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10 Years Celebration of Golf & Maritime

The premier golf event, Greek Maritime Golf Event, is gearing up for its 10th anniversary year, set to take place on September 5-8, 2024, at Costa Navarino, in Messinia. The event will feature a rich schedule filled with golf and parallel activities for the executives of the Greek and global maritime industry.


Golf against the background of the endless blue of the Ionian Sea 

Greek Maritime Golf Event is expected to gather more than 80 senior maritime executives, forming teams of four. Golfers will compete at the golf courses of Costa Navarino, awarded as the “World's Best Golf Venue” at the 2023 World Golf Awards. Participants will enjoy a stunning landscape, playing golf among centuries-old olive trees with a unique view of the Ionian Sea, the historic Navarino Bay, and the picturesque port of Pylos. The competition includes a shotgun scramble in the morning of Friday, September 6, at the International Olympic Academy Golf Course, and another shotgun scramble in the morning of Saturday, September 7, at The Hills Course.

1 Greek Maritime Golf Event by Angelos Zymaras
Parallel Activities for Participants

On Friday, September 6, the 10th anniversary Greek Maritime Golf Event will welcome participants at the Welcome Cocktail by Marine Tours, while on Saturday, September 7, the Awards Gala by Teddy’s Speakeasy will take place, including the awards ceremony for the winners.

Awards for the Tournament’s Top Teams & Players

The teams competing in the Greek Maritime Golf Event 2024 will claim the top three positions in the overall ranking, with special awards also given to players achieving the best performances in the Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin categories.

Golf Clinic

Non-golfers will have the opportunity to attend the Golf Clinic and become familiar with the basic principles of the Olympic sport of golf, which will be held on Saturday, September 7, at The Hills Course.

2 Greek Maritime Golf Event by Angelos Zymaras
Golf & Maritime Support the “Floga” Association

For yet another year, Greek Maritime Golf Event will support the Parents’ Association of Children with Cancer “Floga” through its activities. During the awards ceremony on Saturday, September 7, participants will have the opportunity to contribute any amount they wish by participating in the lottery for a chance to win valuable prizes. The total amount raised will be donated to “Floga” association, which supports children suffering from cancer and their families, fights for their better medical, psychological, and social care, shares their fears and anxieties, supports their struggle in every way, and advocates for substantial presence and intervention in matters of medical, psychological, and social care for these children. More information: www.floga.org.gr.

Valuable Support for the Event

The 10th Greek Maritime Golf Event is supported by some of the most prominent maritime companies from Greece and Cyprus, as well as major Greek companies.

Platinum Sponsor: IRI/The Marshall Islands Registry 
Gold Sponsors: Mainline Shipping Company and Marine Logistics
Silver Sponsors: Arrow Hellas, DNV, and Marine Tours
Bronze Sponsor: Teddy’s Speakeasy
Official Clothing Partner: Under Armour
Official Water: μ. Artisan Water
Official Supporter: Grey Goose 
Premium Mobility Partner: SIXT, member of MOTODYNAMICS Group
Official Beauty Partner: Messinian Spa
Partners: Messinian Nest, Karnabakos, Poseidonia Restaurant, Karalis Beach Hotel, La Cucina Italiana, and Mind the Ad
Supporters: Budweiser Budvar, Aggelis Meatworks, and Athi Rodi
Audio Visual Partner: Boo Productions 
Auction Partners: Costa Navarino, Athina Luxury Suites, Messinian Nest, The Margi, Tsikeli Boutique Hotel Meteora, Porto Carras Grand Resort, Iliada Sunset Suites Naxos, Kois Accommodation, Petra & Fos Boutique Hotel & Spa, Marmari Bay Hotel, Quattro Suites, Namaste Boutique Apartments, Anama Restaurant, Kookoonari Beach Bar Restaurant, and Premium Steakhouse Platanos 

The event is held under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization.

Greek Maritime Golf Event, organized by Birdie Events, is an initiative of the recognized Greek PGA golfer, Thanos Karantzias. The sports marketing agency of the year, ActiveMedia Group is responsible for the event’s Golf Production. The tournament is exclusively addressed to distinguished members of the Greek maritime industry.

#greekmaritimegolfevent #costavarino 




Considering a Move to Greece? We Help You Feel at Home Before You Even Arrive!

Relocating to a new country is exciting but it can also feel overwhelming and that's why a Customized Relocation Orientation Experience is perfectly designed to give you a first-hand look at life in Greece before your big move.

Whether you're moving for work, retirement, family, or a lifestyle change, orientation helps you gain real insight into what day-to-day life in Greece will look like, making your transition smoother and more informed.

