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SALVADOR DALÍ EXHIBITION -
Singularity and Myth
OCTOBER 24, 2002

OCTOBER 24, 2002 – JANUARY 23, 2003

The
exhibition, presenting thirty paintings and a piece of
sculpture by the surrealist master, is being organized
in collaboration with the Gala – Salvador Dalí
Foundation (Figueres, Spain) and the Museo Reina Sofia
in Madrid. SALVADOR DALÍ; Singularity and Myth focuses
on the artist’s idiosyncratic personality. Dalí left his
palpable mark on 20th-century culture by means of his
visionary art, which in effect changed the way we now
view the world. Time and History, Love and Sexual
frustration, Modern man and his anxieties are some of
the perpetual topics of Dalí’s work, mostly orchestrated
over the underlying theme of Humanity and its myths,
ancient or contemporary. The title reflects Dalí’s
painting Singularities (1935), in which the artist makes
a tongue-in-cheek comment regarding his own eccentric
personality and the myth that was surrounding it already
in the 1930s.

With the generous grant of the
Fundación Gala-Salvador Dalí and in collaboration with
the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia.

Author : Travelling-Greece.com

Ten Days for Architecture

29/11/2002 - 08/12/2002

The Hellenic
Institute of Architecture, with the support of the
Architectural Network of the Hellenic Ministry of
Culture organizes a series of events from the 29th of
November to the 8th December (10 days for architecture).
Similar events take place in Thessaloniki, in Chania, as
well as in many other countries, in order to establish a
World Day for Architecture. The events, which will take
place, aim to inform the public as far as the
importance, the substance, the utility and the
implications of the presence or absence of architecture
in everyday life is concerned. It is an effort to
present and make known to the public some examples of
the contemporary Greek architecture so as to begin a
further discussion about architecture in the city. The
following events have been scheduled for the city of
Athens: - Signaling and presentation of 30 buildings of
high architectural quality in the center of Athens. To
see a complete list of these building click here. - Five
buildings open to the public, hosting an exhibition
which presents the 30 selected buildings. - Publication
of articles written by architects and non-architects
referring to architectural and urban problems of the
Greek cities. - Presentation of the events by the media.
Television programmes and special issues at the press,
have been scheduled. - Selection of certain school
buildings of high architectural interest and conducted
tours for groups of students. - Conducted tours are
scheduled, on Sunday the 1st of December, as well as, on
Sunday the 8th of December. On behalf of the Hellenic
Institute of Architecture the event curators are the
architects: V. Arapidis, H. Kokkinaki, L. Manitsidou, G.
Papanastasiou, with the support of the architect S.
Gyftopoulos member of the Hellenic Institute of
Architecture. Similar events are being organized in the
city of Thessaloniki by the Architects Association of
Thessaloniki and in Chania by the Center of Mediterranean Architecture.

Author : Greek Ministry of Culture

Orlando Furioso by Vivaldi at the
Greek National Opera
10 -19 Jan 2003

In
the marvellous baroque opera Orlando Furioso by Antonio
Vivaldi, witchcraft, fantasy, and love get into a tangle
when Angelica, Medoro and Orlando are destined to meet
along at the enchanted island of the sorceress Alcina.
Five unique performances are given -for the first time
in Greece- at the Greek National Opera.

Orlando
furioso occupies a central and very significant place
among Vivaldi's works. Not only does the whole score of
this opera demonstrate its composer's full, creative
maturity, but its outstanding features are also an
extraordinary musical beauty, an attractive recitative
line, and a balance thus created between the various
parts of the dramatic and musical whole.

Orlando
Furioso was the name of an earlier opera with music by
G. A. Ristori and a libretto by Grazio Braccioli.
Vivaldi made modifications to that opera in 1714, and in
1727 wrote completely new music to Braccioli's libretto.
The story is based on Ludovico Ariosto's poem under the
same title, Orlando Furioso.

Synopsis
Antonio
Vivaldi's opera takes place on the sorceress Alcina's
enchanted island. Although old and ugly, Alcina has the
magical power to make herself appear beautiful and to
bewitch courtiers who set foot in her realm. She has
tried to make her power eternal by gaining possession of
the invincible guard Arontes under the statue of the
wizard in the Temple of Infernal Hecate.

Brought
to the island by fate, the other main characters of the
opera, namely the beautiful Angelica, her young Saracen
lover, Medoro, and the jealous Orlando -a Christian
knight and Charlemagne's nephew, who is in love with
Angelica- are entwined in an intriguing love story of
furious passion and despair.

The ID of the
performance
Conductor: Vassilis
Christopoulos
Director: Maria Yiparaki
Set and
Costumes design: Francesco Cito
Choreography:
Chrissiida Liatziviri
Light Designer: Filippos
Koutsaftis
Cast: Marita Paparizou (Orlando), Mata
Katsouli (Angelica), Margarita Singeniotou (Medoro),
Mary Helen Nezi (Bradamante), Nikos Spanos (Ruggiero),
Marina Fideli (Alcina) and others.

Reservation:
+30-210-3612461
Communication: +30-210-3614433,
3600697

Author : Greek Ministry of Culture

Kroustofonia Ensemble at the Athens
Concert Hall
12 Jan 2003

Kroustofonia
Musical Ensemble gives a concert at Friends of Music
Hall at the Athens Concert Hall, in the context of
Sunday mornings at the Concert Hall. The series of
concerts, organized every year by the Athens Concert
Hall, is addressed to a mostly young audience and aims
to familiarize children and teenagers with the wonderful
world of music.

Kroustofonia Musical Ensemble
interprets works by Andre and Jacques Phillidor (March
for two timpani), Camille Saint-Saens (Le cygne), Henry
Mancini (The baby elephant walk), Heitor Villa-Lobos
(Brazilian dance), Henry Hankock (Cantaloop Island), Joe
and George Green (Xylophone), Karl Heinz Wiberny (Ulla
IN Africa) and Aram Khatchaturjan (Sable
Dance).

The Ensemble continues its concert by
presenting dances from Greek tradition (Suite on Greek
dances), Mambo no 5 by Perez Prado, Freedom Jazz Dance
by Eddie Harris and traditional Brazilian Samba
Batukata.

Krustofonia was founded in 1998 and
since then it has given several concerts in events
organized by the city of Athens. The ensemble was
created in the context of the Panhellenic Percussion
Instruments Association. It consists of: Alexandros
Christidis, Athina Kapsetaki, Charalambos Taliadouros,
Styliani Triantafyllou, Nikolaos Karatzas, Panayiotis
Koliavassilis, Alexandros Yiovannos, Marinos
Tranoudakis, Petros Bynios, Vassilis Panayiotopoulos,
Odysseas Stefanis and Dimos
Dimitriadis.

Alexandros Christridis is the
artistic director of the Ensemble. His career began in
Kievo, where he studied music. He has participated in
many concerts and recordings in Greece and abroad and in
numerous festival, too. From 1982 to 1987 he has been
leading the Percussion Instruments Ensemble of the
National Opera. From 1987 to 1992 he has been member of
ERT television Symphony Orchestra, while from 1992 he
has been leader at the Athens State
Orchestra.

Alexandros Christidis in the first
Greek musician to interpret Psapfa for percussion
instruments soloist by Ianis Xenakis.

Reservation: +30-210-7282333
Communication:
+30-210-7282000, 7282333, 7257601-2

Author :
Greek Ministry of Culture

The Last Greeks of Asia Minor

2 Dec 2002 - 28 Feb 2003

On the occasion
of the 80th anniversary of the Asia Minor Disaster (the
uprooting of the Greek communities from the region in
1922), the Directory of Folk Culture (Hellenic Ministry
of Culture), the Center of Asia Minor Studies and the
Historical and Ethnological Society of Greece, organize
the exhibition The Last Greeks of Asia Minor at the National
History Museum (Old Parliament Building) in
Athens.
With documents and reports, the
exhibition aims to recreate and highlight various
aspects (religious, educational, social, cultural) of
the late presence of the Greek population in Asia Minor.
At the same time, it reconstructs the historic framework
within which the developments that changed the map of
the region unfolded.

The exhibits do not limit
the thematic of the exhibition just in the western,
coastal Asia Minor, but rather expand to other important
geographical regions where Greek communities developed,
like Pontus, Eastern Thrace and Cappadocia.

The
exhibition is organized into units and attends the
routes of Hellenism in the last few years before the
Exodus from the lands of Asia Minor. A brief historic
tour through time traces down the roots of Greek dynamic
presence in the antiquity and documents the changes that
happened as a result of the Ottoman conquest.
The
daily life of enslaved Asia Minor Greeks, their
problems, the crucial for the community's survival role
of the church and education, are some of the
exhibition's main concerns. Also presented are the
military and political developments that played an
important role in the first crucial years after the end
of the first World War up until the 1922
disaster.

The various exhibits (historic relics,
flags, engravings, documents, publications, rare
editions, personal objects, photographs, traditional
folk dresses) are coming from the rich collections of
the History Museum and the Center of Asia Minor Studies.
These exhibits alone prove the great interest of these
foundations in preserving the historic memory of Asia
Minor.

From the material exhibited, what
impresses more is the series of photographs that were
taken during the Asia Minor campaign by amateur and
professional military photographers. These pictures show
in a unique manner not just scenes of the operations but
also snapshots of the soldiers' daily life.

