinal qualities. Homer provides a vivid description of how Alkinoos, king of the Phaeacians, kept gold and silver kraters in his palace filled with wine made of barley. Zythos, the Greek word for beer, is also found in texts of the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, as well as mentions by the ancient Greek historian Diodorus (from Sicily). The word 'zythos' comes from the verb 'zeo' which means to boil; zythos was also the name of an Egyptian drink made of barley.

The Birth Of Modern Greek Beer
When Otto, the first king of Greece, settled in the country in 1833, he brought with him scientists and beer specialists from Bavaria – his native land, with a view to boosting the domestic beer industry. According to reliable sources, the first manually operated brewery was set up in Greece in 1840 in order to cater to the needs of the Bavarian officials and military men who were stationed in the country at the time. 

It is not quite clear who among Melcher, Fischer, Waweck and Seel was the first to run this particular brewery, as they had all opened up beer businesses during the 1840’s in Athens. Ioannis Fix (Fuchs) came to Greece in 1850; he stayed and worked as an apprentice in Melcher’s brewery which he bought from his heirs in 1866. Fuchs is the founder of one of the most well-known and oldest Greek beers (FIX). The factory he built in 1893 was later enlarged by his son Karl. On the site of the old installations a newer building has was constructed which still stands on present-day Syngrou Ave. Works are currently under way to house the National Museum of Contemporary Art in the exact premises.

If you're interested in learning more about the history of beer in Greece, you may like to visit ATHINEO - the first beer museum in Greece!

Here Are A Few Of Our Favourite Greek Beers:

Alpha Beer
It is one of the first 2 beer brands ever produced and marketed in the Greek market and its history goes back to 1960’s when it was first launched. It is a high quality, authentic, traditional Greek lager with light gold color and rich foam. It is refreshing, easy-to-drink and pairs well with traditional Greek food tastes and recipes.

FIX Hellas Lager
Founded in 1864 by the Fuchs family from Bavaria, the brewery went out of business in 1983. Experiencing something of a revival in 2009 thanks to a buyout, this Hellas-style lager is back. If you’re looking for a reliable and slightly cheap drink and want to try a quality beer, order one of these guys - you won't be disappointed! The malty brew doesn’t overpower the meat, but rather balances out just perfectly.

Volkan Grey
Volkan Grey, a well-spiced hefeweizen, is pretty much bursting out of the bottle with citrus zest. It’s best to drink this on Santorini because it’s where it’s from, but if you're not on the island it's still a great taste and can be found all over Greece.

Mythos Lager
Essentially the Budweiser of Greek beer, it has a biscuit-y sweetness that tastes a lot better than its American equivalents. As with any beer, freshness is key, so Mythos will taste a lot better in its homeland than your own. This easy-drinker is ubiquitous in both finding it and best occasions for drinking it—during or after tanning at any one of Greece’s gorgeous beaches or when you’re strapped for cash in Athens and have only one euro to spend on beer. Don’t leave Greece without trying a Mythos!

And here are some great microbrewery Greek beers to try:

Siris: www.sirisbrewery.gr
Volkan: www.volkanbeer.com
Septem: www.septem.gr
Nissos: www.nissosbeer.com
Delphi Beer: www.delphibeer.com
Chios Beer: www.chiosbeer.com
Corfu Beer: www.corfubeer.com
Magnus Magister: www.magnusmagister.gr


Sources used for this article:Arttable Visit Greece  Paste Magazine

The Greek islands are famed throughout the world for their incredible beauty and relaxed lifestyle, but have you ever wondered how they got their names?

To find the etymology behind the names of Greek islands, we need to take a few different factors into account - things like spelling and grammar, but also Greek mythology and the geomorphology of each island. Here is how some of the Greek islands were named:

Cephalonia (Kefalonia)

The island got its name from the hero Cephalus, the island’s first ruler, an Athenian leader and son of Dionysus. Cephalus was exiled from Athens for committing murder and settled on the island.

Chios

The Greek island acquired its name from Chioni (snow), daughter of Poseidon. When she was born on the island it was snowing, and thus the island was named Chios. According to legend, the island used to be a desert. After the snowfall, the land became fertile.

Lefkada

Homer named this Greek island from the Greek word “lefkas” (which means white) because the soil used to be white.

Kos

The name derives from “kofos,” an island with many caves. The word “cave” also comes from the Greek word “kofos.”

Tinos

The island’s name comes from the Greek word “tanaos”, which means long and perfectly describes the island’s shape.

Ithaca

The name derives from the Greek word “ithys” meaning straight or long - the elongated island.

Zakynthos

The name comes from Zakynthos, son of King Dardanos of Troy. When the Trojan expedition ended, Zakynthos and his people fled from Troy and lived on the island.

Skiathos

The name derives from the word “skia” (meaning shade). Due to the large number of trees, the island is very shady. However, it is also said that it was given its name because it's located in the shade of Mount Athos.

