Greece - Info
Offiz. Country name: Greek (Hellenic) republic
Into national language: Elliniki Dimokratia
Language: Greek (95.5)
Capital: Athens
Inhabitant: 10.45 m.
Country area: 131 940 km ²
Argument to the MEZ: +1 H
Currency: Euro
tel. primary: 0030
The people
Population: 10.454.019 inhabitants (national census of 1995).
Share of the sexes: 49.2% men, 50.8% women.
Town population: 58.9% half municipal population: 42.8% rural population: 28.3%
population density: 77.75 inhabitants/sq. km.
Religion membership: 97.6% of the citizens are Greek orthodox, 1.3% Moslems 0.4% Roman Catholic, 0.1% Protestant, 0.6%, other, inclusive Jews. The free religion education is established in the constitution. Autokephal is the Greek orthodox church the ecumenical patriarchy and the dogma concerns what is subordinate to churches as all orthodox one. The autonomous monastic republic of Athos existed in which lies on the saint mountain of Athos, on the peninsula Chalkidiki in Macedonia.
Language: The national language is Greek. She is the most ancient language of Europe and moves a strong element of national continuity, handed down for 3.500 years. The modern Greek language counts on the same idiom used by Homer. The Greek alphabet and the Greek language have influenced all western languages lastingly.
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Athens
775,000 inhabitants
More than 3.1 million people live in greeces capital. The town lies at the coast of Attica, surrounded by up to 1400 m. high mountains and hills. Only in 1834 Athens became a capital, where almost a third of the Greek inhabitants live today.
Sights:
Modern Athens
Sintagma square with luxury business buildings and hotels, the parliament (20 minute changing of the guard) and the national garden; Athens street (the empire of the street vendors;) the cableway to the Likavitos hill and the Plaka (old town with boutiques, taverns, restaurants, and the true Greek atmosphere!)
Ancient Athens
Sacred temple district of Akropolis with Parthenon, Nike temple, propylaea, Erechtheion and museum; the excavation site below the Akropolis where a district was broken off because of the Roman Agora (market place), Dionysus theater; Kerameikos cemetery and museum; Cloister Dafni; and numerous museums with ancient exhibits (archeological national museum, museum of ancient art and Greek historical artifacts, Byzantine museum, museum of the ancient theater and others).
Piraeus, Greece's biggest port, has practically grown together with Athens. It's home port of large portions of the Greek tankers and merchant fleet. From Piraeus the ferry traffic goes to the Greek islands of the Agian, and is overflown with transfer tourists.
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Athos
3,000 inhabitants
The autonomous monastic republic on the eastern of the three fingerlike Chalkidike peninsulas has the status of an theocratic republic under Greek rule since 1920. Men above 21 years or younger men with the company an at least 30-year old can apply for a visit approval to the German consulate. The cloister administration then decides on a stay permission, which 10 daily are approved for maximum four days. Organized day tours are, however, also offered for "normal tourists". Although the number of the monks has fell back greatly (in the 15/16th Cent. about 40.000 monks lived in 40 cloisters!), still Athos remains the intellectual center of the orthodox faith.
Megisti Lavra in the southeast is the oldest and perhaps most beautiful cloister on the peninsula (10th Cent.)
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Delphi
2,500 inhabitants
Delphi was the home of the oracle already in the 2nd millennium B.C.. Even foreign rulers sought her advice. After a heyday after the 6th Cent. B.C. the place became almost meaningless. Lootings and natural disasters led to the destruction of Delphi. Kastri arose there in the Middle Ages, in 1892 it was transferred by a kilometer to the west to make excavations possible. Today, this place has assumed the name Delphi again and lives in first line of the tourism.
One reaches the museum which contains exhibits of the Greek antiquity in great fullness from Delphi on the way to the excavation sites first. The Gymnasium (old competition place), the Kastalian source (Cleansing in front of the oracle), the Marmaria terrace and the treasure house of Massalia still lie in the surrounding of the "saint's district" with an old Athena temple. The Osios-Lukas cloister still occupied by monks, is an great building about 40 km away from the excavation sites.
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Kavala
60,000 inhabitants
The ferry port in the northeast of Greece is center of the tobacco industry. The town is surrounded by a hill landscape at whose slopes you find the old town Panagia. A small Byzantine fort lies over the town since the 16th Cen. containing the birthplace of the founder of the last Egyptian king dynasty (Mohammed Ali.)