Of
special interest for visitors is also the great number
of Karamanlite publications (meaning texts written in
the Turkish language but with Greek letters), that
manage to acquaint them with the unknown intellectual
production of Cappadocia.

Relics of Patriarch
Joachim III and Chrysostomos of Smyrna (today's Izmir),
community codes, musical instruments and manuscripts,
samples of folk art, are just some of the exhibits that
attract the visitors.

The exhibition is
accompanied by rich printed material. Institutions that
have also contributed to the exhibition are the
Association of Smyrnans from Asia Minor and the Nea
Sinassos Association.

Communication:
+30-210-3226370, 3237315, 3237617, 3222266

Author : Greek Ministry of Culture

Translating ancient philosophy...

14 Jan 2003

The European Center for the
Translation of Literature and the Human Sciences
(EKEMEL) organizes an open discussion entitled Ancient
Philosophy in Translation, which aims to analyze the
special difficulties and peculiarities of the work of
the translator when working on texts of great ancient
philosophers.

The event is being hosted by
EKEMEL's director of the Department of Philosophy and
Human Sciences, Mr. Panayotis Poulos. Speakers in the
open discussion are Mr. Paulos Kaligas, co-director of
Deukalion literary magazine, and Mr. Vassilis Kalfas,
professor of Philosophy in the University of
Crete.

The event takes place on Tuesday, January
14, at 7:30pm, at the Logou & Technis Hall of
Athens' Book Gallery.

Author : Greek Ministry
of Culture

SEA ROUTES
4 Jun - 27 Oct
2003

This international archaeological
exhibition, whose full title is: Sea routes. From Sidon
to Huelva. Inter-relations among the Mediterranean
peoples. 16th 6th century B.C., was funded by the
Cultural Olympiad 2001-2004 (Greek Ministry of Culture).
The exhibition places its emphasis on the wealth of
goods and ideas exchanged between the Mediterranean
peoples, such as the Greeks, the Phoenicians, the
Etruscans, the Iberians etc. These inter-relations are
being demonstrated by material remains from antiquity,
turning up at excavations throughout the Mediterranean.

Author : www.travelling-greece.com

Great Opera Productions at the
Athens Concert Hall
10/10/2003 - 17/05/2004

Three grand productions form the unit Great
Opera Productions at the Athens Concert Hall for the
2003-2004 period. Starting from I Vespri Siciliani by
Giuseppe Verdi on October 2003, then follows Arthur
Honegger's Jeanne au Bucher. The marvellous Traviata by
Verdi comes on May, directed by Ulrich Peter.

Here is the programme of the
performances:

October 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19,
20, 22 (2003) Giuseppe Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani Stage
concept, sets, costumes: Nikos Petropoulos Stage
director: Rodolfo Craia Roles interpreted by: Elena:
Susan Neves, Eliane Coelho, Arrigo: Janez Lotric, Keith
Ikaia Purdy, Monforte: Vladimir Chernov, Alexandru
Agache, James Johnson, Procida: Francesco Ellero
d'Artegna, Paata Burchuladze. The Athens State Orchestra
participates conducted by Donato Renzetti.

February 26, 27 (2004) Arthur Honegger: Jeanne
au Bucher (Dramatised Oratorio) Director: Thomas
Moschopoulos Sets: Dionysis Fotopoulos Nonika Galinea
interpretes the main role. The Athens State Orchestra
participates conducted by Nikos Tsouchlos.

May
10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17 (2004) Giuseppe Verdi: La
Traviata Director: Ulrich Peter Sets - Costumes: Nikos
Georgiadis Roles interpreted by: Violetta: Ruth Ann
Swenson, Inga Nielsen, Alfredo: Charles Castronovo,
Piotr Beczala, Germont: Jean-Luc Chaignaud. The Athens
State Orchestra participates conducted by Richard
Bonynge.

Athens Concert Hall The inspiration for
a multifunctional culture centre can be traced back to
the renowned soprano Alexandra Triandi, who founded the
the Friends of Music Society. The society then
commissioned some top Greek and foreign architects and
sound experts to design the Athens Concert Hall.

In 1956 the Greek government donated a site for
its construction. It should be noted that the first
monies towards erecting the building came from Dimitris
Mitropoulos, who donated the proceeds from the New York
Philharmonic's Athens recitals, which he conducted.

The design was completed in the 1970s. The
building's foundations were laid following a much needed
donation, which covered the project's financing, by the
great benefactor and president of the Dekozis-Vouros
Foundation, Mr Lambros Eftaxias.

After a hiatus
of some years, construction resumed in 1981. A new
governing body was formed, this time with the
cooperation of the Greek government, which, through a
number of substantial donations, contributed
considerably towards completion of the project. This new
body is the the Athens Concert Hall Organisation, which
has been jointly governed from 1981 to the present day
by representatives of the Friends of Music Society and
the state.

Since it opened its doors to the
public in 1991, the Athens Concert Hall has been
regarded as one of the most comprehensive culture
centres in Europe. Its superb acoustics has been
acclaimed both by the public and by renowned performers
of the music and art world.The Athens Concert Hall has
welcomed and still welcomes top class artists, music
ensembles, composers, conductors and performers in an
artistic trajectory that has left its mark in the
country's culture scene.

Author :
www.travelling-greece.com

Bridges series at the Athens Concert
Hall
05/11/2003 - 26/05/2004

Bridges
with young people, world music, and other arts. This
year's cycle at the Athens Concert Hall brings the
audience close to the artistic creation of Zulfu
Livaneli, Dulce Pontes, Chronis Αidonidis, Orlando Valle
and Dino Saluzzi. Also, Bridges present the stunning
balalaikas by the Andreyev Russian Imperial Orchestra,
guitar works and the famous Derevo Theatre Company.

Here is the programme of the performances:

November 5 (2003) A Tribute to Zulfu Livaneli
Vocalist Maria Farandouri performs Livaneli's New Age
Rhapsody and songs. Soloists from Greece and Turkey, as
well as the Volos Symphony Orchestra, participate.
Conductor is Semyon Kogan.

December 11 (2003)
Dulce Pontes in concert The famous Portuguese vocalist
of fados and her ensemble.

December 14 (2003)
Balalaikas: The Andreyev Russian Imperial Orchestra A
festive Christmas event. Soloist in saxophone is
Theodore Kerkezos.

December 15 (2003) Melos
Brass wind ensemble in concert A festive Christmas
event. The organist Nicolas Kynaston participates.

December 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29,
30 (2003) Music tales Periklis Koukos: Merlin the Wizard
on Poetry Island. A festive Christmas event, a musical
extravaganza. The Camerata- Friends of Music Orchestra
conducted by Alexandros Myrat participates.

January 22 (2004) Guitar Festival The soloists
John Williams and Kostas Kotsiolis interpret works by
Guiliani and Brouwer. The Camerata - Friends of Music
Orchestra conducted by Leo Brouwer participates. The
artistic supervision is by Kostas Kotsiolis.

February 4 & 5 (2004) Ensemble Accentus
conducted by Thomas Wimmer.

February 6 (2004)
Guitar Horizons Works by Brouwer, Rodrigo, Takemitsu,
Papageorgiou are performed by the soloists Kostas
Kotsiolis, Eduardo Fernandez, Sinitchi Fukuda. The
Athens State Orchestra participates conducted by Leo
Brouwer.

Date pending Chronis Aidonidis: 50
years dedicated to Greek tradition

February 20,
21 (2004) Derevo Theatre Company presents the play Once
Upon a Time It's a tale of love, tears and broken hearts
enacted by clowns.

March 1 (2004) Orlando Valle
in concert The famous Cuban flute virtuoso along with
the Maraca - Otra Vision ensemble.

March 9
(2004) Serenades and music from the Ionian Islands Music
programme in collaboration with the Ionian University.

May 26 (2004) Dino Saluzzi & the Rosamunde
String Quartet Between folk music, jazz and tango:
chamber music for string quartet and bandoneon played by
the soloist Dino Saluzzi.

Athens Concert Hall
The inspiration for a multifunctional culture centre can
be traced back to the renowned soprano Alexandra
Triandi, who founded the the Friends of Music Society.
The society then commissioned some top Greek and foreign
architects and sound experts to design the Athens
Concert Hall.

In 1956 the Greek government
donated a site for its construction. It should be noted
that the first monies towards erecting the building came
from Dimitris Mitropoulos, who donated the proceeds from
the New York Philharmonic's Athens recitals, which he
conducted.

The design was completed in the
1970s. The building's foundations were laid following a
much needed donation, which covered the project's
financing, by the great benefactor and president of the
Dekozis-Vouros Foundation, Mr Lambros Eftaxias.

After a hiatus of some years, construction
resumed in 1981. A new governing body was formed, this
time with the cooperation of the Greek government,
which, through a number of substantial donations,
contributed considerably towards completion of the
project. This new body is the the Athens Concert Hall
Organisation, which has been jointly governed from 1981
to the present day by representatives of the Friends of
Music Society and the state.

Since it opened its
doors to the public in 1991, the Athens Concert Hall has
been regarded as one of the most comprehensive culture
centres in Europe. Its superb acoustics has been
acclaimed both by the public and by renowned performers
of the music and art world.The Athens Concert Hall
haswelcomed and still welcomes top class artists, music
ensembles, composers, conductors and performers in an
artistic trajectory that has left its mark in the
country's culture scene.

