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Tuesday, 03 December 2019 01:00
Inspirational Greece
Greece is a beautiful country, with picturesque landscapes, amazing beaches and many more. Hence the fact it was voted one of the best countries in the world! Also, don't miss the chance to let some drone footage of Crete take your breath away!
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Thursday, 29 October 2020 08:45
Municipality Of Athens Launches Website For The City’s Cats And Dogs
On the occasion of World Animal Day, the Animal Welfare Department of the Municipality of Athens launched a website dedicated to the city's strays to raise public awareness.
The website aims to inform users about the municipality's efforts to protect stray animals, secure a home for them, adopt registered cats and dogs, and allow them to report animal abuse incidents.
Citizens can also register stray animals and lost pets; receive information about pet owners and municipalities' responsibilities towards animals, and seek advice if they wish to adopt a lifelong friend.
The City of Athens has also initiated a program to place free microchips on pets whose owners belong to vulnerable groups. Through the program, 157 dogs and 49 cats have acquired a microchip.
Furthermore, the municipality has placed seven outdoor cat and dog houses, seven feeders, and 42 water bowls in various parts of Athens. The municipality plans to create parks for dogs, a temporary shelter for strays, and the first municipal veterinary clinic.
To read this article in full, please visit: gtp.gr
To read this article in full, please visit: gtp.gr
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Monday, 17 May 2021 01:08
5 Stunning Greek Islands A Stone's Throw From Athens
Athens, Greece's historic capital, is a city brimming with culture, elegance, and energy, a city bursting with life all year round. If, however, you feel like escaping the hustle and bustle for a while, taking a dip in the sea, or relaxing on a sandy beach, there's nothing stopping you from hopping on a ferry to one of the many beautiful islands just a breath away from Athens.
1. Spetses
Spetses is not a typical Greek island. It's a place oozing with vintage charm, an affluent paradise where you'll find charming neoclassical mansions and narrow alleyways. Cars are not allowed there, so you'll only see bicycles and carriages - it's like being transported back to another era. Walk along the waterfront, have a leisurely coffee in Dapia, and visit the Bouboulina Museum. The islands' romantic cosmopolitanism is sure to take your breath away!
2. Agistri
A tiny, picturesque island in the Saronic Gulf, Agistri is a very popular weekend getaway among Athenians. Blessed with lush pine forests, its unspoiled natural setting makes it a camper's paradise. But, there's so much more to do there. Explore the quaint traditional villages, swim in scenic coves, relax on pebbly beaches, and pay a visit to the Folk Art Museum, if you want to get to know the past everyday life of the islanders.
3. Hydra
1. Spetses
Spetses is not a typical Greek island. It's a place oozing with vintage charm, an affluent paradise where you'll find charming neoclassical mansions and narrow alleyways. Cars are not allowed there, so you'll only see bicycles and carriages - it's like being transported back to another era. Walk along the waterfront, have a leisurely coffee in Dapia, and visit the Bouboulina Museum. The islands' romantic cosmopolitanism is sure to take your breath away!
2. Agistri
A tiny, picturesque island in the Saronic Gulf, Agistri is a very popular weekend getaway among Athenians. Blessed with lush pine forests, its unspoiled natural setting makes it a camper's paradise. But, there's so much more to do there. Explore the quaint traditional villages, swim in scenic coves, relax on pebbly beaches, and pay a visit to the Folk Art Museum, if you want to get to know the past everyday life of the islanders.
3. Hydra
Hydra has been attracting international jet setters for a long time and its aristocratic charm is, indeed, unquestionable. There, you'll see traditional white houses with blue shutters, impressive mansions dating back to the 18th century, as well as numerous churches and monasteries, as the island boasts rich religious history. Once again, cars are officially banned in Hydra, as the island has been listed for preservation due to its architectural and cultural significance.
