Supporting National Parks
Through persistent lobbying, one of the oldest Greek organizations in environmental activity, The Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, fights to preserve the ecological inheritance.
A Star is Stolen
Athenians last month swallowed hard when they heard that members of an Albanian mafia were out to kidnap gold medal champion weight-lifter Pyrrhus Dimas. Although born and raised in Albania (he only received a Greek passpost just before flying off to Barcelona), he is an ethnic Greek, and judging from his first name, probably of royal Epirot descent.
The Castle on the Back of “Kolokotronis”
Too wealthy and strategically located, this land was anything but a fairyland. Perched on a summit, Karytaina Castle, now exudes feelings of timelessness and peace.
Greeks and Yugo-Macedonians in Gloomy Deadlock
The author of this article toured Greece’s neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as Greece’s northern frontier regions. After extensive interviews with the Republic’s political leaders and other influential personalities, he came to the conclusion that the two countries are characterized by mutual suspicion, intransigence and unwillingness to compromise. He also concludes that for the time being there is no hope of a breakthrough on the dispute over the neighboring Republic’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’.
A Stroll Down from the Acropolis
The essence of Greece is deeply rooted in Plaka. Here all those periods of history – Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Neoclassical – are jumbled together. Having paid our respects to the gods and the ancients who worshipped them, we can now celebrate the variety and continuity of Greek life by visiting more modest monuments and museums that are well worth seeing.
Herculean Effort
There have been promising developments in the ongoing saga of the Freaks and the Jerks, the lovely people who live in beautiful countries on either side of a sparkling blue sea but who can’t seem to see eye to eye on anything except the kind of coffee they drink, the board games they play and a common fondness for doner kebab, imam bayldi and ekmek kataif.
Trekking Across Taygetus
Between Laconia and Outer Mani, Mount Taygetus displays its Pendadaktylo summit line, a roller-coaster of pinnacles and passes.
Interview with Niki Goulandris, member of the Greek delegation to the Rio Earth Summit
Niki Goulandris is known as a dynamic figure and an achiever in the campaigns for environmental awareness in Greece as well as in Europe.
Hania: The Uneasy Presence of the Past
The old harbor at Hania with its slightly askew Turkish lighthouse, mole, mosque of the Janissaries, its magnificent Venetian arsenals and its still operative fishing fleet, together with the medieval maze of Old Town that faces onto it make up a living masterpiece of the Mediterranean heritage. Needless to say, the debate over its preservation and restoration is an important and heated one.
Possibly a Compromise
The Athenian’s political-diplomatic correspondent travelled twice to the neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia within a month. This second time, his meetings included exclusive interviews with President Kiro Gligorov, President of Parliament Stojan Andov, Foreign Undersecretary Aleksandr Dimitrov, and the local Albanian leadership.