The first heat wave of the year is officialy upon us! According to weather forecasts, temperatures will rise up to 38 degrees Celsius in Athens during the week of June 5, 2018 and 34-37 degrees in various parts of Greece.

Although weather like this perfectly resembles Greek summer and tempts us to a quick refreshing escape to the beach, precautionary measures are advised by the Ministry of Public Health.

Since such high temperatures can cause headaches, tiredness, high blood pressure and even fainting, it is recommended for all people to visit a hospital immediately in case similar symptoms appear in severe form. However, light clothing, using ice to cool down and frequent cold showers can help keep the body within normal temperatures.

 

In order to avoid dangerous overheating, it is also advised for everyone to avoid or limit sun exposure, heavy physical exercise, seek shady places, use hats and umbrellas and most importantly stay hydrated!

Especially for elders and anyone with heart and other medical conditions, immediate medical help should be considered necessary in order to prevent symptoms caused by the high temperatures and receive help regarding any potential changes in medicine doses.

Stay cool and stay safe, everyone!

Originally posted on Kathimerini

Translated by XpatAthens

As part of the World Book Capital initiative and Athens‘ role as the UNESCO World Book Capital for 2018, the municipality created a mobile library and is bringing books to every neighborhood in the city.

The areas of Zapio, Agios Panteleimonas, Petralona, Avdi square, Pagkrati and Syntagma Square are just some of the locations the library will visit in June.

The mobile library is offering residents and visitors the opportunity to become members and borrow up to two books at a time for free. Books offered are in Greek, English and French.

For more information (in Greek), please visit: City of Athens

Article source: Greek Travel Pages

The Athens & Epidaurus Festival recently premiered on June 1st with three brilliant performances at Peiraios 260 and the Athens Concert Hall. Performances included Ivo van Hove's masterpiece 'After the Rehearsal-Persona,' a stage adaptation of two Ingmar Bergman classics.

The festival will run through August 2018. Below is this year’s Festival trailer, which was directed by the distinguished Pericles Hoursoglou. It is visually conceived as a series of thousands of footsteps, which is meant to portray the thousands of spectators rushing to the ancient and contemporary theatre venues from 1955 to our times.

 

This year at the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, all performances will have English and Greek subtitles for the first time, accommodating Greek and foreign audiences alike, as well as for the hearing impaired.

It is Greece’s foremost cultural festival and one of the oldest performing arts festivals in Europe (1955). Each year, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival presents performances from acclaimed artists in theatre, dance, and music and attracts large audiences from around the world.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus - The Festival’s main performance venue, located at the foot of the Acropolis.

Peiraios 260 - A former industrial area of several buildings just off Athens’ centre, at Peiraios 260 str.

Opening to the City - Launched in 2017, this section is more of a concept than an actual venue. Site-specific performances are presented in various neighbourhoods of Athens and Piraeus, including outdoor spaces and archaeological sites, thus expanding the Festival’s scope and audience and encouraging spectators’ active engagement.

Other venues include EMST, Megaron, Epidaurus Theater, Little Theater of Ancient Epidaurus, Ancient Stadium of Epidaurus, Odeon of Herodes, Benaki Museum, National Acheological Museum, Benizelos Mansion, the Athens Conservatory and more.

For more information, please visit: Greek Festival

Photo Credit: Athens Festival

A brand new, non-profit project from Athens Municipality and Impact Hub Athens has begun in the market of Kypseli.

Focusing around people, the environment and a sustainable growth strategy, 8 organisations will be the first stores to set up shop.

The Kypseli Market will include products from local farms, some of which will be given to people in need.

Included at Kypseli Market is a flowershop, which offers opportunities, skills and work to people with disabilities, a store selling second hand products in order to assist people with psychological problems find a job, and many others who will help raise money for the environment and people in need.

The market will become a point of connection between locals in this historic and multicultural area and will promote a collaborative and creative spirit!

Athens, Greece recently celebrated World Music Day, an annual celebration taking place on the summer solstice, at the National Archaeological Museum with a performance by Lyravlos. Using natural materials such as animal shells, bones, hides, and horns, this group of musicians recreated exact replicas of ancient instruments, including string and wind instruments called the phorminx, the kitharis, the krotala, and the aulos.

Panayiotis Stefos, a member of Lyravlos, travels to museums close to home and abroad in order to study ancient Greek antiquities and texts, which help him recreate the instruments. Stefos' son, another member of the musical group, told Reuters, "Music was an integral part of almost every aspect of ancient Greek society, from religious, to social to athletic events. Today only some 60 written scores of ancient Greek music have survived." Both Panayiotis and Michael rely on their interpretation of ancient Greek music to recreate the instruments as best they can.

Their performance included a hymn to the god Apollo, a piece played at the musical festival of the ancient Pythian Games in Delphi and during wine-laden rituals to the god Dionysus. One member of the audience commented that the performance was "inspiring."

