Crete, the island of miracles

Crete, land of Daidalos and Ikaros, is the largest island of Greece, separating the Aegean from the Libyan Sea and marking the boundary between Europe and Africa. On Crete, the scenery is constantly changing.

Majestic mountains rise in its centre –the Lefka Ori, Psiloritis, Dikti– full of legends and history, while its plateaus are split by deep gorges, ending up in lush valleys.

This island’s fertile soil and towering peaks witnessed the development of one of the most important civilizations on earth, the Minoan (2800-1150 B.C.).

With its clear, warm sea, boundless beaches lined with tamarisks and mild starry nights, Crete is an idyllic place for vacation but for living as well, in bustling Iraklio, cosmopolitan Aghios Nikolaos, picturesque Rethymno or enchanting Chania.

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)

“You in Greece” campaign – Facts about Greece

  Facts about Greece

· Greece is a safe country

Supportive data: According to Legatum Prosperity Index, Greece faces comparatively few security challenges. Domestic security is favorable. Moreover, according to Eurostat, Greece is a country with a relatively low rate of criminality. The feeling of security is well established in society.
· Greece is an attractive destination.
This comes not only due to its physical beauty but mostly due to the “value for money” relationship in the provided services.
Supportive data: According to a poll, conducted in a population of 1200 people,52% of the sample believes that the quality of travel services offered in Greece are of very good standard and 42% believes that the travel services offered in Greece rival those offered in other touristdeveloped tourist markets.

· Greece is a western democracy and the majority of Greek society supports government policy.
Supportive data: A recent research conducted by Kapa Focus research company on behalf of the weekly Newspaper ‘To Vima’, shows that 55,2% of Greeks support the austerity measures imposed by the Greek Government.
·  Demonstrations are strictly local and limited events/occurrences. They take place mostly in the center of Athens, in a specific and controlled area. The mainland regions and the islands of the Greek Archipelago, where the vast majority of tourists go, are not affected at all.
Supportive data: According to Eurostat, Greece is a favourite destination. Especially, in South Aegean and Ionian Islands, it appears that 48.168 stays and 33.304 per 1000 citizens took place, a proof of satisfaction for the Greek touristic product.
· Greece is a tourist country and Greeks know the importance of hospitality.
Supportive data: Zeus, the King of the Greek Gods, according to the Greek Mythology, named as Xenios (the one who offers hospitality) Zeus.
·  The overall number of demonstrations in Greece is lower than the E.U average.
Supportive data:All demonstrations occurred in Athens, in specific and isolated areas. In their vast majority they were peaceful.

· The picture that global media paint is, to say the least, in many cases exaggerating. In many occasions, library images were re-broadcasted as live feeds.
Supportive data: Greece is a pluralist, democratic western European country. Media freedom is protected and encouraged. During the last two weeks Greece hosted more than 300 foreign journalists.
(Greek National Tourism Organisation)

New impetus for Greek-Turkish relations

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) A new impetus for Greek-Turkish relations was given yesterday following a letter by Prime Minister George Papandreou addressed to his Turkish counterpart, responding to prior correspondence between the two leaders.

The Greek side proposes the launch of a series of talks on the issue of the continental shelf, within a specific time limit and the option for both sides to resort to the International Court of Justice in The Hague in case of a dead-end.
Papandreou deems the Turkish proposal of establishing a High-level Council of Cooperation important and invites Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pay an official visit to Greece, sometime before summer, in order to set a time framework.
Moreover, the Greek Premier highlights the need for de-escalating tension over the Aegean Sea and stresses that military activity in the area must be avoided since it jeopardizes security and fuels tension. Referring to the pressure exercised on bilateral relations due to immigration flows’ movement, Papandreou reiterates the necessity for Turkey to abide by the Greek-Turkish Readmission Protocol (2001).
The premier concludes by expressing Greece’s support for Turkey’s European perspective, provided that the latter honours its obligations towards the Greek minority in Turkey and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Greece-Turkey Bilateral Relations & Greek-Turkish Rapprochement
[Photo from Papandreou’s visit to Istanbul, Turkey, October, 2009]

French Minister Visits Samos

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) During his visit to the Aegean island of Samos, on Friday Sept 18th, French Immigration Minister Eric Besson, accompanied by Greek Caretaker Interior Minister Spyros Flogaitis, visited the Italian vessel of Frontex and the immigrants’ reception centre, pointed out that Greece is confirming its good name regarding hospitality issues.  Besson was in Samos for a briefing on the situation prevailing in this eastern part of Europe, in light of the meeting today, among European Union Interior Ministers on justice and domestic issues, to discuss the increasing illegal entry of foreigners from the Turkish coast.

