Qatar Rail, the authority responsible to finish construction of the first phase of the Doha Metro in 2018, has awarded one of its largest rail contracts yet to a Greek-led consortium, the Athens-based company ELLACTOR announced on Thursday.
ELLAKTOR said in a statement that its subsidiary AKTOR, as the leader of ALYSJ JV, with percentage of 32%, signed the contract for the design and construction of the project “Gold Line Underground” in Doha, Qatar.
The project forms part of Qatar Integrated Rail Project and the Gold Line is by far the largest singular construction package of the Doha Metro. The value of the contract is Euro 3.2bn including an option for the client of Euro 770m.
The route of the Gold Line traverses Doha, Capital of the State of Qatar, from East to West.
“Ftou ftou ftou”…the old lady in the supermarket had just spat at me three times. OK, not literally, but I’d been helping this little old lady all swaddled up in black to pack up her shopping. “Efharisto copella” she proclaimed [“Thank you girl”], and then made an obvious spitting noise in my direction followed by a hand flick towards my face. To say I was in shock is an understatement…I’d barely been in the country a month and was attempting to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of Greek culture—I didn’t realise one of them would be being met with a slightly aggressive act after my act of kindness!
“That’s a good thing, don’t worry!” laughed my Greek friend over coffee that evening. “You helped her, she thought you were beautiful for doing this so she gives you a negative symbol to ward off any jealousy that may come to you as a result of your kind nature.” It was the first time I’d heard that being spat was a compliment—first time for everything I guess.
“Hadn’t we better order another coffee?” I enquired. My Greek friend snorted and patted my knee.
“No need. We can sit here for three hours with just one cup if we so require” my friend patted my knee reassuringly. I glanced around: the middle-aged couple in the corner had been there when we came in, over an hour ago, and I’d not seen the waiter approach them once. That was another difference: people spending hours relaxing over coffee with no pressure to buy, buy, buy.
Greece isn’t just full of lovely cultural differences. There are things that I still find difficult to understand or cope with, even after 4 years of living here. I’ll never understand the “no-one tells me what to do” mentality that pervades every aspect of society. Examples of this include not wearing seatbelts in the car or helmets on their heads on motorbikes. Despite the fact that these laws are made to help protect people in the event of an accident, the fact is, it’s a law hence it must be disobeyed. I always wear my seatbelt in taxis and once rode in the back of one where the driver became offended I wore it! I tried to explain it isn’t necessarily his driving I am insulting, but we have no control over other drivers, so I want to be safe! Long silence.
“You have right copella” he proclaimed in his pidgin English. “Apo pou ise?” [“where are you from?] When he found out I was British, he nodded sagely as if everything made sense. Almost an ‘Of course.’
Then there’s the smoking in bars and cafes. I’m not actually sure if people aren’t supposed to smoke in bars or not, but they do. OK, not all places allow it, but the majority do. It’s my one huge bug bearer: no matter how late I come home at night, I have to have a shower and wash my hair to wash the smoke away.
Overall I love this country. Seeing men, old and young, embracing when they meet or leave each other is refreshing…it’s natural. People know how to just ‘be’ in Greece, and this country has helped me to follow that trend. Take the rough with the smooth: soon you’ll be embracing the culture of your country and acting like a native (but I do still wear my seatbelt in cars).
Greek student Dimitris Hatzis is the youngest person ever to create a life-sized humanoid using a 3D printer. The 15 year old student from Kavala (Northern Greece) created the robot as part of the "InMoov" project, an open source platform.
Hatzis was able to costruct the robot using the platform that is centered around the development of a man-sized robot humanoid. Like others on the project, he was able to access instructions from platform and share his project. Success came for the student after a year of daily work.
Only six people in the world, including Hatzis, have been able to complete the task. Dimitri is the youngest ever. Other successful candidates are the original designers of the robot; Frenchman Gael Langevin, two Russians, a German and an Italian.
The City of Athens has made a crucial step in opening the way for the establishment of crematoria in Greece by issuing an invitation for bids for a building to house the first crematorium.
The building must be no smaller than 2,000 square meters and no bigger than 4,000 square meters, and must be located within Athens city limits. Owners wishing to sell or rent their properties to City Hall have to submit their bid by January 24.
The move is made after the law 4277 for a New Regulatory Plan for Athens was passed in the summer of 2014, at the request of Mayor Giorgos Kaminis. Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris had made the same request.
Until summer 2014, cremation facilities were allowed to be built only within cemeteries. However, that was impossible since there is no space whatsoever in the existing cemeteries within the city of Athens.
The New Raw is a design workshop in Greece that upcycles plastic waste and gives it a new life. The two founders got the idea after seeing too much plastic not being used so they came up with the idea to turn the waste into something unique and useful.
