Tilos: Sparkling and Verdant
Four hours away from Rhodes by boat, it is today what that island was 30 years ago – a ‘real’, unspoiled Aegean delight
The Dwarf Elephants of Tilos
In 1971 Nikolaos Symeonidis, professor of Geology and Paleontology at the University of Athens, discovered in a cave on Tilos the bones of over 38 dwarf elephants which flourish down to about 3500 years ago. The Goulandris Museum is currently showing some of these in the exhibition “Dwarf and Giant Elephants” as its contribution to the International Campaign for the Preservation of the African Elephant.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Greek
Now that the political posters have been pulled down and the fliers swept up and the plastic flags furled and put away for the third time in a year, maybe it is time to take stock.
Getting Steamed Up on Nisyros
A geothermal energy project on a small Dodecanese island is arousing antagonism among the otherwise friendly and hospitable inhabitants.
“Unpredictable, Ungovernable and Irrelevant”
When the US ambassador to Greece delivered a letter to Defense Minister Tzannetakis from his American counterpart Dick Cheney advising that the Ellinikon and Nea Makri military bases would soon be dismantled, the extraordinary thing about this casual exchange is that it passed almost unnoticed.
Application Form
In an effort to recruit new blood before the April 8 elections, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK, distributed a large number of application forms throughout the country to people who might wish to join the Movement.
The Pontian Greeks of Kazakhstan
The recent influx of Pontians into Greece from the Soviet Union is growing daily. Over 20,000 are expected to arrive this year. The flight of the Pontians after the 1913 Turkish massacres into the Caucasus and their later removal into Central Asia is a little known but epic chapter in the 20th century catalogue of massively displaced populations.
Philhellenes from Switzerland
Though still recovering from the Napoleonic Wars, the Swiss from Zurich to Geneva, Catholic and Protestant, united to play a low-keyed but invaluable part in the Greek War of Independence.
In the Cradle of Chaos
Everyone seems to know that Greece is the cradle of democracy. It is common knowledge. It is a statement that foreigners like to make when they come here and want to give a good impression.
Grounds for Hope on the Green Front
Growing concern for cleaner air and tidier beaches, wider attention given to the plight of the Loggerhead Turtle, international support for the Prespa Lakes project, and now with a ‘Green’ in Parliament and a drive to raise funds for the establishment of a conservationist center in Plaka by the Elliniki Etairia: local news of the environment is looking more hopeful.