Culture & Relaxation on Cyclades Islandes

♦ International Festival of the Aegean @ Syros 
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  For the fifth successive year, Syros in the Cyclades island complex is organising the International Festival of the Aegean at the Apollo Theatre in Hermoupolis.  The festival opens with Puccini’s Tosca on July 1 and runs until July 11.   The Apollo Municipal Theatre (also known as La Piccola Scala) in Hermoupolis is an important landmark and symbol of its financial and cultural prosperity circa mid-19th century. Constructed in1862-1864, it remains to this date one of the oldest indoor theatres of modern times as well as an architectural jewel of Syros.  Hermoupolis, the “Queen of the Cyclades,” is the capital of the island of Syros, the centre of the Aegean Sea and a city of unique history and architecture with countless neoclassical public buildings in marble, mansions with full marble facades and rich decorations.  Prominent amongst these is Hermoupolis’s Town Hall which also houses the town’s Cultural Centre and was designed in the 19^th century by Ernst Ziller. The magnificent buildings, mansions and church throughout Syros attests to the island’s former glory, when in the first half of the 19^th century it became known as an international commercial centre linking Western Europe and the Mediterranean sea to the East. See also: The Spectator (27.5.09) – Grecian jewel 
♦  Dancing @ Naxos 
An eleven-day seminar on Greek Cycladic dances will be hosted on the island of Naxos from July 21-31 (Nisos Naxos 2009).  The seminar is not all about mastering the folklore dances of the Cycladic islands but mostly a journey through the Aegean Sea’s traditions, music, arts and history.   The island of Naxos is the largest and the most fertile in the Cyclades group of islands and an ideal place for vacation. More than 64 villages, most of which are mountainous, cover its slopes. They are well known for their cool climate and their delicious local cuisine.  Nisos Naxos 2009: Programme & Registration
♦ Painting exhibition @ Andros

The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum of Contemporary Art on Andros Island is presenting -for the first time in Greece- an exhibition featuring the work of Belgian painter Paul Delvaux, highlighting his relationship with Greece through myth.  The exhibition “Paul Delvaux and the Antiquity” will open to the public on June 28 and will run until September 27. Andros is the second largest after Naxos island in the Cyclades cluster with rich natural beauties and vegetation, natural springs, torrents and a lot of rivers. For those who love hiking Andros is full of beautiful paths, with streams, small waterfalls and traditional cobble-stone pavements in the villages bringing the visitors in contact with nature.In modern times, the island developed its merchant marine sector with its shipping registry ranking second, after Piraeus in 1939.

Greece: Cultural Heritage Awards

♦ Sustainable Aegean

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The Sustainable Aegean project of the Society for the Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage was one of the seven European projects that was awarded a Grand Prize  on June 5 by the European Commission and Europa Nostra – The Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe (education-training and awareness raising category).  This year, a total of 138 applications and nominations from 24 countries were received in the various categories and assessed in situ by independent experts. The best of these were selected by one of four Heritage Awards Juries in a series of recent meetings. 28 were short-listed to receive an Award, and from these, seven were selected to receive a Grand Prize. Its website offers consultation on legal, administrative and technical matters which concern sustainable growth initiatives to be pursued by the local communities in the Aegean. Athens Plus: Greek NGO candidate for European Heritage Award  (June 5, p. 15)  

♦ Nicopolis

Moreover, the extensive ruins of the city of Nicopolis, spread today across a picturesque, rural area in Epirus, northwest Greece, are some of the best preserved in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The archaeological park of the city of Nicopolis won another Europa Nostra award at this year’s competition in the “Conservation” category.  Greek News Agenda: Nikopolis- The City of Victory 

Aegean Archipelago Portal

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The Foundation of the Hellenic World (IME) has announced the launch of a “Cultural Portal of the Aegean Archipelago” at www.egeonet.gr, which presents the history, culture and natural environment of the islands of the Aegean, from the prehistoric times to date. The site contains information on both the history and culture of each island as well as historic and socio-cultural issues pertaining to the wider area such as shipping, piracy, Aegean archaeology, popular culture and demography.

A Greek Star in the “Alliance”

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Aegean Airlines announced at a press conference held in Athens on Tuesday (26.5) that it was officially accepted as a member of Star Alliance, an international airline network that was established in 1997 to offer customers worldwide reach and a smooth travel experience.

Jaan Albrecht, chief executive of Star Alliance said Aegean Airlines is a welcome addition to the network as Greece is of strategic importance due to its geographic position and an ideal place for vacation but also because Aegean offers high quality services to travellers and has an impeccable reputation for safety.