4. Kea
Although part of the Cyclades island group, Kea doesn't have the typical Cycladic landscape and architecture. It's a verdant island, still untouched by mass visitors, brimming with elegant buildings. Kea has a vast network of paths with wooden signposts that cover most of the island, connecting its most important landmarks. Apart from the beaches, Kea has also a lot to offer in terms of sightseeing, as there you'll find four ancient cities, one of them being Ioulis, the island's enchanting capital.
5. Andros
4. Kea
Although part of the Cyclades island group, Kea doesn't have the typical Cycladic landscape and architecture. It's a verdant island, still untouched by mass visitors, brimming with elegant buildings. Kea has a vast network of paths with wooden signposts that cover most of the island, connecting its most important landmarks. Apart from the beaches, Kea has also a lot to offer in terms of sightseeing, as there you'll find four ancient cities, one of them being Ioulis, the island's enchanting capital.
5. Andros
The greenest island of the Cyclades, Andros is the ultimate destination for nature lovers, hiking enthusiasts, and water-sports aficionados due to its strong winds. Except for its wild natural beauty and its incredible beaches, the island is also famous for its cosmopolitan vibe. The island's capital, Chora, is full of architectural masterpieces, like elegant mansions, neoclassical buildings, and, of course, the famous lighthouse of Andros. The island boasts a variety of museums as well, making it the perfect destination for art lovers!
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Travel Greece
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Monday, 27 September 2021 12:35
Sting To Celebrate 70th Birthday With Concert In Athens’ Ancient Theater
British rock star Sting will celebrate his 70th birthday in Greece by giving two concerts on September 30, October 1 at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on the slopes of the Athens Acropolis.
The “My Songs Tour”, which took Sting to several cities around the world, is in support of his thirteenth solo studio album My Songs, released on 24 May 2019.
It features new renditions of previously released songs from his illustrious four-and-a-half decade career, including fan favorites “Desert Rose,” “Fields of Gold,” “Englishman in New York” and The Police mega-hits “Roxanne,” “Message in a Bottle” and “Every Breath You Take.”
His sell-out concerts at the Odeon were highlight events during the Athens and Epidaurus Festival in late summer 2018. This time, the multi-award-winning artist, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, will be accompanied by his musician son, Joe Summer, frontman of the rock band Fiction Plane.
Alongside his son, Sting will be accompanied by an electric, rock ensemble including Dominic Miller (guitar), Josh Freese (drums), Rufus Miller (guitar), Kevon Webster (keyboard), Shane Sager (harmonica) with Melissa Musique and Gene Noble (backing vocals).
Sting, born Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, was the principal songwriter, lead singer, and bassist for the new wave rock band the Police from 1977 to 1984. He launched a solo career in 1985 and has included elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new-age, and worldbeat in his music.
With the Police, Sting became one of the world’s best-selling music artists. Solo and with The Police combined, he has sold over 100 million records.
To read this article in full, please visit: greekreporter.com
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Friday, 05 August 2022 07:00
Large Pod Of Dolphins Enjoy The Crystal Clear Waters Of Greece
A large pod of dozens of adult and young dolphins enjoyed the blue waters of Theologos in Fthiotida, Central Greece, offering a spectacular natural show.
The spectacle was captured by a drone of UpStories.
The spectacle was captured by a drone of UpStories.
The bay of Theologos is a well-known refuge for the dolphins in the Evia Gulf. The crystal clear shallow and warm waters, combined with the swarms of fish that often appear in the area, create the ideal conditions for dolphins to swim there almost all year round.
Originally published on: keeptalkinggreece.com
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Monday, 25 March 2024 09:00
Nea Koroni: A Geometric Gem Amidst Greece's Architectural Landscape
In the prefecture of Messinia lies a hidden treasure, Nea Koroni, a village that defies conventional urban planning norms. Nestled near the Messinian coastline, this architectural marvel stands as a testament to meticulous design, resembling an artist's geometric masterpiece rather than a traditional settlement.
