With the Olympic Games taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 2016, ICOMOS has dedicated this year's International Day For Monuments & Sites, Monday April 18, 2016, to the heritage of sports.

In celebration of this day in Greece, the Ministry of Culture and Athletics has announced that all archaeological sites will have free admission to the public on Monday April 18, 2016. Museums will also participate, with the exception of museums that are closed on Monday's.

During the upcoming Easter holidays, sites and museums in Greece will hold the following hours:

Inhabited for more than 3,000 years, Athens is widely known as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy. Consisting of a large city center, an urban district and metropolitan area, Athens presents a stunning blend of historical and modern features. Here are just a few of some of the best landmarks to visit.

This marvel of a museum engagingly presents everything you need to know about the Acropolis, its individual temples and the remarkable ancient civilization responsible for it all. You’ll want to make time to see the whole museum, but if pressed for time, take the elevator to the top level to see a veritable recreation of the Parthenon in its heyday, with all the sculptures, columns, metopes, and friezes (originals and plaster-cast copies) in place.

With its low whitewashed houses and steep meandering skinny streets, this 19th-Century neighborhood looks like an island in need of a sea. Which makes perfect sense, since it was built by refugee stonemasons from the Cycladic island of Anafi.

Considered the jewel of Ancient Greece, the Parthenon is an architecturally and historically significant building in the Western World.  It’s an extraordinary sight, especially considering that this intricately carved 23,000-square-foot temple is more than 2,500 years old.

 

Cape Sounion is found on the south-east coast of Athens, on the southern tip of the Attica peninsula. Some of the archaeological items found in this site date from as early as the 8th century BC, while Herodotus affirms that in the 6th century BC, the Athenians used to celebrate a quadrennial festival at Cape Sounion.

This is a replica of the Classical-style stone theatre, built in 161 AD on the southwest slope of the Acropolis, adjacent to the Theatre of Dionysus, which was used as a music hall. The Odeum was destroyed just 100 years after it was built in 161 AD, but in the 1950’s, a wealthy Athenian funded the reconstruction and now today, the Odeum is host to the annual Athens Festival and a popular concert venue throughout the year.

To read the full list of the best landmarks in Athens, please visit: Messonghi

Greece is one of the 28 award winners of the 2016 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards. The country scored two awards in the category of “Conservation” for the Byzantine Church of St. Peter in Kastania, Mani, and the Traditional Watermill in Agios Germanos, Prespes.

The winners of the award, considered Europe’s highest honour in the heritage field, were revealed by the European Commission and Europa Nostra. Independent expert juries assessed a total of 187 applications, submitted by organisations and individuals from 36 countries across Europe, and selected the winners.

The winners of the European Heritage Awards 2016 will be celebrated during a high-profile event co-hosted by EU Commissioner Navracsics and Maestro Plácido Domingo in Madrid at the end of May.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Not all desserts have to be chocolate, right? Try these vegan olive oil and orange cookies, which align perfectly with the healthy mediterranean diet. This recipe is a great way to give in to your sweet tooth without feeling guilty.

Ingredients:

Not even four miles south of Athens lies Phaleron, a port of Athens in classical times. Phaleron boasts one of the largest cemeteries ever excavated in Greece, containing more than 1,500 skeletons. Dating to the 8th-5th centuries BC, Phaleron is significant for our understanding of the rise of the Greek city-state and, in particular, for understanding the violence and subjugation that went with it. Two mass burials at Phaleron include people who were tossed face-down into a pit, their hands shackled behind their backs.

The shackled skeletons, easily the most compelling remains from Phaleron, have received researchers' attention for decades, as they are among the very few instances of shackled deaths in the ancient world and could indicate punishment, slavery, or a death sentence. But study of these “captives” has to take place within the context of the entire cemetery, and analyzing 1,500 skeletons is a massive task.

In the long-term, Phaleron skeletons will give us a window into a critical time in ancient Greek history, just before the rise of the city-state.