Author :
www.travelling-greece.com

Genee International Competition 2004
of the Royal Academy of Dance in Athens

06/06/2004

The Genee International
Ballet Competition is one of the most prestigious
events in the dance calendar -The Olympics of the Ballet
world. So, it is perfectly fitting that this year, young
dancers, aged from 14 to 19 years old, compete in
Athens, home to the 2004 Olympic Games, to win the
coveted gold, silver or bronze medals on the stage of
the Odeon of Herod Atticus. On June 6, admire the young
artists' talent and technique demonstrated in
choreographies by Antony Dowson and Christopher Hampson,
in a grand production that bears the signatures of the
Royal Academy of Dance and the Cultural Olympiad.

Since its inception in 1931, the Genee
International Ballet Competition has become one of the
world's leading ballet competitions and the annual
flagship event of the Royal Academy of Dance. It was
named after Dame Adeline Genee, the famous dancer with
the long and illustrious career. It is only the second
time that the Competition has been held outside of the
UK. (The first time was at the Sydney Opera House, in
2002).

Procedure
The long procedure
for the selection of the best candidates began just
after the closing date for applications on April 27,
2004. Only 46 dancers were successful in achieving the
required examination result. All these obtained a ticket
for travelling to Athens and have the unique experience
to work with the world-renowned teachers and
choreographers Antony Dowson and Christopher Hampson,
from May 29 May to June 2, under the guidance of Lynn
Wallis, Artistic Director of Royal Academy of Dance.

The selection criteria are indeed tough. Only
few out of the 46 dancers can get the once in a lifetime
opportunity to battle for a medal at the Final on June
6, in front of an international audience of 5,000 people
and a jury led by the world-famous former prima
ballerina, Dame Antoinette Sibley, President of the
Royal Academy of Dance .

Repertoire

Under the stars on the stage of the Herod
Atticus Odeon, the stunning venue which hosted in the
past great dancers such as Rudolf Nureyev, Margot
Fonteyn, Maya Plisetskaya and Mikhail Baryshnikov, each
finalist dances 2 solos (male - female) by Antony Dowson
and Christopher Hampson, as well as the 19th century
classical repertoire variation of his/her choice.

Antony Dowson's Formal Allusion (solo for men)
and Tread Lightly (solo for women) are performed in
world's premiere. See the detailed program of the
evening here.

Medals
The competition
is extremely hard and the medals, accompanied by Prize
money, only 6: three for men and three for women:

Gold medal € 7,500

Silver medal € 4,500

Bronze medal € 3,000

The Gold medal is only
awarded when a candidate, in the judges opinion,
demonstrates exceptional technical skills, an inate
response to music, outstanding performance qualities and
charisma. The Silver medal is awarded to a candidate who
is proficient in technique, musicality and performance.
Worth to be mentioned is that in 1997 winner of the
silver medal was the Greek dancer Pantelis Zikos. The
Bronze medal is awarded to a candidate who is proficient
in technique, musicality and performance although some
areas of the work may be less strong than others.

Author : Culture guide

Great Travelers in Athens, 15th-19th
cent
17/03 - 31/12/2004

The most
important travellers to Athens from the 15th to the 19th
century and their famous Itineraries with their most
wonderful etchings are displayed in this very
interesting exhibition of the Museum of the City of
Athens of the Vouros-Eutaxias Foundation in
collaboration with the Organizing Committee of the
Athens Olympic Games. The exhibition Great Travelers
in Athens, 15th-19th cent. makes part of the
official cultural program of Athens 2004 and runs
through the end of the year.

Among the items on
display are some masterpieces of the kind, like the four
volumes of the work of J. Stuart and N. Revett (1792),
as well as the works by J.D. Le Roy (1758), Edward
Dodwell, Hugh William Williams, William Cole, Du Moncel,
A. Gasparini, and others.

It aims to show that
travelers were those who discovered Athens and made it
known to the rest of Europe, since event in the 16th
century, Athens was believed that it did not exist by
then (Martin Crusius, 1575).

The most important
exhibit is the larger painting on Athens ever made that
shows Athens (260x520 cm), which is also Jacques
Carrey's (1649-1726) first oil painting. It dates back
to 1674 and presents Charles Francois Olier Marquis de
Nointel (1635-1685), ambassador of Louis the 14th in
Constantinople, who visited Athens in November 1674 with
his numerous escorts.

In the background, one can
see Athens -under Turkish Occupation by that time- with
Acropolis and Parthenon, still in one piece. Thirteen
years later, in 1687, it was destroyed by Morosini's
attack. Lycabettus Hill is portrayed surrounded by
numerous mosques -shown by the rising over minarets,
while Parthenon is shown as it was turned into a mosque.

The significance of Carrey's oil painting lies
on its exact topography. No other portrayal of Athens
(apart from a sketch, dated from 1670, which is kept at
Bonn's Museum) that shows Athens before the destruction
of the Parthenon is known today. The exhibition, based
mainly of the collection of the Museums and accompanied
by a bilingual (Greek and English) catalogue, is a great
contribution to the Olympic Year 2004.

Museum of the City of Athens, Vouros-Eutaxias
Foundation

Address 5-7 Paparigopoulou St., 10561 Athens
(Klathmonos Sq.)

Telephone +30-210-3231397, 3230168, 3246164

Author : Culture guide

To the people of Greece: We
apologize
26 August 2004

ATHENS - The
Greeks could sue for defamation of character. They could
demand an apology from the world. Instead they just
shrug and order another frappe. Their Olympics are going
beautifully. Just like they expected. After all, they
invented this business. For years, we heard how
miserable these Olympics would be, how dangerous, how
choked with traffic, how polluted, how unfinished. After
just a couple of days, some observers turned in an
instant thumbs-down on the Games. No atmosphere. No
crowds. The horror – gymnastics wasn't even sold out!
Such rips are ridiculous. For one thing, you can't judge
the Olympics until they start. And, in reality, the
Athens Games didn't start until Friday, when track and
field got under way. Olympic atmosphere comes from
160,000 people streaming into the park every day. And
that can only happen when track starts. Until then, the
Olympic park seems deserted even with 30,000 people
inside it. Saturday night, the upper bowl of Olympic
Stadium was filled with rippling blue and white Greek
flags and fans cheering for runners and discus throwers.
The roar of the crowd rose into the Athens night. You
couldn't convince anyone there that these Games have no
atmosphere. So far these Games get a huge thumbs-up from
this corner. And not just because I set my personal bar
so low - my goal was to come home alive. I swore I
wouldn't whine about slow buses or hot weather. I'm
still alive and feeling sheepish about all my worries.
The heightened security is evident but not oppressive.
The fear-mongering has dissolved into a happy Olympic
atmosphere where Canadian fans wander around in togas
and olive wreaths drinking Mythos beer. The Games aren't
over, but so far, Athens feels very safe. And there
hasn't been much to whine about. The buses run on time.
The taxis are cheap. The phones work. Even the weather
has cooperated, with temperature mostly in the 90s
during the days, but not the 100-plus heat that had been
advertised. Are they as great as the Sydney Summer
Olympics, which drew rave reviews? So far, they're not
far behind (and gymnastics wasn't sold out there either
– not everyone loves the little pixies as much as
Americans). The scene at Darling Harbor was terrific -
but the crowded cafes of the Plaka, in the shadow of the
Acropolis, are almost as lively. Are these Games as
great as Barcelona, which I didn't attend but many
veteran Olympic writers say is their favorite? They're
not far behind – and they're beating Barcelona in ticket
sales. And how do they compare to Atlanta? There is no
comparison. The United States hosted the worst Summer
Olympics of the modern mega-Games era. Everything people
feared would happen here actually did happen in Atlanta:
There was a bombing, the buses didn't run on time, the
computer system didn't function, the crowds were
suffocating and the weather was oppressive. Greece, the
smallest country to host an Olympics in 52 years and one
of the poorest countries in the European Union, is
outperforming the world's super power. On Saturday,
Athens was abuzz. The efficient new metro system was
packed with fans heading to every venue. Inside the
Olympic park every event except trampoline was sold out
(and you're not going to hold it against the Athenians
if they don't support trampoline, are you?). On Friday,
244,144 fans went to 47 events. Ticket sales have
reached 3.2 million – close to the target of 3.4 million
– and they're not done yet. The fact that most Athenians
were on vacation until last week is part of the Games'
new energy. Not only were the Greeks underestimated,
their capital city has been mistreated. For those of us
who haven't been here before, Athens is a surprising
delight. Yes, it's crowded and poorly laid out. But it
has dazzling historic sites around almost every corner,
restaurants and bars that stay open until almost dawn,
and wonderful, gracious hosts. It also has a terrific
coastline along the Saronic Gulf. A new tram runs along
the water, and Saturday it carried both Olympic
spectators and sunbathers. The beaches were packed and
Athenians bobbed in the sparkling water. The first eight
days have been a success. I told my cabdriver how
impressed I was. "Of course," he said and shrugged. What
did you expect from the folks who came up with idea in
the first place?

Author : By Ann Killion, San
Jose Mercury News

Accounting for Athens!

2/2/2005

In the Athens Concert Hall
which was full of people, Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis
presented the account of the first two years of her term
in the Athens City Hall and the plans of her
administration for the following two years on Monday
evening. She also presented the data for the City's
finances and her proposals for the future development of
Local Government in Greece.