You may have seen blue blocks around Athens and have wondered, what are those? Jessica from Athens Coast sits down with Renee Belousis, the founder of PlayCanDo, and tells us what those blue blocks are and how children can use them!
Jessica: How did you get the idea of starting PlayCanDo?
Renee: Last summer we were at our favourite playground in Vouliagmeni. To our disappointment, they had ripped out the slides and other play equipment leaving big gaping holes. I was very annoyed and angry as our children had even less choice of playgrounds to play in.
When we got home I started researching playgrounds and came across the Imagination Playground. The Imagination Playground consists of life size foam blocks, called Blue Blocks. These looked very familiar to me. As it turns out, we had encountered the big Blue Blocks a couple of years earlier, at a children’s museum on a trip to San Francisco.
That’s when I thought wouldn’t it be great if children in Greece had the opportunity to play with these blocks too. I started discussions with Imagination Playground and through this became the Representative Sales Agent in Greece. In order to import the Blue Blocks I started the company, PlayCanDo.
To read this article in full, please visit: Athens Coast
Please click HERE for more information on PlayCanDo.
Greece received many accolades at the recent World Travel Awards held in Athens, with the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) awarded as the organisation with the best national tourist strategy and campaign in 2018.
The General Secretary of GNTO Constantinos Tsegas received Europe’s Leading National Tourism Strategy & Campaign 2018 Award and referred to the successful multilevel programme implemented by GNTO, according to the Tourism Ministry’s strategy.
Additionally, GNTO’s President of the Board, Charalambos Karimalis, received Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2018 for the Acropolis.
A Greek long-distance runner helped a mobility-impaired biology student to fulfill her dream of climbing to the top of Mount Olympus.
Marios Giannakou, who carried Eleftheria–a 22-year-old student from Drama–on his back to Greece's highest point, said that "it was the best and most important struggle of my life, and the best thing I've done as a human being ever."
Giannakou carried Eleftheria in a custom-made backpack and climbed the mountain with an 8-member support crew, including police officers, deep-diving specialists, and a trainer. The team reached a mountain refuge at 2,400 m to spend the night, before setting off at 06:00 am on Monday for Mytikas, Olympus' highest peak at 2,918 m.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis congratulated the two saying, "It was a fantastic idea, and we are very happy you implemented it," and wishing them a safe return.
All shipping routes lead to the Greek Maritime Golf Event, the remarkable maritime golf tournament that will be held for the 7 th year on September 3-5, 2021, at Costa Navarino, Messinia.
Tournament’s Safety The Greek Maritime Golf Event will bring together distinguished executives of the Greek shipping community who will compete in the completely safe destination of Costa Navarino, under a strict health and safety protocol established by the event’s production staff and approved by the Health Scientific Committee of the General Secretariat of Sports. You may find the event’s protocol here .
Golfing Action Greek Maritime Golf Event teams, consisting of four people in each team, will compete in the two signature 18-hole courses, The Dunes Course and The Bay Course. More specifically on Saturday, September 4, participants will take part in a shotgun scramble that will take place at The Dunes Course, in a stunning natural landscape full of centuries- old olive trees. On Sunday, September 5, golfers will have the option of participating in the two (2) ball better ball (3/4 hcp), to be held at The Bay Course, with a magnificent view of the historic Bay of Navarino, and the picturesque port of Pylos.
Participating teams will claim the prizes for the top three positions in the overall standings on both courses; while special awards will be given in the context of Saturdays’ game to individual players, who will achieve the best scores in the special categories “Longest Drive” and “Closest to the Pin”.
Golf Clinic Non-golfers will have the opportunity to attend the golf clinic and take part in the putting competition to be held on Saturday, September 4 at The Dunes Course.
The shipping community supports KARKINAKI On Saturday, September 4, the awards ceremony will be glamorous and full of surprises and gifts for its participants. The event will be presented by the Euroleague legend, Joe Arlauckas and the international model Ioanna Papadimitriou. In collaboration with the unique agency in Europe, dealing with trading cards and memorabilia, Trace ‘n Chase, a silent auction will be held for the first time, in which items of golf legends such as Gary Player, Tiger Woods, Roy Mcllroy and world-class athletes, including NBA Finals Champion & MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, NFL player Tom Brady and tennis player Serena Williams will be auctioned. The shipping community is expected for another year to “embrace” and actively support the event’s good cause, as during the ceremony participants will have the opportunity to 2 directly contribute with their desired amount at the specially designed area. The total amount to be collected will be given to the Non-Profit Organization KARKINAKI, which claims intervention in the effort of stopping Childhood and adolescent cancer being a taboo issue, but also finding as many allies as possible so that every child who suffers from cancer has equal access to high-quality hospitalization, effective treatment and, ultimately, the right to life.