Originally an extension of the historic village of Koroni, Nea Koroni's symmetrical layout unveils itself majestically when viewed from above, as showcased in a captivating video by the Up Stories YouTube channel.
This geometric wonder is a rarity in Greek architecture, yet its genesis becomes less astonishing when considering its relatively recent establishment compared to the haphazard growth of many Greek communities during the nation's formative years.
The video offers a bird's-eye perspective of Nea Koroni's radial network of eight roads, gracefully emanating from a central roundabout to meet the encircling ring road, forming a flawless square with intersecting diagonals and medians.
Beyond mere aesthetics, these images serve as a compelling model for future urban planning endeavors, urging us to embrace organized and harmonious structures in shaping our communities. Nea Koroni stands as a beacon of inspiration, demonstrating the beauty and functionality that can emerge from thoughtful design.
Originally published on: reader.gr
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Wednesday, 18 February 2015 12:31
Spotlight On Volos
The city of Volos in Greece sits in a beautiful location, at the foot of Mount Pilion at one end and the Pagasetic Gulf at the other. Volos is where the rich agricultural Thessaly region, breadbasket of Greece, meets the gentle waves of the Aegean Sea. The Sporades islands (Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos) are nearby and accessible by either ferry or fast hydrofoil and there are also sea connections to the islands of Chios, Lesvos, Skyros and Limnos.
Further still, Asia and the Middle East can also be reached from Volos, which is Greece’s third major port (after Pireaus near Athens and the port of Thessaloniki).
Built near the neolithic (4,000BC) remnants of Dimini, today’s city of Volos sits on the site of 3 later, ancient Greek cities. One of them, Demetrias, was named after both the local Olympian goddess of harvest and a Macedonian king; another city (Iolcus) was connected to the mythological hero Jason (of Argonauts and Golden Fleece fame).
During the Byzantine era (13-14th century AD) and subsequent Ottoman (Turkish) rule, the city was known as ”Golos”. It became part of free Greece in 1881.
To read more, please visit blog.sunshine.co.uk
By Karen Bryan
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Travel Greece
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Thursday, 19 February 2015 13:29
Greek Premier Promises Tax Cuts, Security
In the final straight of campaigning ahead of critical snap elections on Sunday, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday promised tax cuts and cast New Democracy as the safe choice for Greece opposite an inconsistent SYRIZA.
In a speech before the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry last night, Samaras said an ND administration would gradually reduce the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 25 percent and scale back a unified property tax (ENFIA), starting with a 7 percent cut this year.
He lashed out at SYRIZA for a lack of clarity on tax pledges – he claimed the leftists would impose a “barrage of taxes” despite their claims to the contrary – and slammed the party’s plans to rehire sacked civil servants and reverse privatizations.
SYRIZA officials, for their part, insisted the party would introduce a fair tax system and crack down on large-scale evaders along with corruption.
Meanwhile, amid speculation about potential alliances, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos told Italian newspaper La Stampa he could work with SYRIZA’s leader. “Tsipras is like Harry Potter but if necessary we will cooperate with them,” he said.
To read more, please visit ekathimerini.com
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Monday, 28 September 2015 07:00
Arcturos Offers Sanctuary To Bears That Cannot Go Home
The calls of great tits, coal tits and chaffinches are the only sounds that break the silence at the Arcturos Sanctuary, in a forest in Nymfaio, Western Macedonia.
Drops from last night’s rain are still dripping from the beech trees as the morning chill turns jackets into valuable allies for the caretakers of the forest’s 12 ursine residents. And now it’s breakfast time.
“We feed the bears in three different locations. Today’s menu includes apples, cherries, peaches and watermelons,” explains 25-year-old Vasilis Fourkiotis, tour guide and Arcturos caretaker with a degree in environmental sociology. Hailing from a family of stock breeders, Fourkiotis already has four years of experience in the field.
