\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWith its extensive coastline and islands, Greece has excellent seafood. Traditonal dishes include grilled octopus, astakomacaronada (spaghetti with lobster) and achinosalata (sea-urchin eggs in lemon and olive oil). Lamb shares a same popularity as it is easily farmed here. Look for Oven-baked lamb with potatoes, moussaka, paidakia (grilled lamb chops) or Giouvetsi (lamb baked in a clay pot). Real Greek food has little in common with what is offered in Greek restaurants around the world. You can find certain staples that are considered more like junk food in Greece, such as gyros and souvlaki. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tPopular appetizers (meze) include Dolmadakia (stuffed grapevine leaves), deep-fried vegetables, spanakopita (spinach pie), Saganaki (a fried cheese), Taramosalata (fish roe mixed with boiled potatoes), feta cheese and Tzatziki (yogurt with cucumber and garlic puree). A mixed meze plate is called a pikilía. A real Greek salad is essentially a tomato salad with cucumber, red onion, feta cheese, and kalamata olives, dressed with olive oil. Mezes are often enjoyed with a glass of Ouzo, an anise-flavored aperitif, or Tsipouro, the Greek Grappa. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreek desserts are usually heavy nuts and honey, such as the classic baklava, finikia, (cookie topped with chopped nuts), Loukoumades (small crusty donuts) and Galaktoboureko (custard baked between layers of phyllo). Greek yogurt, much thicker than what we accustomed too, is served with honey as a dessert. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreek coffee is prepared with the grounds left in. It is a thick, strong black coffee, served in a small cup either sweetened or unsweetened. During the hot summer months try a frappé, a shaken iced instant coffee called with or without milk, sweetened or unsweetened. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tWine is enjoyed with most meals. Almost every taverna has there own home wine which is usually of good quality. Specialty wines include the whites from Santorini and reds from Naoussa and Drama; the Imiglyko half-sweet red wine; the distinctive Retsina dry white wine with hint of pine resin used to seal the flasks and bottles.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\t\t\t <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tCulture<\/div>\n \n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece is credited with the birth and development of science, literature, architecture, the fine arts, philosophy and democracy. The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years, from Mycenaean Greece, into Classical Greece, the Byzantine Empire and finally the Greek War of Independence. Greek culture was also influenced by the Roman Empire, Turkey, Italy, the Balkans, and the British Empire. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tByzantine art featured an abstract or symbolic approach, as opposed to classical art where being as realistic as possible was the main goal. Later the Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting. The Heptanese School of painting succeeded the Cretan school, showing an increasing Western European artistic influence and becoming less religious. Modern Greek painting began to be developed around the time of Romanticism. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece has a remarkably rich and resilient literary tradition. The first recorded works in the western literary tradition are the poems of Homer and Hesiod. Early Greek lyric poetry was responsible for defining the lyric genre as it is understood today in western literature. The Byzantine era had strong Christian influence. Modern Greek literature took shape with the independence of Greece. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe tradition of philosophy in Ancient Greece accompanied its literary development. The works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek philosophers profoundly influenced Classical thought, the Islamic Golden Age, and the Renaissance. Hippocrates is referred to as the father of Western medicine. Thales of Miletus is regarded by many as the father of science. Pythagoras was a mathematician often described as the father of numbers. Other great Greek minds developed astronomy, cartography and physics. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tFolkloric traditions go back into ancient times where choruses were performed for entertainment, celebration and spiritual reasons. Greek folk music is found all throughout Greece and styles can vary from various regions or islands. In the 19th century popular songs were the so-called Athenian serenades. The 20th century saw the birth of the styles Rebetiko initially associated with the urban lower and poor classes, the orchestral Éntekhno with elements from Greek folk rhythm and melody, and Laïkó which is a modernized form of Rebetiko. Laïkó music is mostly accompanied by the Greek instrumental bouzouki, an instrument of the string family. Other instrument used in the history of Greek music include the guitar, flute, sistrum, timpani (drum), psaltirio, Sirigs, lyre, cymbals, keras and kanonaki. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece dances run deep in the country’s folklore as well. In the Mycenean period, the ancient Greeks believed that dancing was invented by the Gods and therefore associated it with religious ceremony. Popular dances of this period included the Syrtos, Geranos, Mantilia, Saximos, Pyrichios, and Kordakas. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tCertain topics are considered very sensitive or taboo so best to avoid them. These topics include the Macedonian and Turkish issues; do not degrade anything related to Ancient Greece and the Byzantine Empire; completely avoid the subject of the military junta of the late 1960s-mid 1970s; and the Cyprus civil war of 1974. Pay attention to some hand gestures: Greeks put out their entire hand, palm open, five fingers extended out, like signaling someone to stop. This is called "mountza" and means get lost, or worse. So when refusing something offered to you make sure to put your palm down to refuse, not up.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\t\t\t <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tGeography<\/div>\n \n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece is a country in Southern Europe but politically also considered part of Western Europe. Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tAthens is the capital and the largest city in the country. Administrative divisions consist of thirteen regions subdivided into a total of 325 municipalities. The regions and municipalities are fully self-governed. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tEighty percent of Greece consists of mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m. Western Greece contains a number of lakes and wetlands and is dominated by the Pindus mountain range. Northeastern Greece features another high-altitude mountain range, the Rhodope range. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Greek Islands are a collection of over 6,000 islands and islets that belong to Greece. Only 227 of the islands are inhabited. Crete is the largest and most populous island. The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the Saronic Islands in the Saronic gulf near Athens