Greek Maritime Golf Event is attended by some of the leading shipping companies from Greece and Cyprus as well as great Greek companies that support the event.
Maritime Sponsors: The Marshall Islands Registry IRI is the event’s Platinum Sponsor. Mainline Shipping Company, Onego Shipping Company, Jotun Hellas and Swift Marine are Golden Sponsors. Arrow Hellas, DNV and Drew Marine are Silver Sponsors. Marine Tours is the event’s Official Travel Partner. IYC is the Official Sponsor. Tototheo Maritime and Standard Club are the Official Supporters. Non-Maritime Sponsors: MOTODYNAMICS SA is the Signature Sponsor. Qatar Airways is the Official Airline. Poseidonia is the Official Supporter. Avance is the Official Rental Partner. Messinian Spa is the Official Beauty Partner Under Armour is the Official Clothing Partner. Pilia Express is the Official Carrier. Minoa Water is the Official Water. Trace ‘n Chase is the Silent Auction Partner. Pylos Poems, Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa, The Margi, Arifakis, Domotel Kastri, Karalis Beach Hotel, ΜΕΤΑΧΑ, UWC SAMOS, Luc Belaire, Veroni, Lakonia, Ideas Print, Dinner in the Sky, Blue Shades of Greece, Athi Rodi and Unique Flowers Creations are the event’s Partners. Boo Productions is the Audio Visual Partner. The event is held under the auspices of the Hellenic Golf Federation. Greek Maritime Golf Event, is organized by Birdie Events, through an initiative of the recognized Greek PGA golfer, Mr. Thanos Karantzias. The award-winning sports marketing agency of ActiveMedia Group has undertaken the event’s Golf Production. The tournament is addressed exclusively to distinguished executives of the Greek shipping community.
Greece, with its rich history, stunning landscapes, and warm Mediterranean climate, has become an increasingly popular destination for digital nomads seeking a blend of work and adventure. However, before embarking on your journey to this captivating country, it's crucial to take several factors into account.
Here's what to consider when contemplating Greece as your next digital nomad and remote working destination:
1. Choose The Right Location
Greece offers a diverse range of locations for digital nomads. Consider popular destinations like Athens, Thessaloniki, or big islands such as Crete, Santorini, or Corfu. Each place has its own unique charm, cultural experiences, and connectivity options. Assess your preferences and needs to find the perfect spot that aligns with your work and lifestyle.
2. Secure A Reliable Internet Connection
As a digital nomad, a stable internet connection is paramount. Ensure your chosen accommodation provides high-speed and reliable Wi-Fi. Consider having a backup option, like a local SIM card with a data plan, in case of any disruptions.
3. Explore Co-Working Spaces
Greece has seen a rise in co-working spaces catering to the growing number of digital nomads. These spaces offer a professional work environment, networking opportunities, and essential amenities. Popular co-working hubs include The Cube Athens and Stone Soup in Athens, providing a vibrant community for remote workers.
4. Understand The Visa Regulations
Before embarking on your digital nomad journey to Greece, familiarize yourself with the visa regulations. Introduced in 2021, the Digital Nomad Visa for Greece allows people who are not citizens of the European Union or European Economic Area and who work remotely to legally live and work in Greece for up to one year. It also allows you to bring your immediate family members with you, as long as you meet all the requirements.
For more information on how to secure a Digital Nomad Visa, click here.
5. Embrace the Greek Lifestyle
One of the joys of being a digital nomad in Greece is familiarising yourself with the local culture. Enjoy the delectable Mediterranean cuisine, explore ancient ruins, and participate in traditional festivals. Balancing work with leisure will enrich your experience and contribute to your overall well-being.
6. Network Locally
Build connections with fellow digital nomads and locals alike. Attend meetups, networking events, or join online communities to exchange insights and tips and perhaps collaborate on projects. Building a supportive network can enhance your professional and personal life while living in Greece.
7. Manage Time Zones Effectively
Working as a digital nomad often involves dealing with clients or teams in different time zones. Plan your work schedule to accommodate any time differences, and communicate transparently with your clients or colleagues to manage expectations.
8. Stay Active and Healthy
The Greek outdoors offer ample opportunities for physical activities. Balance your sedentary work hours with exploration and exercise. Hike the mountains, swim in the crystal-clear waters, or practice yoga on the beach—maintaining a healthy lifestyle is key to a successful and fulfilling digital nomad experience.
Becoming a successful digital nomad in Greece involves a thoughtful blend of work, exploration, and cultural immersion. With reliable internet, a welcoming community, and the beauty of the Greek landscape, your journey can be both professionally rewarding and personally enriching. So, pack your bags, set up your remote office, and let Greece be the backdrop to your digital nomad adventure!