Philippi, located northwest of Kavala, has the remains of early Christian churches, a Roman forum, Akropolis and theaters (there. B.C.) inspect.
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Corinth
25,000 inhabitants
This town lies between Peleponnes and north Greek country at the south bank of the golf of Corinth. The 6.5 km. wide remaining country connection should already be pierced with a channel in pre-Christian time.
Wine is made in the surrounding areas already since ancient times, fruit and vegetable are grown as well.
Sights:
The excavation sites of the ancient Corinth are in Paleio Corinth (old Corinth) with Apollontemple, Agora, Nymphaion (spring house) of the agony reindeers, theater and museum.
The rest of the ancient castle Akrocorinth lie on the 575m. high castle mountain.
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Larissa
115,000 inhabitants
The district capital in average Greek country is the center of an amazing food and semi-luxury item industry. The great economic importance in pre-Christian time came to an simultaneous end at the beginning of the Roman Empire.
To the north of Larissa lies Greece's highest mountain, Mount Olympus, which was admired in the antiquity as the seat of the gods and serves fundamentally more secular purposes today(mountaineering, skiing).
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Patras
155,000 inhabitants
Patras became the greatest city of the Peleponnes because of the Corinth gulf right next to it. The port makes the ferry connections to Italy, it is an very important port, because of the wine trade and several navigation companies.
With his splendid masked balls and moves in historical outfits Patras is regarded as a stronghold of the Greek carnival.
The church of Andreas contains relics of the crucified saint of Andreas.
The fortress Kastro Moria (15th Cent) is near Patras, the excavation sites of ancient Greek history and the rack-railroad by the ravine of Vouraikos.
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Saloniki
385,000 inhabitants
The second greatest town of Greece lies in Macedonia east of the Chalkidike peninsula. Saloniki (also Thessaloniki) has the biggest port to Piraeus. It wasn't until 1912 that the town got released from the Turkish rulers.
Sights:
The Turkish citadel with powerful walls and towers is something you just have to see, as well the emblem of the town.
Premia of Georgios (minaret, mosaic ornamentations), archeological museum and the basilica premia Dimitrios (with marble columns and frescos), the Agia Sofia (8th Cent.)is furthermore remarkable .
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Sparta
12,000 inhabitants
The most powerful town of Greece whose residents were confessed by her "Spartan" way of living (full of privation) is represented by this insignificant small town. The few, to the north of the town got ancient ruins and the Artemis temple are interesting next to the archeological museum of the town.
The open-air museum is of greater importance in the surroundings of Mistra. This ancient place spreads out over the steep slopes of a conical mountain, to the top of a Franconian fortress of the 13th Cent. The numerous historical buildings (palaces, cloisters, churches, museum), are partly got well.
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Aegean islands
The Agian Islands are Thasos, Samothraki, Limnos and Agios Efstratios as well as the east agian islands Lesbos, Psara, Chios, Ikaria, Samos and some rather smaller islands. The Greek (legal) intention to extend the 6 mile zone around the east Aegean islands to 12 miles because of mineral resources suspected in the sea brought Turkey to political tensions once again.
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Dodekanes (southern Sporades)
Dodekanes actually means "twelve islands" although it is clearly more. The islands of the northern Dodekanes include Farmakonisi, Kalimnos, Telendos, Pserimos, to Lipsi, Leros, of Patmos about Arki, Agathonisi, and Giali caress till to Nisiros, in which you don't call the smaller islands.
The southern Dodekanes contain the islands of Simi, Tilos, Alimia, Chalki, Saria, corrie pathos, Kasos and Rhodes. Particularly Rhodes whose port isn't guarded of the world miracle, the 31m. high giant of Rhodes, destroyed by an earthquake but of red deers (emblems of the island) today any more has become a many frequented tourist aim.
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Eubea (island)
The Greek island second biggest to Crete is only 35m. away from the mainland, separated in the narrowest place. A bridge leads to the mountainous and vegetation rich island in this place. Being able to inspect by bus the sights like the Turkish fortress, churches and different museums from the capital Chalkis.
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Ionic islands
Counting Corfu in the north, Paxi and Antipaxi Lefkas, the Ulysses island Ithaca, Kefallinia, Zakynthos as well as numerous smaller islands. Corfu is particularly favored as an vacation island because of its scenic beauty, the beaches and the historical buildings (Venetian time) in which the other islands also have to offer something in this regard.
