The stories about Athens and its people are endless. Many of them have faded from memory over time. Others are remembered in fragments that come together at some point for the story to be told. The case of the Yussuroum family is one such Athenian tale. As charming as it is distant, the family name has retained its currency in everyday usage: Yussuroum (also rendered as giousouroum) in Greek has come to mean flea market.

The Athens Jewish community held an event in October in honor of Mois Yussuroum, aged 95, for his voluntary service over the decades. A garden in the community’s synagogue was named after the benefactor and the event, held on the initiative of the Jewish Museum in Athens and the Jewish community, was an occasion to bring back to light the history of the Yussuroum family.

While many Greeks use the term yussuroum when referring to a flea market, few know that it stems from this family and, in particular, from the antique market it created in the Jewish quarter of central Athens. Mois Yussuroum is the descendant of a long line of successful merchants with a presence in Athens. The Yussuroum home on Karaiskaki and Ermou streets was located in the middle of the city center’s commercial district and also housed the capital’s first synagogue. This was the heart of the Jewish quarter, which lay between Aghion Asomaton Square, Sarri and Ermou streets.

To read more, please visit: Ekathimerini

Island hopping – yes, they are open!

The location of a crushing defeat of Sparta by Athens, the ancient city of Kane is mentioned countless times in ancient Greek literature by writers such as Herodotus and Sappho. Yet the exact position of the island on which the city sat has long puzzled archeologists. It now seems, however, that what is a modern-day peninsula jutting out from the Turkish coast used to be isolated from the mainland by sea, forming the fabled lost island.

A team of researchers, led by the German Archaeological Institute, drilled into the ground of the peninsula to examine the rock that formed it. They found that it was made up of loose soil and sediment, which they think was deposited at some point before the Middle Ages, joining the island to the mainland. This theory was corroborated by the discovery of the remains of a submerged ancient harbor, as well as the earlier findings of pottery fragments, which suggested that the region used to form part of an important trade route.

The island was one of three, called the Arginusae, of which two are still separated from the mainland.  It was where the third one had gone that had puzzled the researchers.  They now think that perhaps run off from the agricultural fields on the mainland, or even potenitally an earthquake could have caused the narrow channel, which is a few hundred meters wide, to fill up with soul and sediment, forming the split of land.

To read more, please visit: I Love Science

The standard ticket for public transport in Athens, valid for 70 minutes, will increase in cost from 1.20 to 1.40 euros from New Year’s Day, Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis said on Thursday. He added that the reduced-price ticket, for children, students and the elderly, will increase from 0.60 to 0.70 euros.

Spirtzis, who said that the ministry is hoping to keep the prices of other tickets and travelcards unchanged, made the announcement as he presented plans for the so-called electronic, or e-ticket scheme.

The minister said that the new system may be rolled out earlier than expected, possubly within seven months on the city's buses. 

To read more, please visit: Ekathimerini

To read about Jack's experience of the E-Ticket for Athens, click here.

Souvlaki is one of the most popular street foods in Greece and for good reason. Its stuffed with well cooked and seasoned meat, garnished with a cooling tzatziki sauce, wrapped in a delicious crispy pita and best of all? It tastes like heaven! Souvlaki stands for “meat-on-a-skewer”, however the majority of Greeks and especially those from Athens call any type of pita wrapped meat a souvlaki, specifying the type of meat and method of roasting separately. For example Souvlaki with Pork Gyros or Souvlaki with Chicken Skewers etc.

This souvlaki recipe can actually be a very healthy dish if prepared the right way. By using good quality pork for your pork gyros, low fat yogurt for the tzatziki and avoiding dipping the pita in oil and frying but opting for a healthier baked version instead you can have the full-blown souvlaki with pork gyros experience in less than 270 calories – yes that is less than your average sandwich! That being said, if you feel a little naughty add some extra virgin olive oil to your souvlaki with pork gyros and enjoy a more street-food like experience.

Homemade souvlaki recipe – Preparing the pork gyros
The most important step in making the perfect, traditional Greek pork gyros souvlaki is nothing else but the pork! Select good quality pork meat, preferably slices of tenderloin and season with a selection of Greek spices like oregano, thyme, garlic and onion. The secret ingredient in this traditional Greek pork gyros recipe is adding a tiny bit of honey and vinegar to the marinade to break the intense pork meat texture. Marinading your pork gyros in the fridge for at least a couple of hours will allow the spices to infuse the gyros and give it the desired aromas.

The best way to serve your traditional Greek souvlaki with pork gyros is nothing other than wrapped in a delicious traditional Greek pita. Finding the original Greek pita can be quite challenging as most supermarkets stock only the arabian style ones but you can most likely find them at your local Greek deli. Of course tzatziki is the preferred sauce to garnish with. Don’t forget to garnish with some salt and paprika, sweet or spicy if you like an extra kick. Most Greeks enjoy their traditional Greek souvlaki with some potato chips stuffed in the pita so feel free to try adding some as well.