What to Expect from Your Orientation

Every person—and every move—is different. That’s why each orientation is customized based on your needs and interests. Here’s what’s typically included:

Neighborhood Discovery

Tour hand-picked areas that align with your lifestyle, whether that’s vibrant city living, quiet family-friendly suburbs, or proximity to the coast or your future office.

School Introductions

Moving with children? The orientation can include visits to top local and international schools to help you make the best educational choice for your family.

Everyday Essentials

From where to shop for groceries and medications to where to grab your morning coffee or find a nearby gym, all the basics of daily living are fully covered.

Local Know-How

Wondering about Greek customs, transportation, healthcare, or how to open a bank account? We’re here to answer your questions and offer the cultural insights that make adjusting easier.

Personalized Add-Ons

Have a specific interest, hobby, or need? Whether it’s a medical requirement, religious center, or language school, we’ll make sure it’s part of your visit.

Why Book a Relocation Orientation?

Because seeing is believing. When you walk the streets of your future neighborhood, visit potential schools, and experience the rhythm of daily life, you’ll feel more confident and excited about your move.

This is more than just a tour; it’s a practical step toward feeling at home in Greece from day one!

Ready to Get Started?

We’d love to help you explore your future home in Greece. Reach out to plan your Customized Relocation Orientation Experience or to request a quote for full relocation support.

Contact us today and let’s begin your journey to Greece together!

Thursday, 05 February 2015 14:26

Island Cruising

This weekend I did something quite special – unplanned and unexpected...

One of my cousins loves to enter contests. And, as these things go, someone must win. She won a 3 day island cruise with Louis Cruises. And she took me along. Greek islands – great. Cruising – great. Free –really great! So off we went…

The route took us over 3 days to Mykonos, Kusadasi (Turkey), Patmos, Crete and Santorini. The destinations were super. Very different flavours, with a little taste of each along the way. At each destination, there were organized excursions one could do (for an extra fee) – visiting places like Ephesus, Oia, Knossos, etc. Or you could simply go ashore and explore on your own.

Life onboard the ship was nice. These ships are not the giant cruise ships that we normally think of – we were told that the capacity was around 1500 people, spread across 9 decks. The ship had 2 swimming pools, several bars, 3 restaurants, a ‘performance’ theatre, a casino and even a nightclub. How can you go wrong?

The passengers were from all over the place – North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Australia – and lots of Greeks as well. There were lots of families, older couples, young people, and even a Contiki tour group. The crew and staff were also from everywhere – speaking every language imaginable. This was a different mix of people than I expected – really nice.

Food onboard was not bad. The nightly entertainment (‘the show’) onboard was even bearable. I wouldn’t call it a luxury cruise, I wouldn’t call it the trip of a lifetime. But I would certainly call it a great way to see a lot in a short time. A perfect solution for travelers who want to ‘island-hop’ without worrying about hotels and flights and ferries. People seemed to really enjoy themselves. Judging by the constant clicking of cameras and smartphones and ipads, everyone loved everything they were seeing.

Cruising the Greek islands – add it to the list of ‘maybes’ for a short summer break.

And since I can’t really argue with ‘free’ - I’ve decided to start entering contests. All of them.

Until next week,

Jack
 

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…

Monday, 16 February 2015 12:14

Cosy Cocktail Bar: Crazy Daisy

Crazy Daisy is a small, cozy bar in the center of Athens, with a public of all ages. Romvis street where it is situated, is close both to Syntagma and Monastiraki, and is well known for the many shops selling buttons, lace and other dressmaking articles. Crazy Daisy is an all day bar, open from 9 in the morning to 5 the next morning daily.

The decor is sixties and seventies style, with authentic antiques, vibrant colors, and a beautifully designed bar. Vintage lighting and lively music make the atmosphere attractive. During the day you can enjoy very good coffee, prepared with attention to every detail, accompanied with home made pies, or tasty bruschette and baguettes prepared on the spot with the ingredients you choose. Wine, beers, special drinks, but most of all cocktails are the specialty of Crazy Daisy, mixed in new, fresh, spicy, sweet and sour tastes, with original decorations. All drinks can be accompanied with cold tapas, finger food and varieties of cheese or hams.

Address: Romvis 18, Athens

Phone: 210 3210924

To read more, please visit 10best.com

 

Do you have a recommendation or recipe to share? Send it to us at ideas@xpatathens.com!

 

Thursday, 19 February 2015 11:47

Water Buffalo Farming A Gold Mine For Greece

Greece highly benefits from water buffalo farming, as the industry is gaining more and more ground, while products such as milk, yogurt or meat are getting increasingly popular across the country, providing a satisfactory income to the farmers.