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Crete (island)
The biggest Greek island is covered by mountains which achieve a height of 2.456m. While the southern coast falls steeply into the sea, the northern coast goes flatly into the sea, that's also why the towns and ports arose here. As a center of the Minoan culture the island is a treasure trove for all the historically interested.
About 115.000 inhabitants live in the islands capital Iraklion (also known as Heraklion) primarily of the tourism. Here the tourist currents bundle themselves by the big ferry port and the international airport.
Crete contains remarkable places with almost 30 meters of stout fastening plants from the 15th Cent. for the fortress at the port, the oldest Venetian church of the town premium (of Markos), the icon museum, the historical museum as well as the greatest center of attraction the archeological museum of the town. Exhibits from a period of 5.000 years ago organized and chronologically shown, contain three quarters of all Minoan finds, including the most important ones from the king palaces of Knossos, Phaistos and Malia and Kato Sakros.
The island offers innumerable museums, palaces, churches with valuable frescos, cloisters and other makings of Greek, Roman and Venetian origin, and as a special attraction the ruins of the Minoan king palaces like Kato Sakros at the East coast, Phaistos in the south or this one of Knossos, south of Iraklion on the Kefala hill.
The last-named, almost 4.000 years old palace consisted of 1.300 rooms of which approx. 800 are recognizable again. It was spread over an area of about 20.000 m ² and was lived in by thousands of people.
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Cyklades (archipelago)
After ancient ideas this archipelago is circular (Greek "kyklos" = circle) ordered around the island Delos, center of the ancient Goddess.
Of more than the 50 islands in the Kyklades, about 20 of them are inhabited, and they fulfill the exact vision which anyone would want, sunbathe sea and an paradisiacal beach with the atmosphere of narrow alleys and romantic tavern goods.
The favorite islands are Mykonos, Naxos and Paros which is very popular with young tourists. Santorin is also a popular tourist aim in the south. Furthermore Donoussa, Koufonisi, Keros, Schinousa, Iraklia, Amorgos, Anafi, Ios, Sikinos, Folegandros, Sifnos, Siros, Tinos, Andros and numerous smaller islands are part of the archipelago.
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North of Sporades
The numerous islands of this group lie scattered "sporadically" , as for the northeastern of Eubea, the biggest Greek island. The four greatest ones are Skiathos with very beautiful beaches, Skopelos, Alonissos and Skiros.
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Saronic islands
Spates is a part of this archipelago, the bay in front of Athens, in the south, the island salamis, scene of the famous naval battle against the Persians followed by Hydra, Poros, Angistri, Aegina and direct to the north in front of Athens.
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Current climate (April):
Temperature: 15.3 Celsius (Athens (107 m))
Continuos Raining Days: 8 days
Precipitation: 23.0 mm
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Greece -- national boundaries/shoreline
National boundaries
1,210 km
Shoreline
13,676 km
Territorial water
6 sea miles
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History
(the detailed notices you for short representation)
The history of Greece goes back to 4000 years or more. Through great expeditions into the Medittteranian hr expeditions equipped the residents of the mainland, the ancient Greeks, and the Mediterranean and the black investigated sea up to the Atlantic and the Caucasus mountains. One of these expeditions, the siege of Troja, is described in the first largest European work, Homers Ilias. In the complete Mediterranean, in Asia Minor and at the north African coast numerous Greek settlements were founded because of the journeys to the opening up of new markets. (Greece consisted 5 Jh V of city states during the classic period . for Chr) .; the greatest one was followed to Athens by Sparta and Theben. Determined spirit of independence and liberty love helped the Greek to the victory over the Persians into battles which has had influence on the world history one: Marathon, Thermopylen, salamis and Platäa.
In the second half of the 4th century B.C. the Greek conquered, world confessed large, the greatest one portion for this one led for this by Alexander at that time and looked for him to hellenisieren.
146 B.C. Greece fell to the Romans. 330 n . Chr. emperor Konstantin transferred the capital of the Roman empire to Konstantinopel and the Byzantine empire gave this reasons for later than "Byzantine empire" with that or got known to Byzantium briefly. Byzantium transformed the language inheritance for the ancient Greece into a strap for the new christian civilization.
1453 fell to the Turks the Byzantine empire and the Greek remain almost 400 for years under the Otto manic rule. They kept her language, her religion and her national identity during this time. On 25 March 1821 the Greek rose against the Turks and won her independence to 1828. Since the new state contained only a tiny part of the country, the fight for the liberation of all areas lived in by Greek went on. 1864 kammen the ionic islands to Greece back, 1881 parts of Epirus and Thessalien. Kreta, the Ostägäis and Makedonien joined 1913 and west Thrakien 1919. to the II. Became World War given also the Dodekanes islands 1948 back to Greece.