“Citrus Memories”: Unique Museum on Chios Island

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  A unique museum of citrus fruits is located on the island of Chios, known as “Citrus Memories.” One of three museums of its kind in the world, the “Citrus Memories” is actually a gallery which has several departments, highlighting cultivation, harvesting and trading of citrus fruits on the island of Chios since 1500. Established in 2008, the museum is located in Kampos – an area full of orchards – at the centre of the island. Region of North Aegean: Prefecture of Chios

FRONTEX Guards the EU Borders

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Merchant Marine, Aegean and Island Policy Minister Anastasis Papaligouras recently signed a declaration for the supply of equipment with the European agency  Frontex – an EU body created to coordinate the operational cooperation between member-states in the field of border security – to curb illegal immigration into Europe. The effective handling of illegal migration is a particular concern to the EU and, of course, to Greece, whose national borders are also Schengen area borders in their entirety and EU external limits for the most part. The need for action becomes more urging since, lately, increased illegal migrant flows have been observed at the country’s eastern – land and maritime – borders. Greece participates actively in shaping a common European Surveillance System (EUROSUR) for all external land and maritime borders, in building the European Patrol Network, as well as in promoting the creation of a European Coast Guard, which was a Greek initiative. Frontex executive director Ikka Laitinen said that Greece was doing what it should but was faced with an exceptionally difficult task that had to be carried out in a difficult area and a difficult environment. Athens News Agency: Greece signs deal with Frontex; Hellenic Migration Policy Institute: www.imepo.gr & Statistical Data on Immigrants in Greece; Migrants in Greece: www.migrantsingreece.org; European Commission: Towards a Common Immigration Policy & A maritime Policy for the EU 

Wines of the Times: Crisp, Refreshing and Greek

Eric Asimov, in this winetasting report on Greek wines (New York Times, 06.08.2008 ), notes that much has changed and improved during the last four years: “Greece offers a subtly different take on familiar Mediterranian-style wines, with unfamiliar, indigenous grapes grown nowhere else. From the windswept volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea comes the assyrtiko grape (pictured right), from the Peloponnesus comes the pink-skinned moschofilero grape, which produces highly floral wines that can often have a rosy tinge to them. And there are so many others, like the ancient athiri, the light, citrus-imbued roditis and the textured savatiano.” FOR MORE LOOK AT: http://events.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/dining/reviews/06wine.html?scp=3&sq=greece&st=cse

The Movie “Mama Mia” in Poland

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The movie “Mamma Mia!” on screens in Poland from August 29. The movie “Mamma Mia!” achieved the biggest opening ever for a movie musical in the United States  last month month. At $27.6 million, ‘Mamma Mia!’ beat out ‘Hairspray’ which opened with $27.5 million a few years ago. To create the enchanting – yet imaginary – island of Kalokairi, film shootings took place on the islands Skopelos, Skiathos and on Damouchari beach in Pelion area during August and September 2007. Most of the filming was done in Skopelos, were locations included Kastani beach, Agios Ioannis, Amaranto and Nisi Glisteri. Greece has always had a long and spectacular love affair with the international film making community. The need for new images in the film industry has led to a boom in optical effects and the quest for visually pristine locations. Greece has this visual wealth of natural landscapes to offer in regions like Macedonia, Epirus, Peloponnese, and of course the islands in the Aegean, the Sporades islands and the Ionian seas. Since 1974, the Greek Film Centre supports the production and promotion of Greek films and fosters the participation of Greek producers in foreign productions. in this context, the Hellenic Film Commission Office (www.hfco.gr) provides every possible service for filming in Greece. Skopelos Island: Skopelos Mamma Mia Blog Secretariat General of Information: World Media on Greece – Lifestyle 

A Unique National Marine Park in Greece

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)    The Mediterranean Monk Seal also known as Monachus Monachus, is Europe’s most endangered marine mammal, and is among the six most endangered mammals in the world.  Greece has allocated a vast area for the preservation of the Monachus Monachus and its habitat in the Aegean Sea. The Greek National Sea Park of Alonissos – Northern Sporades(www.alonissos-park.gr), which extends around the Northern Sporades island complex, and is the main action ground of the Hellenic Society for the study and protection of the monk seal (Mom). It should be stated that legislation in Greece is very strict towards the hunting of the seal and that the public in general is very much aware and supportive of the effort for the preservation of the Monachus Monachus. The National Marine Park of Alonnisos – Northern Sporades was the first designated Marine Park in the country and is currently the largest marine protected area in Europe (approximately 2,260 Km2). Besides the sea area, the Park includes Alonnisos (www.alonissos.gr), six smaller islands (Peristera, Kyra Panagia, Gioura, Psathura, Piperi and Skantzoura), as well as 22 uninhabited islets and rocky outcrops. The Northern Sporades island-complex stretches out into the Aegean, east of the Pelion peninsula. On the serene Sporades, life still continues along its old rhythms. Tourism has brought prosperity to these islands without affecting much of their traditional lifestyle, especially on the island of Alonissos.  National Marine Park of Alonnisos – Northern Sporades: Photo Gallery 