The Mayor's speech
was divided in three separate parts: the account of the
first two years, the planning of works and projects for
the next two years and the proposals for changes in the
status of Local Government. Mayor Bakoyannis presented
in detail the projects implemented by the City of Athens
during 2003 and 2004. These projects aimed to improve
both the functioning and the image of the city, to
improve the services offered to citizens, to promote
social welfare and to highlight the identity of Athens
and its particular character abroad.

During the
past two years, the investments of the City of Athens
increased by 505%, since the investment program raised
from 18 million euros in 2002 to 91 millions in 2004.
During the same period, the City's revenues increased by
15% per year and the expenses of the functional budget
were reduced by a percentage smaller than the raise of
salary expenses.

Athens Mayor also presented the
five priority areas of the City Administration for the
two following years. The priority areas are: the
establishment of a greenery network citywide, the
restoration of residential areas, the promotion of
social cohesion structures, the intervention in the
city's traffic management and the development of the
already established infrastructures. The implementation
of a complete recycling program is one of the projects
that the City will put forward during this year, along
with a new parking system in the historical center and
in other central areas of Athens.

Dora
Bakoyannis also requested from the central Government to
attribute to the City the responsibility for all of the
city's squares and to put an end to the dispersal of
responsibility for free and green spaces to other
organizations. The beginning has already taken place
with the attribution of the National Gardens and
Lycabettus Hill and the same should happen for other
places, such as the city's squares and parks.

Mayor Bakoyannis concluded her speech with three
fundamental suggestions to the Greek government for the
development of the role of Local Administration in
Greece. The first strategic choice is the establishment
of elected government in Regional level, as it is the
case in most European countries. The second suggestion
concerns the establishment of metropolitan structures
for the large city complexes of the country. The third
suggestion involves the reinforcement of City
Governments, which should be viewed by the Government as
bodies which have a social and developmental character.
The transfer of funds to local government is the moving
force which will alter the role of local government in
Greece.

A very large number of Athenians filled
the Athens Concert Hall on Monday evening. The turnout
was so great that the event moved at the last minute in
a larger room, so that it could fit the people. However
there were still many people who did not manage to enter
the room and watched the event from the video-walls in
the foyer. After her speech, the Mayor of Athens honored
the firms that sponsored the project for the
refurbishment of the city's squares. The City of Athens
Philharmonic opened and closed the event.

The
event was attended by the Minister of Interior Mr.
Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the Minister of Health and Social
Cohesion Mr. Nikitas Kaklamanis, the Minister of
Employment and Social Protection Mr. Panos
Panayiotopoulos, the former Prime Minister Mr.
Constantine Mitsotakis, the General Secretary of New
Democracy Party Mr. Vaggelis Meimarakis, the Head of the
City's opposition and Parliamentarian of PASOK Mr.
Christos Pappoutsis, Parliamentarians of the Athens
District, Athens businessmen and artists and a large
number of Athenians, who watch for the first time their
Mayor render account for the City Administration.

Click here to read the Mayor’s
speech.

Author : City of Athens

Athens celebrates first birthday of
2004 Olympics
14 August 2005

Greece on
Saturday celebrated the first anniversary of the
widely-praised opening ceremony of Athens 2004 Olympic
Games.

More than 150 children celebrated the
opening of the Athens Olympics, blowing out a candle on
a festive birthday-cake and enjoying gifts and games in
the event's luxury stadium.

These stadium
open-days will be held next year with children from all
schools, not only in Attica, that enjoy athletics and
Olympic sports. Celebration of the Olympics will
continue, Deputy Culture Minister Fani Palli-Petralia
told the children invited from summer camps.

She
noted that the government had worked to repair and
maintain sport facilities used in the games, and was
proceeding well with a plan to turn them into public and
private use in the future.

This was a dream
Olympics we held, in which the sole sponsor was the
Greek taxpaying public, which is why it is time for
citizens to reap the benefit. Our approach is
people-centered, the minister said.

Meanwhile,
to celebrate the opening of the Athens Olympic Games, a
large-scale concert was held in the evening by China's
Red Poppy Ladies Percussion and winner of Euro Vision
Elena Paparizou in the Olympic Beach Volleyball venue,
where an audience of nearly 10,000 attended the
performance.

Author : www.Greece-Athens.com

Old Athens airport will not be site
of F1 circuit
August, 25th 2005

After a
thrilling Olympic Games in 2004, Greece has been vying
to host a round of the Formula One world championship,
adding a round of the pinnacle of Motorsports to their
already impressive sporting portfolio.

However,
talk of building a track close to the Elliniko Olympic
Complex near the old Athens Airport has been dashed by
the country’s Environment, Town Planning and Public
Works Minister, George Souflias, who confirmed that
instead on an F1 track, the country’s largest
Metropolitan park would be erected on the site instead.

That said however, he hasn’t ruled out the
possibility of building a circuit somewhere else with
possible locations Patras, Orxomenos and
Santorini (the old mine quarries next to Fira).
Well the last one can challenge Monaco...

"I am
not against a Formula 1 race track being built in
Greece, but not in a residential area and only with the
appropriate infrastructure and facilities," he told the
People Daily.

Author : GP2005.com

Eurovision Song Contest Athens 2006

August 30, 2005

The recent meeting of
the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group in Athens
gave the green light to Greek broadcaster ERT to
continue with preparations for the 2006 contest.

Svante Stockselius commented, The venue will be
chosen by ERT. They have presented a suggestion of a
venue that the European Broadcasting Union Reference
Group visited and has approved. If this venue will be
the one actually chosen for the ESC2006 is now down to
negotiations between ERT and the venue owner. He was
unable to confirm which venue was being considered. Many
reports claim that ERT proposed the Olympic Indoor Hall
as the venue for the contest. This sort of thing has to
come from the Host broadcaster. It is their decision on
which venue they want and how negotiations will take
place with the venue owners. They will also decide when
to officially announce the venue. The EBU is only able
to either approve or disapprove of their actions, he
clarified.

Ticket sales for the 51st contest was
one point on the agenda for the two-day meeting. In
recent years, fans have found getting hold of tickets
troublesome. There had been calls for the EBU to hand
the job of ticketing the contest to an experienced and
reliable external company. This has been rejected by the
group. When asked about how tickets will be made
available, Stockselius was unable to provide any
concrete answer, simply stating, This will be one of the
issues for ERT to find a solution for. ERT has now set
the budget for the show and in turn, the EBU has been
able to let participating broadcasters know the entrance
fees for next year. The exact figure is being kept a
close secret for the time being.

Those in Athens
also met to discuss the rules for 2006. Although no
major changes are expected, the EBU plans to hold off on
issuing the final version of the rules until the end of
September. When asked if there would be any new entrants
this year, the contest supervisor admitted that it was
too early to tell.

Greek TV plans to broadcast a
number of shows leading up to the contest that will take
place in May 2006. Elisavet Filippouli will host the
programmes that will allow viewers a look behind the
scenes of the organisation of the event.

Author
: EBU

Kenenisa, Meseret Get Honourable
Citizenship of Athens
September 8, 2005

The Athens Olympics 10,000 and 5,000 meters gold
medallists, Kenenisa Bekele and Meseret Defar were given
the honourable citizenship of Athens on Wednesday in a
ceremony held at the Greek club.

The
Charge'd'Affaires of the Greek Embassy in Ethiopia Mr.
Michael Karabalis didn't conceal his pleasure when
handing over the certificate of the honourable
citizenship of Athens sent by the Mayor of Athens Ms.
Dora (Thewodora) Bakoyanni to the great Ethiopian
duo.

"I got Olympic gold medal in Athens. This is
the first big achievement in my life. And now I am the
honourable citizen of Athens. This is great. For me
Athens is everything," the joyful Meseret
said.

"My primary wish was to take gold in the
Olympics. For an athlete, there is no greater award than
winning gold in Olympics. I got it. I didn't expect to
get this great opportunity. It is an honour for me to
receive such grandiose gift. I would like to thank them.
I am now a natural Ethiopian. Plus, citizen of Athens,"
she added.

On his part Kenenisa said that he is
delighted by this unexpected offer.

"This is my
first time to be a citizen of another city. My home is
Ethiopia. This is a great addition. I didn't expect I
would get such honour from the capital of Greece. I am
happy about it," he said.

Mr. Michael Karabalis
stressed the importance of sports in Greek
tradition.

"In ancient Greek, studying basic
education like philosophy would not make you complete in
education. Sports and music are indispensable parts of
education. The belief was that one has to be physically
and mentally sound," he said during a chat with Kenenisa
and Meseret. He expressed his respect for the strong
Ethiopian athletes. The national coach Tolosa Kotu said
that this is very encouraging.

"I would go so far
as to say that this would reside in this soul of all
Ethiopian Athletes. It should be categorised or
rationally understood as special gift," he
said.

Kenenisa and Meseret will participate in
the golden league and grand prix in Monaco scheduled for
Friday and Saturday. Kenenisa said that he is happy in
his world record breaking performance in Brussels a
couple weeks ago.