For more information about Phaleron and the excavation, please visit: Forbes

The Fall and Winter months in Greece tend to bring more rainy days than we're used to! Don't worry, though. When the weather forces us to stay inside, there are still plenty of activities for children. Here are just a few options:

 

This shopping mall is new and clean with great facilities for children. The square has many picnic tables and also a well organized and clean playground with a sand pit, swings, zig-zags, and a jungle gym for children 2- 4 years old. Inside the Golden Hall on the second floor, you will find an indoor soft play area for children starting 3 years old. There is also an area for older children to play computer games. Golden Hall can be easily reached by car and by public transport.

 

The funpark has recently moved into a new building and it is like being in a huge toy store where endless play with all sorts of playmobil is possible. Playmobil funpark is suitable for children starting from 18 months old and there is also a (non-smoking) cafe and a shop.

 

This entertainment venue is huge. It offers a long list of activities for young children, teenagers and adults. There are bowling lanes (with special children’s bowling balls!) table football, billiard, electronic games, roller skating, trampolines, restaurants, and bars. The best part is the enormous jungle gym. It is separated in different sections so young children can play safely separated from the older kids. Blanos is easy to access and has a large car park.

For the full list of ideas and more information, please visit: Family Goes Out

The torch will be lit by the rays of the sun at Ancient Olympia on April 21, 2016 before being relayed to Rio de Janeiro.

The ceremony, which first took place in 1936, involves performers in the roles of ancient priestesses lighting the torch at the Temple of Hera (Heraion) at the archaeological site of Olympia. There, the performer in the role of the High Priestess calls on the god of the sun, Apollo, to light the torch and offer a prayer.

The Olympic flame will visit 83 cities, including 26 state capitals, and will pass through around 500 towns, with 300 hosting the relay and another 200 watching the convoy go by. An estimated 90 percent of Brazil’s population will be reached via the relay, covering 20,000 km by road and 16,000 km by air.

In acknowledgement of the refugee crisis, the Olympic flame will pass through the Elaionas refugee reception center in Athens, with a refugee symbolically carrying the flame as a torchbearer.

The idea was presented to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by the Hellenic Olympic Committee’s president, Spyros Capralos.

To see this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

When Natalia Bougadeli’s grandmother needed blood in 2012, she was confronted with a problem and along with Natalia Kritsali, both students at the time, created the idea of Bloode, a way to raise awareness about the need for blood donations. Two years later, while Bougadeli was attending school at New York University in the U.S. and Kritsali was studying at Athens University of Economics and Business, the idea of Bloode remained active and they formed a team in Athens with two other students at Athens University of Economics and Business, Panagiotis and Alexander.

 

Bloode’s team went on to achieve their goal first by organizing volunteer blood donations, creating Bloode's website, and continuous calls for blood donations from patients or their relatives. Afterwards, the team expanded to informational events and educational programs, followed by the design of the application for mobile smartphones.

Their vision is to establish the first online community of blood donors and volunteers in Greece, in order to overcome this important social problem. Since their beginning, Bloode has completed 9 events, has gathered 200 units, and has saved 593 lives.

Source: Greek TV

For more information about this organization, please visit: Bloode

With the summer season quickly approaching, many people are planning their beach holiday, and with over 6,000 islands and islets, Greece is a perfect place to start. Every traveler has specific guidelines to what makes the perfect beach, but with so many to choose from, it may seem like an overwhelming task. Luckily, there's already a list of the most luxurious beaches in Greece, all of which are known for their sand, surf, history, and hidden locations.

The list includes:

Navagio Beach, Zakynthos
Sarakiniko, Milos
Porto Katsiki, Lefkada
Lalaria, Skiathos
Balos Beach and Lagoon, Crete
St Paul’s Bay, Rhodes
Myrtos, Kefalonia
Voidokoilia, Messinia

To read the full descriptions, please visit: Condé Nast Traveler. 

The Navarino Challenge was awarded the Grand Ermis & Ermis Gold at the Event Production at Ermis Awards 2015 held on 31 March 2016 in Athens. This year “Navarino Challenge 2016” onsets in the most brilliant way, greatly boosting the event to offer its leading sports tourism activities!

On the occasion of its recent distinction at Ermis Awards 2015, “Navarino Challenge” press event was held on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, at the Gold Class halls of Village Cinemas at The Mall Athens. The event's program included two parallel screenings of last year’s event video – documentary, deriving from the previous year (as it was shown in more than 1.6 million households in Greece and abroad), to reporters and senior executives, as well as greetings by the event’s ambassadors and representatives.