“The animals don’t all live together. They are separated so they can coexist in harmony, as they are naturally anti-social creatures,” says Fourkiotis.
“Moreover, in order for us to lessen the chances of the animals suffering anxiety due to the fact that they are to a certain degree confined, we religiously apply international protocol in respect to large predator management, which suggests that we enforce the animal husbandry principle of behavioral enrichment, providing the bears with environmental stimuli for their optimal psychological and physiological well-being,” he adds.
“In other words, we disperse the food all around the area the bears have access to encourage them to be active. Don’t forget that a bear can walk up to 40 kilometers in search of food,” says Fourkiotis.
Having eaten his watermelon, 15-year-old Manolis stands up on both feet and appears to wave. His brother, Kyrgiakos, continues to munch away at his own watermelon a few meters away, indifferent to our presence. When they were cubs, the two brothers were found by a person who took them in as pets. But when they tipped the scales at 250 kilograms and grew to 2 meters in height, they simply became unmanageable. When Arcturos was called in to help, the two bears were completely used to living with people. It would be impossible for them to live in their natural habitat now, which means they will have to live their whole lives in captivity. However, they could do far worse than the Arcturos Sanctuary, an area of some 50 acres offering food, guaranteed care and optimal living conditions.
“We keep the animals here in order to provide them with the best possible living conditions. However, a bear, just like any other wild animal, needs to live and die free in its natural environment,” explains Vangelis Despotakis, Fourkiotis’s co-worker.
“Here at the sanctuary we have three bears from circuses, five from a zoo, three orphans and one blind bear. Unfortunately, it is now impossible for these animals to live freely in nature. They think that humans are their source of food; that’s why they try to get close to us every chance they get. All the animals are neutered given that we do not want more bears living in captivity. In the wild, cubs stay with their mother and learn from her for a period of two to three years. Under the conditions of a shelter, however, this obviously doesn’t happen,” he adds.
The public seems to have a somewhat distorted view of the Arcturos organization’s role. For example, the NGO’s staff often receive calls from animal breeders, demanding that the organization get rid of bears in the mountains.
“The bears are not our property,” says Despotakis. “We exclusively support bears that can’t survive on their own. We do not interfere with those that live freely, nor do we breed bears in order to release them at a later date.”
The situation in regard to how people treat animals has without doubt improved in recent years. However, as a guide, Despotakis believes that his role is not limited to unlocking gates, showing people the animals and providing information.
“I believe that I am here for a purpose. That is to instill in the public a different philosophy on how we treat nature and animals. We should stop feeling sorry for creatures which have have suffered from a position of power. The protection of wildlife, despite its obvious benefits, should serve as a medium through which we can improve human life as well, by reorienting the meaning of animals for humanity. People should not have the kind of relationship with nature that sees them caring for the environment so long as they can benefit from it, and realize that animals and the natural environment have an innate importance to us as human beings,” he says.
To read more, please visit: Ekathimerini
by
Vassiliki Chrysostomidou
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Travel Greece
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Monday, 07 November 2016 07:00
Greece Unveils First Contemporary Art Museum
"I think this is something that should have happened years ago," the museum’s director said.
Legislation establishing the museum, known as EMST, was passed 19 years ago. The museum is built in the refurbished Fix brewery in central Athens.
Introducing modern art to a culture brought up on marble columns and the galloping friezes of the Parthenon would appear to be a daunting and thankless task, but Katerina Koskinas, the director of Greece's first National Museum of Contemporary Art, was giddy with excitement and lack of sleep on the eve of the museum's opening.
EMST may not fire up the art market directly, since it is not an art broker, but it will make Greek artists more visible.
EMST was conceived in a period of optimism. In the late 1990s, Greece planned its new Acropolis Museum, now the country's most popular attraction after the Acropolis itself. The shift to culture could emerge as Greece's next national project.
To read this article in full, please visit: Al Jazeera
To read this article in full, please visit: Al Jazeera
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