Author : Solomon Bekele

NEKYIA – THE ARCHETYPIC JOURNEY

September 18, 2005

The Greek Dances
Theater "Dora Stratou" and the Research and Artistic
Ensemble drΥos toPi – Drys Landscapes invite you to an
evening dedicated to Homer's Odyssey with the perfomance
NEKYIA – THE ARCHETYPIC JOURNEY. It is a multimedia show
including dance, song and theatre using audiovisual
means connecting traditional and contemporary life.
Sunday, 18 September 2005, at 22.00 hours Dora Stratou
Theatre, Philopappou Hill, near the Acropolis Conceived
and directed by Anna Lazou, with the participation of
singers, musicians and dancers A research approach of
the homeric Odyssey and other ancient Greek myths based
on the philosophical, historical and aesthetic study of
ancient Greek dance. Entrance fee : 10 euros.
INFORMATION Anna Lazou, Philosophy School–
Panepistimiopolis Zografou 157 84 Athens Tel.:
2107277795 -7

Author : www.Greece-Athens.com

Athens int'l Film Fest opens
Thursday
September 19, 2005

The 11th
Annual Athens International Film Festival, titled
Premieres, will kick off on Thursday, featuring 151
films of Greek and foreign filmmakers, both established
and up-and-coming, Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis
announced on Wednesday.

According to the mayor,
international film industry celebrities, among them
actor Daniel Day Lewis, Korean director Kim Ki Duk,
Greek directors Costas Gavras and Theodoros Angelopoulos
will be attending the festival making it a truly
international, cultural event.

Bakoyannis also
referred to the Athens festival's innovative element,
which is that the panel of judges is made up of young
adults.

This year, only students of audio-visual
studies, film and drama schools from all over Europe
will make up the panel.

Organisers hope to
establish the festival as a dynamic 'workshop' where
youngsters from throughout Europe will have the
opportunity to learn, exchange ideas and be
inspired.

The festival is being organised by the
trade magazine Cinema with the support of the
Municipality of Athens.

Author : Athens News
Agency

Spain's Queen Sofia visits Mitera
orphanage in Athens
September 29, 2005

Spain's Queen Sofia visited an orphanage in
Athens on Wednesday (28.09.05).

The Queen - who
is married to Spain's King Juan Carlos - went to the
Mitera orphanage, where she had volunteered her services
when it was as a nursery school in 1956.

Queen
Sofia was met by the Health and Social Solidarity
Minister Nikitas Kaklamanis, Deputy Minister George
Konstantopoulos and the institute's president Maro
Kontou, when she arrived at the children's
home.

She admitted she was deeply moved to find
herself among former teachers and
classmates.

After meeting with children and staff
involved in running the orphanage, Queen Sofia - who has
three children and several grandchildren of her own -
gave the crowd a speech about the work the organisation
does.

During her talks she referred to the
institute's significant work and contribution to
society.

So far, the Mitera children's home has
successfully found suitable families for more than 100
orphaned children.

Author : Athens News Agency

Athens Mayor Gives New Look to Old
City
September 30, 2005

Cities can
enhance their competitiveness by improving their urban
quality, including aesthetic features and public
infrastructures, according to Athens Mayor Dora
Bakoyannis.

Bakoyannis, 51, the first woman
mayor in the history of one of Europe's oldest cities,
said urban development strategies aimed at beautifying
Athens ahead of the 2004 Olympic Games have had a
significant impact on the city's competitiveness and
attractiveness.

``To confront economic,
environmental and cultural degradation in metropolitan
areas, there is a need to update urban management and
planning, transforming these areas into strong,
decentralized economic entities with access to global
markets,'' Bakoyannis told The Korea Times.

She
was taking part in the Seoul World Mayors Forum at the
Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul yesterday.

``As
the mayor of Athens, my two biggest challenges were
giving the aging city a facelift ahead of the 2004
Olympics and upgrading its outdated public
transportation system. Through the process, Athens has
made important progress in solving many of its major
problems, especially in urban environment and
transportation,'' she said.

Bakoyannis was
elected mayor at the beginning of 2003 with the largest
majority in the history of modern Greece.

During
her tenure, she led Athens on its costly preparations
for last year's Summer Olympics, which gave the
3,500-year-old city a more modern image.

The
preparations, spanned out through an investment of $130
million, included renovating and remodeling 277 major
streets, cleaning and repainting the facades of 3,000
old buildings and redeveloping the city's green spaces.
Another 1,300 buildings are on the city's renovation
list for 2006.

The city also spent over $3
billion expanding its metro system, from 25 kilometers
in 1999 to 75 kilometers in 2004.

``Our
face-lifting efforts had direct economic results, with a
steady increase in direct foreign investment and a 16
percent increase in tourists compared to the pre-Olympic
days,'' she said.

Bakoyannis said her city is
expects to strengthen its ties with the Seoul
Metropolitan Government to share ideas and experience
for improving urban development strategies.

The
Athens city government is expected to sign a protocol
with the Seoul city government today, ensuring future
cooperation in developing policies for public
transportation, deploying information-technology
services and improving cultural environments.

``This will mark a starting point for both
cities to strengthen cooperation in a variety of fields
in the future. We believe that the alliance will have
immediate results in the cultural sector,‘―‘― she said.

Bakoyannis said further developing Athens' mass
transit system is a difficult challenge because the city
is full of historical and cultural assets.

The
Greek mayor said she was impressed by Seoul's recent
revamping of its public transportation system, which
strengthened the role of buses by making routes more
direct and by simplifying fares.

``Improving
mass transit is a difficult challenge in Athens, as
every time we dig to build more Metro lines, some hidden
marvel comes up,'' Bakoyannis joked.

``There
will be lots of ideas and experiences to share with
Seoul in both large-scale urban development strategies
and in the details of effectively deploying those
plans,'' she said.

Bakoyannis is the daughter of
a former prime minister, Constantine Mitsotakis, who
fled Greece's military dictatorship in the 1960s, taking
his family into exile in France.

She is also the
widow of former Greek lawmaker Pavlos Bakoyannis, her
first husband, who was assassinated by terrorists in
1989.

Bokayannis, who had spearheaded the public
fight against terrorism in Greece in her years in the
Parliament, survived an assassination attempt in 2002
shortly after she was elected mayor of Athens.

By Kim Tong-hyung - The Korea Times

Author : The
Korea Times

Athens University and Onassis
Foundation partner in promotion of Greek culture abroad

October 28, 2005

The University of
Athens and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit
Foundation announced on Wednesday a series of
initiatives aimed at promoting Greek civilisation and
culture abroad.

University Dean Yiorgos
Babiniotis and Foundation President Antonis
Papadimitriou presented the measures proposed during an
international conference organised by the foundation in
the US and titled Hellenic Studies in the US, Canada and
South America.

During a joint press conference,
Babiniotis noted that measures proposed as a means to
upgrade and further promote Greek studies
include:Student/professor exchange programmes between
foundations abroad and Athens University; informing
Greek universities of the possibilities for cooperation
with foreign universities' Hellenic Studies departments;
expansion of the US-based Onassis Foundation's visiting
professors' programme and others.

On his part,
Papadimitriou, accompanied by members of the
foundation's executive board, referred to the
foundation's work which includes university chairs,
programmes and centres for Hellenic Studies; donation of
books, educational material and school equipment; and
the Onassis Library for Hellenic and Roman Art.

Author : Athens News Agency

Athens metro grows
December
2, 2005

Expanded train system to offer city
much-needed traffic relief.

The government
unveiled plans yesterday to extend the reach of the
capital’s popular metro system as serious traffic
problems continue to plague Athens.

Environment
Minister Giorgos Souflias said yesterday that a fourth
line will be added to the train network and that
existing routes will be extended by 2009.

The
new line, which is expected to transport some 400,000
commuters per day, will run through the capital’s
northern districts. It will serve many of Athens’s new
densely populated areas and important facilities, such
as hospitals and the university campus. It will also
help ease the passenger traffic at existing metro train
stations, the minister said.

More on Kathimerini

Author :
Kathimerini

Final preparations being made ahead
of festive events in Athens
December 12, 2005

Workers use a crane to put the finishing touches
on the giant Christmas tree in Syntagma Square, central
Athens, on Saturday. Athens Mayor Dora Bakoyannis is due
to switch on the tree’s lights on Thursday, as part of a
1.3-million-euro program which will include a Gift City
in Kotzia Square, an ice-skating rink at Zappeion Hall
and carousels in Omonia Square.

Author :
e-Kathimerini

Iberia launches new flight from
Athens to Madrid
December 21, 2005

Five
additional non-stop weekly services connecting Athens
and Madrid.

Athens International Airport
welcomes Iberia’s new scheduled flight 3885, which, as
of January 9th, 2006, will connect directly Athens and
Madrid, every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and
Saturday, with Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. Iberia
operates already two daily services from Athens, to
Madrid and Barcelona.

The new services will
provide Iberia’s passengers the opportunity to optimise
their connections with 34 destinations in Spain, 21 in
America, and 8 in Africa, enjoying the benefits offered
by the airline’s broad network. At the same time, within
the framework of providing an excellent travelling
experience, Iberia provides its overseas passengers the
choice of the new ?Business Plus? class, offering new
levels of comfort and luxury.

Welcoming Iberia’s
new flight, the CEO of Athens International Airport, Mr.
Alfred van der Meer, stated: ?We have the pleasure to
welcome to ?Eleftherios Venizelos? the new flight to be
launched by Iberia, the leading airline for Spain and
Latin America. These five additional frequencies
connecting Athens and the Spanish capital, reflect the
dynamic development of the Spanish market, which is one
of the fastest growing for our airport in the European
region?.

Author : www.Greece-Athens.com

JORDAN'S KING ABDULLAH IN ATHENS

December 21, 2005

Hellenic Republic
President Karolos Papoulias met at noon today at the
Presidential Building in Athens with King Abdullah II of
Jordan who is on a working visit to Greece accompanied
by his wife, Queen Rania in the picture.