During the II. Greece defeated the Italians World War, however, came despite intense resistance under the crew of the German armed forces. Following this the Resistance organized himself. The following civil war demanded broader victims from Greece. Greece is a parliamentary Präsidialdemokratie since the case of the military dictatorship (1967-1974) and the abolition of the monarchy (1975.)
Greece became a member of the NATO and 1981 for a member for the EC 1952. 1992 Greece has joined the WEU. Furthermore Greece is a member of the UN and of the IMF, the OSZE, the OECD, the Council of Europe and a different one western institutions. Became the Western European orientation of the country by the ratification of the contract of Maastrich with 270 of the 300 voices in the Greek parliament confirmed.
Type of state: The type of state as a parliamentary democracy the president of the republic is at whose top 1975 says goodbye and 1986 novelliert determines the valid constitution of the country. Performed this becomes the legislature of the parliament from a chamber (Vouli) consists -- representatives of the people belong to 300, the executive of the government and the president of the republic. The secretary president whose government the confidence of the parliament shall enjoy has extended authorities. The justice is independent. The civil, political and human rights are established in the constitution.
The president of the republic is square lot of Papoulias. Secretary president is Kostas Karamanlis, chairman the ND.
Flag: The Greek flag consists with a white cross on blue reason at the upper left Enke of four of white and five blue ones horizontal stripes.
Educational system: Nine-year compulsory school attendance. Free education at the public schools and at the universities. 4.5% of the gross national product are intended for the education.
Health service: 80% of the population are provided by two health insurance companies: the IKA for worker and employee and the OGA for the employee in the farming.
Defense: 6.4% of the gross national product go to the defense budget. 1997 the costs were 4.800 billions US dollars.
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Geography
Greece lies at the southeastern edge of Europe and has a total area of 131.990 sq km. It borders on Turkey in the north at Albania, the former Yugoslavian republic Makedonien (FYROM) and Bulgaria, and in the east in a total length of
1.228 km.
Ground composition: This one usually extending to the sea and forming peninsulas or island chains mountainously with mountain ranges. Greece is a principally stony country existingly from mountains and islands with a very rugged coast, lain at the most southern edge of the Balkanhalbinsel. Have to be described more than two thirds of the country than hilly or mountainous. The pin DOS massif extends crossways over the mainland of the northwest to the southeast.
The coastal length of the country is 4.000 km, the 9.841 islands by which 114 are lived in, wise another 11.000 km of coast open. The highest mountain is the Mount Olympus with 2.917 m after the mythology seat of the twelve gods. The longest river is the Aliakmon with 297 km.
Agriculturally productive land: 23% arable land, 40% meadows and pastureland, 20% forest and woodlands, 9% other.
Climate: Mediterranean climate. Hot and dry, in the winter mild in the summer. Rains mostly in fall and winter.
Flora: Trees: primarily white poplars, cypresses, sweet chestnuts, spruces, pines, firs and olive trees. Greece is particularly richly how anemones, Veichen, tulips, narcissi and many others, to cultivated and wild flowers which are mentioned also in the Greek mythology.
Fauna: All manners happening in the Mediterranean. Game: Wild boar, bear, wildcat, brown squirrel, jackal, fox, red deer, wolf. A rare white goat (named Kri-Kri) comes onto Kreta. There are 358 bird species. Two thirds of this are hikers. The golden eagle and the imperial eagle as well as different manners have to be mentioned by falcons under the predators. Beyond this gives pelican, pheasant, partridge, woodcock and nightingale a variety of birds like hawk, owl.
Sea fauna: About 246 sea animals can be found in the Greek oceans. Under the best known ways the Meeräsche, the lobster, are the prawn, the crab, the oyster, the mussel and the cockle. Dolphins still appear in the Greek oceans. River fish are rare apart from trout.
Time: 1 hour before MEZ.
Regions: Greece is divided up in thirteen regions. The greatest one is Makedonien with an area of 34.177 sq km and a population of 2.236.099 inhabitants. Athens is capital of Greece and the largest town of the country with over 3 millions, inhabitants. Piräus is the most important port, Thessaloniki is the capital of the province Makedonien with approx. 1 million inhabitants. Thessaloniki an important port is and as the gate is valid, the most important economy-and cultural center in north Greek country, to the Balkans.
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