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

The Council of State, Greece’s supreme court on administrative and environmental interest matters, has issued two court decisions in favour of Hellas Gold SA, Eldorado’s subsidiary in Greece, announced the company.

Both decisions concern Hellas Gold’s rights to the use of woodland and site clearing rights for the implementation and construction of Eldorado’s gold/copper mining project in Skouries, Chalkidiki, northern Greece.

“The Council of State decisions confirm once again the legality of our activities in northern Greece. This will allow Eldorado to accelerate construction activities at our Skouries Project in Chalkidiki, generating additional long term employment opportunities for the Greek people and taxes to the Greek government. Mining is one of the industries that can help kickstart the Greek economy and support the beginnings of a recovery,” said Eldorado CEO Paul Wright.

To read more, please visit: Greek Reporter

 

Keeping in the tradition of ‘staying local’ this August, I’ve been reminded that Athens can be both blistering hot and blissfully quiet. If you can manage to stay cool, this is a great time to see the city. If you’re a fan of photography, an early morning walk around the neighbourhoods of the city in August can be magical… You may even get a sunset seat on a rooftop terrace…!

 

With some out-of-town friends visiting Athens for the first time (it really never ends…) I decided to forego my usual ‘Jack’s Low-Budget City Tour’ and actually pay for a professional guide.

 

Big Olive City Walks is a start-up provider of ‘alternative’ city walks. This young team of ‘actual’ Athenians loves to share their knowledge and passion for the city – this is more than ‘just a job’ for them, and it makes all the difference. Our friendly guide Nikos narrated the walk, with insights and stories and anecdotes that made the city (even the parts I know well) come alive.

 

Big Olive offers a really interesting range of themed walks – including 19th century Athens, Gastrononomy, Photography, LGBT Athens and ‘Anatolian’ Athens. We did their ‘Athens Grand Tour’, as a broad introduction to the city. My guests loved it – and so did I. Big Olive offers organized group walks, as well as bespoke/custom walks, private themed tours and custom corporate/educational programs.

 

For dinner, I had noticed a new taverna on the Herakleidon pedestrian strip in Thiseio. The newly re-opened Abibayio takes the place of the previous café on this popular strip that (in my humble view) is over-due for an update. Abibayio was worth the wait. This is a modern taverna, with a lovely outdoor patio and familiar, friendly service that makes you feel at home. The menu is a delicious twist on classic taverna fare – our group gave unanimous rave reviews. I’ve already been back within the past week – that says it all…

 

Cheers to a continuing August staycation!

 

Until next week,

 

Jack

 

+30 215 540 2986

 

Herakleidon 3, Thiseio

+30 210 342 6794

The Municipal Gallery of Athens is one of a number of museums in Athens which are housed in more than one building.  This can make it quite confusing in the sense of defining exactly what the museum and its exhibits are about.  In the sense of the Municipal Gallery of Athens, it has both temporary and permanent exhibits featuring mainly Greek artists and work connected to Greece.

This can be found at 51 Piraios Street on Eleftharias (Koumoundourou) Square. This was the original building of the Municipal Gallery of Athens and although it was closed down a few years ago when the new ones opened, it has re-opened again.  The building itself is something of an architectural gem; dating back to the late 1800s.

At the time of the author's visit, the exhibition entitled "Athens - 180 years Capital of the Greek State" was showing.  This was originally due to finish in May 2015, but was extended due to popularity.  Inside were numerous paintings, some depicting modern art interpretations of the city with other more original ones.

To read more, please visit: Dave's Travel Pages

395 Greek beaches and 9 marinas won the international quality Blue Flag award this year, putting Greece in third place worldwide among 50 countries, according to the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature (EEPF).

The announcement was made during an EEPF press conference in Katerini. EEPF is the national operator of the International Blue Flags program in Greece, in cooperation with the Pieria Hoteliers Association.

According to EEPF, the Blue Flag is the most recognizable and popular international symbol of quality in the world. Since 1987 the award has been given to beaches and marinas that meet the strict award criteria. The beaches not only need to have excellent quality bathing waters. They also need to meet 32 criteria, which refer to cleanliness, organization, information, swimmer and visitor safety, protection of the natural wealth of the beach and coastal area, as well as environmental awareness.

The founder and international coordinator of the program is the Denmark-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), with 63 member-countries from all continents. In Greece, FEE is represented by EEPF, the oldest environmental organization in the country, founded in 1951, which organizes active environmental interventions, actions and nature conservation projects.

To read more and see a list of Blue Flag beaches, please visit Greek Reporter.

Serendipity Magazine explores artist expression. In this fifth issue, Serendipity explores how various media is utilized by artists. Inside you'll discover interviews with authors, artists and sculptors as well as a variety of interesting guest articles.

Click HERE to read this issue of Serendipity Magazine.