The
talks held concerned the strengthening of bilateral
economic relations and were sealed with the signing of
two agreements on tourism and investments.

Author : MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Experts prepare excavation on Greek
island
January 10, 2006

British and
Greek archaeologists are preparing a major excavation on
a tiny Greek island to try to explain why it produced
history's largest collection of Cycladic flat-faced
marble figurines. Artwork from barren Keros inspired
such artists as Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore but also
attracted ruthless looters. Now experts are seeking
insight into the island's possible role as a major
religious center of the enigmatic Cycladic civilization
some 4,500 years ago. Excavations will run April through
June.

Keros is one of the riddles of prehistoric
archaeology, said Peggy Sotirakopoulou, curator of the
Cycladic collection at the Museum of Cycladic Art in
Athens. Of the more than 1,400 Cycladic figurines that
have survived, only 40 percent are of known origin, as
looters destroyed all evidence on the rest. But more
than half the documented artifacts are from Keros. What
is particularly impressive is not just the bulk of the
finds, which is larger than the total from the rest of
the Cyclades, but also that they were intentionally
broken during ancient times, Sotirakopoulou said.
Therefore, this is a very important, a unique site.

The Cycladic culture - a network of small,
sometimes fortified farming and fishing settlements that
traded with mainland Greece, Crete and Asia Minor - is
best known for its elegant artwork: mostly naked,
elongated figures with their arms folded under their
chest. The seafaring civilization was eclipsed in the
second millennium B.C. by Crete and Mycenaean Greece.

Currently inhabited by a goatherd and his flock,
Keros lies near the eastern rim of the Cyclades island
chain - which includes the humming resorts of Mykonos
and Santorini - between the larger islands of Naxos and
Amorgos.

Keros was extensively pillaged during
the 1950s and 1960s for its marble figurines, hundreds
of which were illegally exported to fill museums and
private collections in Europe, the United States,
Australia and Japan.

Evidence from excavations
in the '60s and 1980s failed to explain why the barren
islet was so much more important in the 3rd millennium
B.C. than its bigger, more hospitable neighbors.

The prevailing explanation is that this was a
sacred repository, a sort of pan-Cycladic sanctuary
where people left objects within the framework of
rituals which included their intentional smashing, said
Sotirakopoulou.

She will participate in the
summer's excavation together with Cambridge University
professor Colin Renfrew and other experts.

Past
digs - legitimate or otherwise - were carried out on the
islet of Dhaskalio, just off Keros, and the Kavos area
opposite. This year's work will focus on virgin ground.

We hope the forthcoming excavations will clarify
further the nature of the occupation and activities at
Dhaskalio and Kavos, Renfrew said.

It is clear
Kavos was an important site where high prestige
artifacts were deliberately broken and left. It is
possible, but not yet certain, these were ritual actions
relating to ceremonies in honor of the dead.

Experts agree that the elegant marble figurines
were highly prized in the early bronze age Cyclades but
still don't understand for what purpose they were made.
The figurines have been variously interpreted as
depicting gods or venerated ancestors, serving as
replacements for human sacrifice - or children's toys.
One thing is certain: They were not abstract works of
art pared down to the barest representational
essentials.

Visitors say, 'Oh how pure, how
white the figurines are,' Sotirakopoulou said. But in
fact they had details_ hair, eyes, eyebrows, jewelry -
painted on. In most cases, the paint has vanished.

More by Associated Press

Author :
NICHOLAS PAPHITIS

Campaign against human trafficking
opens in Athens
January 21, 2006

An
international campaign titled End Human Trafficking Now,
kicked off in Athens on Monday bringing royalty,
politicians and artists to the Greek capital.

Attendees included Sweden s Queen Sylvia, Queen
of Bahrain Sabika, former UN Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble,
French composer Jean Michel Jarre and others.

The campaign, organised by the Suzanne Mubarak
Women's International Peace Movement, aims to send the
message that step by step, atrocious crimes committed in
the name of corporate profits must be stopped.

UNESCO's Good Will Ambassador and board member
of the Women's International Peace Movement organisation
Marianna Vardinoyannis described Monday's meeting as one
of historical importance and an honour for the country,
since it is from Greece that the message aimed at
rallying the international business community in the
fight against human trafficking is being sent.

On her part, Mubarak urged the business
community to put an end to this horrific phenomenon,
which according to her, is not only unethical but one of
the greatest crimes against humanity.

Same
report from Bahrain News agency

Her Highness
Shaikha Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, wife of His
Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa attended in Athens
today the roundtable of business community against
trafficking of human beings, organized by the Suzanne
Mubarak Women International Peace Movement and the
Global Coalition Women Defending Peace. The roundtable
focused on the magnitude of the issue and discussed its
ethical principles and raised recommendations to combat
the phenomenon. The main outcome of the Athens
roundtable was issuing the ethical principles against
trafficking in human beings, especially women and
children, which will be presented in the World Economic
Forum that starts in Davos on January 25. The round
table was attended by the Queen of Sweden, Dr. Boutros
Boutros- Ghali, former UN Secretary General ,UNESCO
Goodwill Ambassador Marianna Vardinoyannis, member of
the Board of Directors of the Movement and. Her Highness
Shaikha Sabeeka, in a statement issued on the occasion
highlighted the necessity of combating this phenomenon
hoping that the business community on the international
level and through this gathering would further cooperate
with concerned parties to eradicate human trafficking in
the world. Her Highness added that the ethical
principles issued in Athens could help bring an end to
the misery and agony of the less fortunate, in an
attempt to protect the rights of all. From the business
community, participants included representatives of
Chief executive officers from the private sector and
other members of non governmental organizations in this
field. The main aim of the gathering was for the
business community to launch a set of ethical principles
to fight human trafficking, in particular that of women
and children. At the world economic forum in Davos on
January 25, CEOs will share the outcome of the meeting,
namely the ethical principles, as an essential means of
alerting the global business community. The business
community expressed concern that the scourge of
trafficking in human beings inflicts enormous suffering
in the world, adding that the community considers
unacceptable that millions of people are treated as
commodities and slaves and therefore denied their basic
human rights and dignity. The business community
welcomed the efforts of the international community to
eradicate human trafficking, through public-private
partnership in addition to recognizing the significant
potential of the business community to contribute to the
global fight against human trafficking. The business
community issued several ethical principles which
explicitly demonstrated the position of zero tolerance
towards trafficking in human beings, especially women
and children ,develop a corporate strategy for
anti-trafficking policy, ensure the community's
compliance with the anti- trafficking policy and
encourage business partners to apply ethical principles
against human trafficking. Mubarak said the trafficking
of human beings is a problem that man has inflicted on
other human beings ,similar to the endless suffering and
pain caused by wars and conflicts. She added that it is
a problem that should never have been and the roundtable
was not just organized because the issue of human
trafficking is immoral but because it is a crime against
humanity. Her excellency added that the world needs to
send a clear signal that the state of affairs will not
be tolerated and it is by collective responsibility that
human trafficking could be eradicated. Trafficking in
human beings is considered to be the third largest and
fast growing criminal activity in the world. The
international labor organization ILO estimates that more
than two million people are trafficked across
international borders every year, the majority being
women and children. Forced labour, according to ILO
raises profits of $32 billion a year. Dr. Boutros Ghali
praised the initiatives Bahrain has taken through laying
a national strategy to prevent this phenomenon. He added
that it is essential for both government and
non-government organization to work together to combat
this phenomenon that impacts millions of people every
year . Bahrain has taken major steps in preventing
human- trafficking among which was the establishment of
a task force of representatives from different
ministries that have laid down a strategy to help
eliminate any causes that might lead to human
trafficking in the Kingdom. Other steps Bahrain has
taken include a plan to launch the Safe Houses project
as well as hotlines to receive and deal with work
complaints. Governmental and non-governmental
organisations co- operate to increase awareness on the
importance of respecting the rights of foreign workers
and protecting them against abuse. The authorities are
also looking into a law that criminalises
human-trafficking. In 2004, Bahrain acceded to the UN
Convention Against Trans-national Organised Crime and
the Protocol Against Trafficking in Persons, reflecting
its international recognition of the issue and its
belief in combating it.

Author : Athens News
Agency

Athens 2006: stage is ancient
theatre
January 24, 2006

The stage of
the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest will look like a modern
version of an ancient Greek theatre. Earlier we already
revealed that the concept would have strong links with
Greece's ancient history. As in previous years, lights,
monitors and most likely some moving elements will give
each performance its own, unique atmosphere. The Olympic
Indoor Arena, a huge venue with a capacity of almost
18,000 people, brought a new challenge on the table;
will everyone be able to see the show, even from the top
rows? To solve this issue, the ceiling will carry a
substantial amount of monitors. According to widely
spread rumours, a blue shade will make the audience look
like the sea. Tomorrow, host broadcaster ERT will most
likely reveal more information about the upcoming
Eurovision Song Contest.

Author :
www.Greece-Athens.com

Strolling through Athens

January 30, 2006

Athens Mayor Dora
Bakoyannis announced the publication and release on the
market of the new edition of the Strolling through
Athens guide as well as an organised walking tour
programme of the same name. Mayor Bakoyannis also
presented the results of the City of Athens Stray
Management Programme.

Mayor Bakoyannis said in
her speech: “We are announcing two very important
initiatives for the city which began in the pre-Olympic
period and are forging ahead with the same force. The
first initiative focuses on the promotion of Athens. We
are happy to present you with the new edition of our
popular guide, Strolling through Athens.