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the Cyclades occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the North Aegean islands off the west coast of Turkey
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the Dodecanese in the southeast between Crete and Turkey
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the Sporades off the coast of Euboea
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the Ionian Islands located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t– the Cretan Islands that surround the island of Crete<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\t\t\t <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tHistory<\/div>\n \n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhile the area around Attica was inhabited during the Upper Paleolithic period (30000–10000 BC), the first advanced civilizations in Greece began with the Cycladic in the Cyclades Islands, the Minoan in Crete and Santorini, and later on the mainland (3000–1200 BC). <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe next 400 years are referred to as the Greek Dark Ages, as the Cycladic and Minoan civilizations fell into decline following the arrival of the Dorians, who simply absorbed the later into their culture. Two of the most celebrated works of Greek literature, the Illiad and the Odyssey by Homer, were written during that period. At the same time we saw the rise of the Greek city-states and Greek settlements were also established in southern Italy and other coastal areas of the Mediterranean. The 5th through 4th centuries BC is known as Classical Greece when much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, scientific thought, literature, and philosophy developed. The Empire reached its climax during the rule of Alexander the Great, a period known as the Hellenistic era. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe empire broke up after Alexander's death, and Greece was eventually annexed by the growing Roman Empire. Although weakened politically, Greek Civilization continued to flourish under Roman rule and heavily influenced Roman culture. Christianity arrived in Greece during the 1st century AD. The Byzantine Empire existed for more than a thousand years, from the 4th century to 1453, when the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christian worship and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. During the 13th century, a weakened Byzantine Empire was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Greece fell under Ottoman Turkish rule. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tOver the next centuries the Greeks tried several times to take arms against the Empire in vain but a strong independent and unified movement broke out in 1821 which led to the Greek War of Independence. Aided by three Great Powers, Russia, the United Kingdom and France, Greece finally claimed its Independence in 1830. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Greece gradually annexed neighboring islands and territories. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece was invaded by Mussolini's military in 1941 during WWII. After liberation, a civil war broke out in 1946 between communist rebels and royalists, ending with the communist rebels defeated in 1949. By joining NATO in 1952, Greece experienced rapid economic growth and social change. A right-wing military dictatorship staged a coup in 1967. Democracy returned in 1974 with a parliamentary republic. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece rejoined NATO in 1980, joined the EU in 1981 and adopted the euro as its currency in 2001. The country's tourism industry returned in the 80s and began to experience remarkable economic growth in the 1990s. In 2004, the nation hosted the Summer Olympic Games in Athens. The Greek government debt crisis began in 2009. These austerity measures taken by the Eurozone have proved extremely unpopular with the Greek public, precipitating demonstrations and civil unrest.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\t\t\t <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNature<\/div>\n \n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSome of the national parks are Parnassos, Iti, Prespes, Vikos-Aoos, Parnitha, Samaria and Mount Olympus. In Greek mythology, Olympus was regarded as the home of the Twelve Olympian gods of the ancient Greek world. It formed itself after the gods defeated the titans in the Titan War, and soon the palace was inhabited by the gods. It is the setting of many Greek mythical stories. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tGreece is one of the most bio-diverse countries of Europe in terms of flora with some 5,500 species of flora. Common flowers include hyacinth, narcissus, gladioli, anemones, lilies, irises, cyclamens, and tulips. Forests are covered primarily with aspen, pines, conifers as well as chestnuts and beeches. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe wildlife of Greece comprises about 900 different species. On land you can spot the brown bear, wolf, marten, wildcat, roe deer, wild goats, jackals, and hedgehogs. In the sky you can observe ducks, falcons, buzzards, pelicans, ibises, cormorants, herons and egrets. Marine life includes dolphins, whales, flying fish, swordfish, tuna, sunfish, and the endangered Mediterranean monk seals and the Loggerhead sea turtle. The National Marine Park on Zakynthos is the prime nesting area for loggerhead sea turtles.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\t\t\t <\/p>\n \n\t\t\tSports<\/div>\n \n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn ancient Greece, wrestling was the number one sport of the Olympic Games and it remains a favorite sport to this day. The forms of wrestling we know today as Greco-Roman and Freestyle was first developed by the ancient Greeks. Wrestling was part of a soldier's training regimen. Wrestling is still one of the most significant Olympic sports in Greece, which has produced champions. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tFootball is the most popular sport in Greece. Its national governing body is the Hellenic Football Federation founded in 1926, which is member of FIFA and UEFA. Another very popular sport in Greece is basketball. Volleyball and water polo also enjoy quite a bit of popularity. There are many other sports practiced in the country, such as kickboxing, weightlifting, athletics, sailing and rowing, swimming and diving, tennis and handball.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\t\t\t <\/p>\n | | | | | |
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