To read about how to prepare. please visit: My Greek Dish

Everybody knows families can be trying at the best of times.  Throw into the mix members of a Greek family, and you'll soon understand exactly why it is that the word 'drama' originates from Greece.

The extended Greek family is very adept at making one feel guilty for something you have, or quite possibly haven't, even done.  And usually the older they get, the better they become at it.

Here, Greek Gateway shares their Top Ten guilt-tripping lines that they can recall their Greek elders having said at least once:

10) “Αυτό θα φορέσεις?”

Literal Translation:          That's what you're wearing?

What they really mean:  This line mostly applies to women, but it can also apply to the occasional male, depending on the situation.  Sometimes the Greek parent will take a quick glimpse at what you're wearing before you dash out of the door for a night on the town with your friends,  and they'll stop you dead in your tracks to let you know that your outfit looks either 1) too provocative...2) too revealing or 3) too trashy.  Don't let it get you down though - they're just used to turtlenecks and knitted stockings.

9) “Δεν θα πας να δείς τη θεία σου?”

Literal Translation:        You're not going to see your aunt?

What they really mean: This one might be a little difficult to understand at first.  Have you ever gone on vacation to Greece and all you want to do is go island hopping and pass out on a beach? Exactly.  But sometimes, before you leave, your parents will guilt you into visiting every last aunt, uncle and cousin that you have back in the homeland, leaving you little time for fun in the sun.

8) “Τη θα κάνεις με αυτή τη δουλιά?”

Literal Translation:         What are you going to do with that job?

What they really mean: Are you currently employed as a Doctor or lawyer? Bravo!  Your Greek parents think the world of you.  But wait...you're not? What's thay you say?  You work in computer science You write for a newspaper? You're a professional photographer?! “Τη θα κανίες μαι αυτή τη δουλιά?!!!”

To read more, please visit: Greek Gateway

Amidst warm applause and in a highly emotional ceremony, UNICEF Greece on Thursday presented the Lambros Kanellopoulos award to Greece’s coast guard for its search-and-rescue efforts in the Aegean, especially its work for the protection of refugee and migrant children. The award was one of the prizes handed out by UNICEF in 2015 for Universal Children’s Day celebrated on November 20.

Earlier, a video of coast guard officers’ sensational efforts to save small children had been shown.

According to senior coast guard officer Athanassios Hondronasios, the number of refugees and migrants arriving by sea had increased 1,873 pct in comparison with 2014. During that time, there had been 4,800 rescue operations, in which 89,000 refugees and migrants were rescued, including 16,500 children and infants.

To read more, please visit: Greek Reporter

Startup Safary is a multi-dimensional event that guides its participants through the startup ecosystem of the hosting city.

It started in 2013 in Berlin, Germany from members of the city's startup ecosystem. Since then the event has expanded to other European cities and from 2014 it is also taking place in Athens, Greece, a city with the thriving startup ecosystem the last years, especially during the financial crisis.

Although Greece has a long history of entrepreneurship and doing business and although the first online companies started appearing in the country as early as 1998-1999, following the dot.com rise in the USA, it was only after 2010 with the economic crisis that startups started taking off. Five years in, Greece has a developing startup scene, with a lot of companies scoring big funding rounds or acquisitions, while many initiatives have started aiming at supporting new entrepreneurs.

This year Startup Safary Athens, an activity organised under the auspices of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, is taking place on November 20-22 and for three days the town's coolest startups and tech companies will open up their doors, while co-working spaces and incubators, academia and other institutions will host keynotes and side-events supporting the networking between the startup scene of the city.

Participating startups include Heliix, EazyBNB, NutrINsider, Palo Services, Conferience, Tourismart, isMOOD, Owiwi, Travelplanet24, Apivita and 100Mentors. Participating initiatives include Orange Grove, egg, Bios Romantso, InnovAthens, The Athens Incube, Stone Soup, Aephoria and Found.ation. Startup Safary Athens support among others Hellenic Professionals Informatis Society, UK Trade & Investment, City of Athens, Hellenic Startup Association, American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and ESYNE.

Startup Safary Athens organisers have put together for another year a really completed and diverse program for all the participants. Highlights include:

The Apivita Experience Store (Solonos 6 & Kanari, Kolonaki):

The company will host at its Experience Store in downtown Athens a series of keynote speeches (Apivita's Head of Human Resources, Apivita's CEO, Felix BNI's Peter Economides, Taxibeat's Nick Drandakis), as well as a recruitment session and a free diagnosis of face skin type and beauty tips.