Article Source: Reuters

Beginning from July 22, 2018, the process to set up a business or company will only take two days, at the longest. This piece of news is according to a joint ministerial decision determing the mode of operation and the stamp duties at the one-stop shops for establishing an enterprise.

By being set up at one-stop shops, companies are automatically entered into the tax register and receive an registration number (AFM), while the one-stop shop will also automatically inform the Single Social Security Entity (EFKA).

When an application to start a company is submitted at the one-stop shop, the latter must examine all relevant documents and data, and, if the legal prerequisites are met, the process should be completed on the same day or the next.

Applicants also have the option of submitting all documents online, at https://eyms.businessportal.gr.

To read this article in full, please visit: Ekathimerini

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.

To read the full article visit Greekcitytimes.com

The 1st Folegandros Sunset Trail running race was successfully organized, for the first time, on Saturday 3rd June 2018. The late afternoon route offered a unique and lovely experience to all participants.

The second race of the Cyclades Trail Cup 2018 was held in Folegandros island on 30rd June. The 1st trail running race: Folegandros Sunset Trail had one route, 10 kilometers long.

The starting point was at Ano Meria village in front of the Iliovasilema tavern and finish line was at the famous Pounta square of Chora village. The route followed the south-west coastline and all athletes run next to the gradient blue of the Aegean Sea while watching the sun set, “painting” the sky with his reddish colors.

Athletes form 6 countries of the world and many Greek islands had filled the registration form pretty early on. The total number of registrations almost reached the 100, which is a lot for a small island of the South West Aegean Sea. Athletes from islands like Andros, Sifnos, Milos and Syros came to run alongside visitors from Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, Australia, Canada and the USA! On Saturday 30 June, 53 athletes started the race.

The first runner reachenig the finish line and setting the official best time, was Daniel Parheden from Sweden, finishing in 1:09:21. The Ukraine-Russian athlete, Raman Burakov, came second just 3 seconds later with 1:09:24. In the third place of the 10km race, came Christos Kiriazakos from Mykonos island with the time of 1:10:20.

In the women category, Voula Katsavou won the 10km race with the time of 1:31:45. Katerina Koukaki finished in second place with 1:32:00 and in third place came Valentina Makri with the time of 1:37:00.

In a special category, the organizers awarded the 1st man and woman, local to Folegandros island. The first woman was Anastasia Dekavala and the first man Antonis Papadopoulos with the time of 2 hours and 7 minutes and 1 hour and 31 minutes accordingly.

Every race and course offers score points for Cyclades Trail Cup, determined by the new CTC_PointSystem. The athlete that earns the highest amount of points by the end of the year will be the winner of Cyclades Trail Cup 2018. The Folegandros Sunset Trail 10km race awarded all runners you 43 points

Between January and June of 2018, over 10 million passengers have been welcomed at the Athens International Airport (AIA), an 11.1 percent increase compared to the same period in 2017.

According to AIA, the increase in travelers came from a siginificant rise in the number of international travelers, which has risen 15.7 percent. Domestic travelers increased by 2.3 percent.

In June alone, AIA welcomed 2.43 million passengers, an 11.6 percent increase from June 2017.

News source: Greek Travel Pages

Serifos Sunset Race will be held this year with the co-organization of the South Aegean Region. The South Aegean Region supports all major sport events and actions that promote the values of sports, promote the region and encourage people and especially young people to participate.

The promotion of sports values is a key component of South Aegean Region policy, which makes every effort to ensure that the islands of the region will lead in major sport events and synergies that contribute in promoting a model based in the connection between sports and tourism, two of the most powerful components in the Aegean sea.

The South Aegean Region Authority has made it clear from the beginning that will support sports and this is reflected to a large extent in the targeted actions that were accomplished, and continue to take place, during 2018, with its participation in a number of sport actions within the Regional Unity of Cyclades. The Vice-Governor of Cyclades, George Leontaritis, mentioned: "The Region of South Aegean by participating for the second time in the organization of Serifos Sunset Race, supports the effort for equal access to sports.

For sixth consecutive year, this multifaceted event will be the top sport event in the island of Serifos, distinguished by its tremendous success, both in terms of participation, as well as the excellent organization of swimming and running competitions and the full satisfaction of the participants.

In a synergy with Serifos Municipality and the Tourism Committee of Serifos, we invest in culture and sports, supporting every effort to increase the sports values, to promote our islands and strengthen our touristic product.

The 6th Serifos Sunset Race will be held this year on the 22nd & 23rd of September 2018, with running races of 5, 10 and 20km, swimming races 750, 1.500 and 3.000m, and running and swimming races of shorter distances for kids.

Registrations for adults are made electronically via Ticketmaster.gr which is responsible for the pre- sales procedure of the tickets. Ticket purchases are also made in GERMANOS and COSMOTE stores.

For more information visit Serifosrace.com