According to Vasilis Bambidis, professor at the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, buffalo farmers have 25% less costs than cattle farmers, since they do not have to use any kind of special food for the animals.

Water buffalo farming is ideal near lakes or rivers, especially in northern Greece. Most farmers are located near Lake Kerkini in Serres. In fact, there are a total of 30 water buffalo farms across Greece (4,000 animals), and 20 of them (3,000 animals) are located near Lake Kerkini.

Before World War II, there were at least 70,000 water buffalos in Greece, explained Bampidis. However, their numbers increased dramatically, reaching a total of 384 animals in 1984, due to immigration. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, numerous Greeks left for other countries, thus abandoning their farms.

To read more, please visit greekreporter.com

By Ioanna Zikakou

Saturday, 21 February 2015 15:10

Imam Bayildi

In the past, when Greeks and Turks were not trading blows, insults, threats, or populations, they somehow found the time to swap recipes, as all longtime neighbours do… Now, there are those who claim that certain Greek foods are Turkish, and there is the counterclaim that many Turkish foods are actually Greek. But who really cares? The Greeks make a certain dish one way and the Turks in another. I have tried both the Greek and the Turkish versions of this recipe, and both versions were equally enjoyable.

The name of the dish “Imam Bayildi” is Turkish for “The Fainting Cleric” and as the legend has it, a certain "imam" (the Muslim term for a religious leader) had just completed a long fast and when this dish was set before him, he was so overcome with the mouth-watering aroma that he fainted. So, whatever the dish may have been called before, it was thereafter renamed in his honour.

Recipe:

6 smallish eggplants
1 lb. ( ½ kg.) onions, chopped
1 cup (250 ml.) of Greek olive oil
3 tomatoes, pulped and strained, or 1 cup (250 ml.) cup fresh tomato juice
3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1 tbsp. (15 ml.) finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp. (30 ml.) breadcrumbs
1 slight pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

 

1. Wash eggplants well and remove stems and ends.

2. Using a sharp knife, make 4 deep lengthwise slits in each eggplant, make sure each slit runs almost up to but not through each end as we don’t want the eggplant separating into quadrants.

3. Sprinkle salt inside each incision in each eggplant then place the eggplants in a saltwater bath for one hour to drain away their bitterness; then remove and wash eggplants and leave to drain for 5 minutes.

4. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and add the eggplants. Be sure to turn the eggplants a quarter turn or so every couple minutes to ensure even cooking and fry them until the skin becomes soft and they begin to wilt.

5. Remove the eggplants from the oil and set side by side in a baking dish, always with one incision facing straight upwards.

6. In the same oil the eggplants were fried in, add the chopped onion and sauté until golden then add the tomato pulp and bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg and simmer for another 5 minutes then remove pan from heat and allow mixture to cool slightly.

7. Preheat oven to 350° F. (180° C.).

8. Using a teaspoon carefully spread open and fill the topside incision on each eggplant with generous portions of the onion mixture, but be careful not to split the eggplants through as they will be very soft. Once the eggplants have been filled, if there is any leftover onion mixture simply place it in the pan among or between the eggplants and pour any remaining oil from the frying pan over everything.

9. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs overtop of each stuffed eggplant and then place pan in oven and bake for one hour.


Note: As with all oil-rich foods (‘lathera’ in Greek), this dish is best served cool to allow the flavours to coalesce so let cool to room temperature before serving. If you leave it out overnight, it will be even more flavourful on the morrow.

Kali Orexi!

To read more, please visit greekgourmand.blogspot.gr

"The quality of water in Greece's seas and lakes is known and constitutes a competitive advantage of the country," Alternate Environment Minister Yiannis Tsironis said.

Of the 1540 bathing waters, 1518 were assessed, as 22 points were monitored for the first time in 2014. The new points have not been evaluated for 2014 since the minimum number of samples required by the Directive has not yet been collected.  However, from the initial results of 2014 it is evident that the concentrations of microbiological parameters remain below the respective criteria values of excellent quality.

For the remaining 1518 bathing waters, the classification results are the following report: 1495 bathing waters are classified as “excellent quality”. One of them are located in inland waters and the 1494 in coastal waters. 23 bathing waters are classified as “good quality”, one of which is located in inland waters and 22 in coastal waters. None of bathing waters have been classified as “sufficient" or "poor quality”.

"It is everyone's care and obligation - the state and the citizens - to continuously protect our seas and coasts in the best possible way. It is up to us to maintain the quality of our waters forever," Tsironis added.
 