A joint
publishing effort by the City of Athens and the Athens
Tourism and Economic Development Agency, the guide is
under the supervision the Foundation of the Hellenic
World. We received positive comments about Strolling
through Athens during the Olympic Games. These comments
prompted us to proceed with the release of the guide on
the market.

The Strolling through Athens guide
is available in Greek at all bookstores. It will soon be
available in English, French and German at select sales
points throughout Greece and abroad.

At this
point, I would like to thank the Erevnites publishing
house, which has undertaken the printing and
distribution of the publication, and I am confident that
their experience in the publishing sector will
contribute greatly to the successful promotion of this
useful handbook on Athens.

The Strolling through
Athens guide is a comprehensive publishing endeavour
covering the historic wealth and the major sites and
monuments of our city. Of high aesthetic value, pleasant
to read, comprised of carefully researched text, the
guide offers the reader a unique experience of Athens’
history and culture via 12 historic routes.

The
12 ‘walks’ underline the city’s most important cultural
monuments and at the same time highlight a number of
historic events that marked the history and development
of the Greek capital.

However, for me, the most
noteworthy part of the book has to do with the fact that
the reader can - through its pages - discover those
unique features of Athens that are still unknown to our
visitors and perhaps to many of us.

Prominent
figures, buildings, events and monuments of our city
emerge via the suggested strolls through Athens’ history
and are illustrated with a wealth of visual material.

This guide forms the basis for the design of a
comprehensive programme for the promotion of the city
under the same name which involves 12 organised walking
tours based on the recommended ‘walks’ listed in the
handbook.

The successful promotion of Athenian
culture requires close collaboration with all city
agencies and careful planning of all related projects
and activities. The publication of Strolling through
Athens is another move in this direction. It paves the
way for similar initiatives and opens a window to
knowledge, serving as a valuable tool for every visitor
to the city, Greek or foreign. I would lastly like to
thank public broadcaster ERT, the communication sponsor,
for their support in this worthwhile effort.

The
second initiative we would like to speak about is the
City of Athens Stray Management Programme.

Three
years ago, we launched for the fist time at the City of
Athens a far-reaching programme for the management of
the city’s stray animals. This initiative started from
scratch, with no available means, no infrastructure or
trained staff, in a time of increased pressure due to
the upcoming Olympic Games. Back then, many thought it
was a one-off project, lacking in fundamentals and
objectives.

Today the City of Athens:

Has recruited specially-trained crews to patrol the
streets in vans and collect stray animals without
collars

Is working with 16 partner clinics, where the
animals without tags are spayed or neutered, inoculated,
cleaned of parasites, micro-chipped, treated for injury
or illness, and nursed to good health. Finally, they are
registered in the programme’s database to facilitate
monitoring

Has created a temporary hospice - a specially
equipped veterinary facility which can host and care for
up to 100 animals per day that are recovering after
being sterilised or due to injury, minor surgery or
other treatment

Is electronically registering (micro-chipping)
street dogs and providing them with traceable
identification tags. The micro-chipping is
animal-friendly and facilitates the immediate
identification by City authorities of the animals it
monitors, while answering some citizens’ fears of animal
hygiene

Has founded the Voluntary Adoption Scheme through
its growing network of volunteers. To encourage
adoption, the city provides sterilisation, inoculation
and basic medical treatment. City staff follow up with
individuals who have adopted pets to ensure that strays
go to good homes Is working closely with animal rights
groups who help raise awareness and encourage the
adoption of strays.

Launched far-reaching awareness-raising campaigns
aimed at sensitising the public about responsible pet
care.

Has created a municipal veterinary clinic

We
are steadily and humanely dealing with the phenomenon,
and hope that in two years’ time we will have made up
for the lost time on behalf of the government.

From the launch of the programme in 2003 through
to December 31, 2005, the City has:

Neutered, inoculated and registered 1,334 street
dogs

Treated 862 injured or ill canines

Electronically tagged 885 strays

Found a warm and loving home through the City’s
Adoption Programme for 214 of our furry friends

Today, we are forging ahead with a programme
that has seen results. We’ve put the infrastructure in
place and created a network of cooperation in our
efforts to best deal with the issue of street dogs.

Our goals: stray animal welfare and humane
animal population control.

Our priority:
sensitising Athenians to the need for responsible pet
care.

We say ‘yes’ to a clean Athens. Besides
promoting the friendly and hospitable side of Athens, we
should be able to show its clean face as well. The City
Police, within the framework of the City’s Social and
Prevention Action plan, is encouraging pet owners to
clean up after their pets. Those who fail to comply are
fined according to the City’s cleaning regulation.

This said, I would like to take this chance to
invite you the City’s awareness-raising event at
Eleftherias Park on February 5. I will not reveal what
we have planned for the event because we want it to be a
surprise especially for youngsters. Our goal is through
fun and games and through contact with the animals to
eliminate stereotypes and change attitudes. This event
is a chance for us to see how we can change our city for
the better.

I have said this several times
before and I repeat: However many animals are sterilised
or adopted on a daily basis, if each one of us creates
new strays, we are simply reproducing an endless cycle.
Without the active participation of the citizens,
measures will never have full effect.”

Author :
Theodore Koumelis

Athens mayor on achievements

February 9, 2006

Athens Mayor Dora
Bakoyannis presented the work accomplished during her
3.5 year tenure in office during an event held at the
Athens Concert Hall on Wednesday. Bakoyannis said she
delivered on her promise to make the Greek capital more
modern, more friendly, more functional for both visitors
and residents and to prepare the Olympic host city
successfully, realising the greatest investment
programme ever undertaken in Athens.

Additionally, she underlined the importance of
Moody's rating of the city and the fact that in 2005,
Athens achieved a primary surplus of €7 million for the
first time.

Aside from the projects already
completed, Bakoyannis also referred to the works
currently under way, such as the reconstruction of the
Votanikos district and part of Alexandras avenue due to
the building of a new stadium for the Panathinaikos
soccer club, while preparations are being made for the
creation of a Metropolitan Park in Goudi.

The
mayor also referred to the publicity and promotion
Athens enjoyed abroad, following the infrastructure
upgrade leading up to the 2004 Olympics.

However, she also spoke about the problems that
remain unresolved, such as waste, which is one of the
biggest problems facing local government and society.

In light of the West Attica prefecture
coordinating body's decision to shut down the Ano
Liossia landfill for three days, Bakoyannis noted that
this situation cannot continue.

Greece cannot be
the only country in the European Union in which
recycling effectively does not exist; it cannot be the
only country where illegal landfills operate, she said,
adding that We - the local government and central
government - must seek new policies and we must move
forward.

Bakoyannis also referred to the
creation of a municipal police force, the creation of a
shelter for the homeless as well as a series of
initiatives aimed at improving citizens' quality of life
as more examples of the municipality's achievements.

In closing, she thanked all those Athenians who
helped the municipality achieve its goals.

Author : Athens News Agency

Tickets for the upcoming Eurovision
Song Contest
February 23, 2006

Tickets
for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest will go on sale
on 27th February through tshellas.gr. At this moment,
host broadcaster ERT gives a press conference at Divani
Caravel to announce more details about the tickets.

Ticketstream Hellas in association with ACS
courier and Eleftheroudakis Bookstores will handle the
ticket sales. The price of the tickets will range from
20 to 250 euros, depending on the day and the seating.

Roughly, almost 100,000 tickets will be
available for the semifinal rehearsals, the semifinal
live show, the final rehearsals and the final live show.
An approximate 15,000 people will be able to attend each
event. The main source of ticket sales is expected to be
via the internet.

Semifinal tickets will be
available for EUR 50, 100, 150 and 200. For the final,
tickets will be available for EUR 75, 100, 150 and 250.

For the first semifinal dress rehearsal, tickets
for EUR 10 and 20 will be available. The second and
third dress rehearsals of the semifinal provides tickets
for EUR 10, 20 and 40. The first final dress rehearsal
tickets can be obtained for prices between EUR 20 and
50, the second and third final dress rehearsals for
prices between EUR 30 and 90.

The tickets will
be purchased online through credit cards and each person
can buy up to ten tickets. On 31st March, the system
will close. The seating plan of the OAKA Olympic Indoor
Hall decides if more tickets will be available. The
tickets will be made to be kept as souvenirs.

Author : esctoday

Shakira: Stop The War in Lebanon

July 22, 2006

Colombian pop star
Shakira, whose father is from Lebanon, called for a
cease fire in the country, which is torn to shreds by
Israeli bombings.

So many mothers and children
are dying every day and that's something we cannot
tolerate, not today, not in the 21st century, said the
singer before performing at a concert in Athens.

I want to call (on) the US leaders to stop this
war, because we all know that they can stop it, she
said.

I just hope that there is a diplomatic and
international intervention right away, I think it's
necessary.

Author : Sofia News Agency

First Athens mosque
July 26,
2006

The Greek government on Tuesday unveiled a
location for the first modern mosque in Athens.

The mosque will be located in a downtown area of
the city which is slated to be redeveloped as a sports
and parks complex aimed at revitalising the city centre.

The mosque will be built in the Botanikos area.
The mosque will be paid for by the state, said Minister
for Development George Souflias, adding it would be
close to a new metro stop.