InnovAthens (Technopolis, Kerameikos):

Seasoned institutional investor Loukas Pilitsis (founding partner at Anchorstone Partners and ex-head of Piraeus Bank Group's VC & PE) has put together a discussion panel on supporting Greek startups in scaling globally during the crisis times. He will be joined by Intale's COO Orestis Tzanetis, HSA's President Socratis Ploussas and Eurobank's Head of Digital Innovation Sotiris Sirmakezis.

StartupLab at Orange Grove (Leoforos Vassileos Konstantinou 5-7, Kallimarmaron Stadium):

The incubator set up by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Athens will be transformed into a Startup Lab of creativity and entrepreneurial experiments for this year's Startup Safary Athens. Orange Grove will host Dutch entrepreneurs and experts with experience in the Netherlands, USA, Africa, Asia and Latin America, while participants will have the chance to either start developing their ideas or early-stages startups or delve deeper into the business worl by following hands-on workshops in topics like business plan execution, advanced marketing automation, nomadic entrepreneurship etc. During Startup Safary Orange Grove will introduce for the first time in Greece the Valorisation Canvas which will help participants to develop their ideas.

Startup Safary @ the egg (Leoforos Syggrou 190, Kallithea)

The egg is a 12-month incubation program set up by Eurobank and Corallia Clusters. This year they have put together a full program with keynote speeches, as well as presentations from the companies hosted in their premises. Speakers include Athanasios Kalekos, partner at Odyssey Venture Partners, Theodoros Moulos, COO at Pinnatta, Vaggelis Papakonstantinou, co-founder at MpLegal Law Firm, Fanis Rigas, co-founder at Kariera.gr and serial entrepreneur, and Dimitris Gkanatsios, Technical Evangelist at Microsoft. In between the speeches, the visitors will have the chance to see pitches from egg startups in tourism, agrobusiness and foodtech, e-business, industrial design, ICT and edutech, medicine and pharmaceutical and logistics sectors. Last but not least egg will give voice to young innovators to pitch their own ideas for 5 minutes in front of egg stuff and visitors.

See the full program of Startup Safary Athens, arrange your own schedule of events and book your tickets at http://athens.startupsafary.com.

 

Athens is taking part in the Global Entrepreneurship Week for many years now. Host of GEW in Greece is the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Young Entrepreneurs (OESYNE). Listen below to the message of the President of Global Entrepreneurship Week Jonathan Ortmans for GEW Greece 2015.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 24, at 7pm at Syntagma Square. Athens' Mayor Giorgos Kaminis will give the signal for the official illumination of the city center and welcome the holiday season!

Festivities will kick off at 5:30 pm with a music tour by two groups of the Athens Municipality Philharmonic Orchestra that will start from Ethnikis Antistasis Square (former Kotzias Square) and Monastiraki metro station. The groups will then meet at Syntagma Square to welcome Athenians and visitors.

At 7pm, Athens Big Band will feature Greek singer Sakis Rouvas who will make a special appearance at Syntagma Square and perform songs dedicated to Paris.

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

This week I made a great discovery – one of those little things that makes daily routine just a bit easier, just a bit more ‘modern’. And the fact that this all about Athens made me equally surprised and excited. Maybe this is a sign of things to come…? Granted I’m a few months late, but I really hadn’t heard much until now – great apps need great marketing too.

TfA Tickets is a mobile app that allows you to purchase tickets for all Athens public transportation, right from your mobile device. The app displays the tickets, in count-down time, so you (and any ticket inspector) are totally clear on your ticket status.

 

The app is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch (iOS 7.0+) via the App Store, or for Android via GooglePlay. Tickets are purchased directly via the app on your phone, payable by stored credit card, and activate 2 minutes after purchase.

 

You can buy all regular timed tickets, airport tickets and even multi-day tourist tickets. You can buy multiple tickets at once, in case you're traveling with friends, and purchased tickets will still be visible on your phone even if you lose data signal.

 

I think this is just great! I’ve already used it several times, and – to be honest – it’s about time. Now if I could only explain to the onlookers as I waltz past the tickets machines that I am carrying a legitimate ticket…

 

But there was more to my week than apps! On my weekend wander around town, I came across a gem in Kerameikos. Rakor is an easy, cool, affordable, delicious, vegetarian-friendly place to eat. It is a stone’s throw from both Thiseio and Gazi, and is really worth the walk over. This is fresh food – with meat, fish and vegetarian options – an interesting wine and beer list, and relaxed friendly service, in an airy, hipster-esque space that is very welcoming. A new favourite.

 

And with your new TfA app, getting there will be a breeze.

 

Until next week,

 

Jack

 

Plataion 10, Kerameikos

+30 211 710 8877 

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