To read more, please visit: ANA-MPA
Qatar Airways has announced its highly anticipated daily direct services from Doha to Sydney starting from 1st March 2016, the third Australian city in the Qatar Airways network. Currently, the Doha-based carrier operates daily non-stop flights to Melbourne and Perth with a total of 14 services each week. It also unveiled yet another exciting Australian destination, with daily non-stop scheduled flights between Doha and Adelaide due to commence on May 2, 2016.

Qatar Airways is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world to more than 150 destinations spread across six continents. Since the beginning of the year, Qatar Airways has begun services to Amsterdam (The Netherlands); Zanzibar (Tanzania); Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan in Pakistan, and Abha (Saudi Arabia). In the pipeline before the end of this year is Durban (South Africa) and Nagpur (India). In 2016, the airline is also launching flights to three new US destinations – Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta.

Daily flights between Doha and Sydney from 1 March 2016 (all times local)
Depart Doha QR908 at 20:10, arrive Sydney at 18:05 (next day)

Depart Sydney QR909 at 22:20, arrive Doha at 05:05 (next day)

Daily flights between Doha and Adelaide from May 2, 2016 (all times local)
Depart Doha QR914 at 20:55, arrive Adelaide at 16:25 (next day)

Depart Adelaide QR915 at 21:30, arrive Doha at 04:50 (next day)
 
 
Friday, 08 January 2016 07:00

Muslims Of Today Were Yesteryear's Greeks

There are some things you might not know about Greek immigration to the United States.  This history becomes particulalry relevant when watching the news these days and political candiates like Donald Trump, supported by huge and vociferous crowds, call for the complete ban of people from entering the United States based in their race or religion.

This is nothing new. In fact– today’s “undesirable” Muslims (in Donald Trump’s eyes), were yesteryear’s Greeks.

It’s a forgotten history— something that only occasionally comes up by organizations like AHEPA or the occasional historian or sociologist. In fact, many Greek Americans are guilty of not only perpetuating— but also creating— myths of our ancestors coming to this country and being welcomed with open arms.

A look back at history will prove that this usually wasn’t the case for the early Greek immigrants to the United States. Greeks, their race and religion, were seen as “strange” and “dangerous” to America and after decades of open discrimination, Greeks were finally barred— by law— from entering the United States in large numbers.
The Immigration Act of 1924 imposed harsh restrictions on Greeks and other non-western European immigrant groups. Under that law, only one hundred Greeks per year were allowed entry into the United States as new immigrants.

Much like today, when politicians and activists like Donald Trump use language against a particular ethnic group— like his call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, the same was the case a hundred years ago. Except then, Greeks were one of the main targets.

There was a strong, loud and active “nativist” movement that was led by people who believed they were the “true Americans” and the immigrants arriving— mainly Greeks, Italians, Chinese and others who were deemed “different” and even “dangerous” to American ideals, were unfit to come to America.

As early as 1894 a group of men from Harvard University founded the Immigration Restriction League (IRL), proponents of a United States that should be populated with “British, German and Scandinavian stock” and not by “inferior races.” Their biggest targets were Greeks and Italians and the group had a powerful influence with the general public and leaders in the U.S. government in their efforts to keep “undesirables” out of America.

To read more, please visit: Pappas Post





The submerged town of Pavlopetri is situated in shallow water between the beach of Pouda at Viglafia (near Neapoli) and the islet of Pavlopetri, opposite the island of Elafonisos. The architectural remains of this prehistoric town, visible at a depth of about three meters, were discovered in 1904 by Fokionos Negris.

The site was first occupied in 3500 BC, making it one of the oldest known submerged cities in the world. The buildings, spread over six hectares, were divided into smaller rooms and in some cases had inner courtyards. At least six prehistoric roads were traced.

What was found among the ruins were stone-lined graves, probably from the Meso-Helladic period and in adherence with the practice at the time of burying infants and small children within the settlement. At the edge of the town under two small reefs are two Mycenaean chamber tombs. On the beach at Pouda is an extensive prehistoric cemetery of cist graves dating from the 3rd and 2nd millenia BC. Of particular interest are the ceramic vessels known as pithoi found at the site, in which the prehistoric inhabitants of Pavlopetri stored their wheat, oil and other products such as figs and olives, fish and meat. Other pots found there indicate they had developed close links with Kythera, Crete, the Cyclades and the north-eastern Aegean.

The settlement appears to have been abandoned in about 1100 BC. Pavlopetri occupied a prominent prehistoric place in the southern part of the Maleas promontory and was one of, if not the most important ports in the southern Peloponnese as it monitored shipping from the ports of southern Laconia to the Aegean and the western Mediterranean.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece By A Greek

Image Credit: Protothema
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