Books about Greece: “Sea of Many Returns” & more

Ithaka and Odysseus’ journeys have inspired many writers. Arnold Zable’s new novel, “Sea of Many Returns,” charts more recent comings and goings from Ithaca, explores the sense of physical and emotional journeying, and continues the renowned author’s fascination with the migrant experience.  Xanthe is compelled to return to the birthplace of her father, Manoli, and her maternal grandfather, Mentor, prompted by family and literary associations. Xanthe is translating Mentor’s manuscript, an account of leaving Ithaca and his subsequent life in Australia. The book takes the reader to modern-day Ithaca, to its mountains, its villages and its harbours, and into the houses of its people.  Secretariat General of Information: Books – Living in Greece  

Festivals in Greece

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Cosmopolis Festival: The International Cosmopolis Festival (July 16-20) takes place in the city of Kavala, with ethnic music and dance groups from Albania, Spain, Malaysia, Russia, Serbia, Nepal, Puerto Rico, Tajikistan and Greece. In addition to the concerts and dance performances, visitors may also participate in several workshops, watch films from the participating countries, as well as taste their ethnic dishes.
Festival of the Aegean : On the island of Syros, the fourth annual Festival of the Aegean is taking place from July 9 to 19, presenting classical operas and musical concerts. Famous artists from over the world perform in the island’s Municipal Theatre called “La Piccola Scala.”

Greece: Island of Ikaria

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The island of Ikaria is named after the famous myth of Ikaros, who drowned in the surrounding sea when he tried to fly as far as the gods and got burnt by the sun. This island of the Eastern Aegean Sea sports wild beauty, breathtaking panoramas, therapeutic hot springs, quaint villages, truly unspoiled seas as well as superior tourist accommodation. A rarity amongst the islands, Ikaria has remained true to herself and to the ways of her people- the friendly and humorous Ikarians. Tourism on Ikaria reflects a balance between nature, freedom, time and development.   For the successive year, the Icarus Festival for Dialogue between Cultures is taking place on the island. This year the festival is dedicated to violin playing.

Folegandros Fun Club

(GREK NEWS AGENDA)    Folegandros is a welcoming small island in the Aegean that has led to the creation of its own fan club, as visitors keep coming, year after year, to meet friends from all over the world. They report that they remain spellbound by its beauty and by the hospitality of its inhabitants who seem to consider visitors as honorary guests in a family reunion.

Once again this summer, from July 5 to 20, the Media dell’ Arte company, in co-operation with the Municipality of Folegandros, is sponsoring “Folegandros Festivities 2008.” The Media dell’ Arte company consists of artists and academics who form a non profitable organisation. The group has put together a cultural project called “Isolario” which aims at keeping the small Cycladic islands’ cultural heritage alive through various cultural activities which take place every year on the islands of Folegandros, Sikinos, Donousa, Amorgos and Kimolos.

Greek Island Skyros is not a destination of mass-tourism

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)     The island of Skyros lies in the Northern Aegean, the largest and most isolated of the Northern Sporades. The island is more or less divided into two halves: the fertile north, with its green, rolling hillsides and the barren, mountainous region in the south. The capital “Skyros” or “Hora” is built amphitheatrically on the slopes of a hill, and in the shadow of a medieval castle and the Byzantine monastery of St George of Skyros. Beyond the capital there’s a wonderful, long, sandy beach at Magazia and several beaches along the west coast at Atsitsa.  

Halki International Seminars 2008

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The central theme for the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy’s (www.eliamep.gr) 2008 Halki International Seminars will be “Regional Flashpoints and Transatlantic Policies.” Discussions will concentrate on assessing current transatlantic strategies and drafting future policies for the stabilization of turbulent regions and the resolution of conflicts. Applications are welcome from policy-makers, academics, journalists, diplomats, members of parliament and young researchers. Deadline for applications: 18 April 2008   The Halki International Seminars have been held annually since 1990 on the Aegean island of Halki. The Seminars promote the exchange of ideas among “young leaders” from the EU, the US, SE Europe, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and Middle East.