Navarino Challenge returns for a 4th consecutive year in Messinia and Costa Navarino on 9-11 September 2016.

 

Click HERE for this year's event info and registration details.

For more information about Navarino Challenge 2016, please visit: Navarino Challenge.

For the first time, the event presented the recently awards won. In its first participation at Ermis Awards, “Navarino Challenge” won the highest distinction in the annual event that was held in honor of the best advertising and communication companies in Greece, by winning the Grand Ermis award for the entire Event Production category and the Gold Award in the category of the sports events!

The Greek journalists Christina Vrachali and Dora Tsampazi presented the event, while after the two screenings, greetings were held from Marina Papatsoni, Marketing and Business Development Director of TEMES SA; Akis Tsolis, CEO of Active Media Group; Vassilis Vrettakos, President of Pylos Association of Enterprises for Tourism Development, the twice Silver Olympic medalist in Tae Kwon Do; Alexandros Nikolaidis, the Olympic and World Champion in 400m. hurdles, Periklis Iakovakis and pilates instructor, Mandy Persaki.

At the same time, this year's activities and the respective ambassadors were presented. In the activity of running, the Greek-American ultramarathon runner Dean Karnazes will be back for a consecutive year in Greece, while for the first time, the multiple marathon winner Nikos Polias will be the technical director of all running routes. In swimming, the federal swimming coach Nikos Gemelos, has undertaken the technical management of the activity, while with the assistance of the Swim Academy, managed by Nikos Gemelos and the Olympic and World Champion in open water swimming Spyros Gianniotis, the activities of baby swimming & aqua aerobic will be presented for the first time. Moreover, the World Champion in the open water swimming, Kelly Araouzou will swim for one more year in “Navarino Challenge”.

Tae Kwon Do lessons will be held by the twice Silver Olympic medalist Alexandros Nikolaidis, while for the first time the Olympic and World Champion in 400m. hurdles Periklis Iakovakis will support the event, through teaching and training the participating children. Gold Paralympic athlete Grigoris Polychronidis will teach the secrets of boccia (from the city of Rio, as he will be participating at the Paralympic Games) and pilates lessons will be held for another year by the instructor Mandy Persaki. Alexandros Nikolaidis, the kick boxing champion, will provide kick boxing lessons, while the cycling activity will be held with the support of Navarino Outdoors and indoor climbing will be supervised by certified climbing instructor George Malamas. The program will also include other activities such as basketball, SUP, golf which will be held with the support of Navarino Golf Academy; scuba diving will be supported by the Aqua Divers Club and Scuba Hellas, while for the first time a live cooking event will be presented with the assistance of the food blogger Gogo Papadionysiou also known as Mamatsita!

A greeting from Akis Tsolis, CEO of Active Media Group stated, among others things that: “Our distinction in this unique annual event of Ermis Awards that highlights our country’s creativity, is the reward of our hard work and discipline to undertake this significant event. We are equally excited and committed to continue even more dynamically and set up even higher the level of our event, which will also be a result of our sponsors’ and supporters’ confidence shown for all these years”.

Vassilis Vrettakos, the President of Pylos Association of Enterprises for Tourism Development said: “Tourism has its own rising course and vacations that actually offer the experience of new places, which is equally linked to the history of each place and the communication with different cultures and people, provide an exciting gateway. For everyone who decides to travel and any professional who loves what he does, Pylos and Messinia as a destination, is a one-in-a- lifetime experience. Its history, natural beauty, our friendly people and qualitative choices, are all inextricably linked with our philosophy, strongly creating to our visitors, the need to revisit us, while continuing on our end to hold on our promise: “With the guiding principle of mutual trust and goodwill, holidays become unforgettable”.

The twice Silver Olympic medalist in Tae Kwon Do Alexandros Nikolaidis also highlighted: “I am proud to participate in “Navarino Challenge” for the fourth year. Since its initiation, I have observed an event that has grown to become a great event, having attracted more people by the year that wish to learn about sports, the proper diet and good life”.

Finally, pilates instructor Mandy Persaki added: “I wish for 2016, the family of “Navarino Challenge” to grow and for all of us together to try to learn a better way of living through participating in an ultimate fun weekend next to some great people!”.