Greece had pledged to
build a mosque in Athens to serve the city's growing
Muslim community, mostly immigrants from Asia, but the
plan had stumbled over the choice of location.

Earlier proposals included a site near the
airport, 33 kms (20 miles) from the city, or the
reopening of an 18th-century mosque which has since been
turned into a museum. We welcome this decision and see
it as a positive development in accord with the
established position of the Church of Greece, Archbishop
of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos said in a
statement.

Author : Reuters

Liza Minelli in Athens for Hellenic
Festival
July 26, 2006

Academy
Award-winning actress and singer Liza Minelli was in
Athens on Monday, where she will close the events for
the Hellenic Festival with two concerts on Wednesday and
Thursday night at the Herod Atticus Odeon beneath the
Acropolis.

At a press conference at a central
Athens hotel, she expressed herself excited and proud to
be in Greece - a magical country that combines colour,
romance and courtesy, lots of music and dance.

According to Hellenic Festival director Georgios
Loukos, the organisers had saved the best for last and
were closing the festival with a superstar.

He
thanked Minelli and U.S. Ambassador to Athens Charles
Ries for his help in organising the two concerts by the
multi-talented artist, which are taking place in
collaboration with the American-Hellenic Arts Centre of
Halandri and the American Community School (ACS) in
Athens.

He said the revenue raised by the
concerts would go to support the activities of the arts
centre, since the U.S. Embassy supported cultural
programmes in the conviction that Art was a universal
language uniting all peoples.

This is the second
time that Minelli will be performing in Athens, while
her appearance here will be part of a major European
tour that the artist began in February this year in
Munich. After Athens, she is due to appear in Moscow and
finally in Montreal.

Her Athens performances
will also be an opportunity for Minelli to take a 10-day
trip in Greece.

Author : Athens News Agency

Athens named as destination venue
for City Break 2007
Aug. 20, 2006

Reed
Travel Exhibitions and European Cities Tourism are
delighted to announce that City Break 2007 will be
staged in Athens, Greece.- We invite you to experience
City Break 2007 in modern Athens, where you can explore
the past and discover the new, said Alex Galinos,
Managing Director, Athens Tourism and Economic
Development Agency.

Following last years very
successful launch event in Helsinki, City Break 2007
will take place at the stunning neo-classical style
Zappeion Mansion and the award winning Intercontinental
Athenaeum. This three-day event, 11-13 June 2007, will
focus on the growing European City Break market and is
expected to attract over 200 European exhibitors from 30
countries who will showcase their products and
destinations to pre-qualified international hosted
buyers.

City Break is a break away from the
normal trade exhibition format, featuring pre-scheduled
appointments with buyers selecting up to 36 appointments
with their chosen exhibitors. Companies exhibiting in
2006 included the likes of Eurostar, Blue 1, Octopus
Travel, Tussauds Group as well as leading hotel chains
and destination management companies. Most of Europe’s
leading cities from Athens to Zagreb were represented.

International Buyers who attended City Break
2006 from around the world included representation from
Tui, American Express, Gulliver Travel, Expedia,
Easyjet.com

- Athens will provide the perfect
host city destination,” commented Mark Walsh Exhibition
Director City Break 2007.

- Following the
rejuvenation of the city’s infrastructure as part of the
Olympics in 2004, we have in place all the facilities
needed to support a growing event such as City Break
2007. With it’s new hotels, restaurants and associated
facilities the city will hopefully match that of the
experience received from Helsinki, Finland, the
inaugural show host city in 2006”.

Alex Galinos,
Managing Director, Athens Tourism and Economic
Development Agency said:
- We invite you to
experience City Break 2007 in modern Athens, where you
can explore the past and discover the new. The modern
City of Athens, the premier city-state in ancient times,
is delighted to host City Break, one of Europe’s newest
networking and business travel exhibitions dedicated to
promoting city break tourism, the fastest growth sector
of European travel”.

More info on City
Break Expo

Author : Boarding.no

Athens Trophy
Aug 20, 2006

This year will see the Circuit 21 boats from 11
different nations. Last year the racing was close, with
races won and lost by seconds. This season promises to
be even more exciting, setting new standards in every
area.

The Breitling Med Cup is attracting the
best sailors in the world.

From the round the
world racers, massive budget America’s Cup sailors, to
medalists in the Olympics, all come together to compete
on the TP52 Breitling MedCup Circuit.

The
penultimate event in the circuit will be run by the
Hellenic Offshore Racing Club in the ancient military
port of the Micromilano
peninsula in Piraeus.
Athens has long had a strong relationship with the sea
and this tradition has continued from antiquity through
to the modern day, when this historic capital played
host to the 2004 Olympic Games. Without doubt one of the
most spectacular venues in the Circuit, as much for its
history as for its island-filled clear waters. Welcome
to the cradle of the Mediterranean!

More on the
event website: Athens trophy

Author : Greece
Athens

Greek tourism to grow faster in '06,
report
September 14, 2006

Tourist
foreign exchange inflows are expected to lag behind, in
growth terms, the growth rate of tourist arrivals in the
country this year, a report by the Institute for Tourist
Research and Forecasts (ITEP) said on Tuesday.

The report said tourist foreign exchange
revenues were not expected to match a forecast of a 8-10
percent growth rate in tourist arrivals in Greece this
year, but would record a growth rate of at least 6.0
percent for the year.

ITEP said tourist foreign
exchange inflows recovered strongly in June, while he
noted that tourist arrivals in August -with the
exception of Corfu- exceeded forecasts and led to a
forecast for a growth rate of 8-10 pct in 2006. Tourist
arrivals in Crete and the Dodecanese rose 10.6 pct and
12.1 pct respectively, in the period January-August
2006, compared with growth rates of 6.3 pct and 1.4 pct
in the corresponding period in 2005. Northern Aegean
islands also recorded strong growth, exceeding 10
percent in the first eight months of the year.

Cyclades islands also recorded strong growth in
tourist arrivals, while Ionian islands lagged behind
with the exception of Cephalonia (up 16 pct this year
after a drop of 10 percent in the same period last
year).

The report noted that Greek tourism
growth was more than double compared with other
competitors in the European Mediterranean region (Spain
+5.3 pct, Turkey -2.2 pct and Portugal +5.5 pct).

Another report says foreign tourist arrivals in
Greece rose by 8.3 percent in 2005 over the preceding
year 2004, according to figures released Wednesday by
Greece's national statistics service (ESYE) regarding
the previous year’s numbers.

According to the
ESYE figures, arrivals from Europe, which account for 93
percent of the tourist market, rose by 6.5 percent in
2005, with the largest proportion (19 percent) coming
from the UK, followed by Germany (15.7 percent), and
Italy (7.9 percent).

A substantial increase was
also recorded in arrivals from Romania (51.5 percent),
Bulgaria (36.3 percent) and Russia (28.1 percent).

With respect to a breakdown of data concerning
travel means and point of entry, the airports with the
highest rate of traffic in 2005 were Athens' Eleftherios
Venizelos International Airport (AIA), with 24.1
percent, followed by Irakleio Airport (Crete) with 12.8
percent; Rhodes with 7.8 percent and Corfu with 5.6
percent.

In a comparison with 2004, the airports
with the largest increase in traffic in 2005 were
Mykonos (14.8 percent) and Santorini (10.5 percent),
while declines in arrivals were recorded at the airports
of Kavala (25.6 percent), Rhodes (77.8 percent) and
Patras (Araxos) (49.3 percent).

A 2.6-percent
increase was also recorded in passenger arrivals on
charter flights in 2005 as opposed to 2004.

Author : Athens News Agency

Athens show reveals secrets of
antiquities smuggling
September 15, 2006

Having fought for decades to recover its stolen
ancient treasures, Greece is now hosting an exhibition
exposing the secrets of antiquities smuggling past and
present.

Sepia photographs of 18th century
European aristocrats posing proudly next to looted
ancient art may startle visitors to the Benaki Museum,
but the show History Lost is not just a stroll through
the past.

Organisers say its timing could not be
better, coming as top museums such as the Getty in Los
Angeles, whose former antiquities curator is on trial in
Rome for trafficking looted Italian art, are beginning
to give back stolen works.

The audio-visual show
takes visitors through the ages of antiquities smuggling
- from the Victorian collectors of Classical art to the
looting of Iraq's National Museum in 2003 - and the
routes of the modern-day illegal trade.

In the
17th century, wealthy Europeans, enchanted with the
ideals of Classical beauty, filled their homes with
Greek and Roman antiquities. By the 20th century,
African and Asian art once seen as ethnic handicraft
also fell victim to the trade.

The exhibition is
divided in two parts, before and after the 1970 UNESCO
convention on the illicit trade of cultural heritage,
which prompted former Metropolitan Museum director
Thomas Hoving to declare: The age of piracy has ended.

The United States signed the treaty in 1983 and
Britain in 2003. But it was the Swiss signing in 2005
that was hailed a major victory against antiquities
smuggling.

More on Reuters

Author : By Dina
Kyriakidou

1st Arab-Hellenic economic forum in
Athens
September 15, 2006

The first-ever
Arab-Hellenic economic forum was held in Athens on
Friday, with the primary focus on expanding tourism
markets, both ways.

Tourism Development Minister
Fani Palli-Petralia, among others, noted that private
investments in the greater Athens area's hotel sector
alone -- renovations and new construction -- have
reached 500 million euros.

Lebanese Tourism
Minister Joseph Sakris also addressed the forum, where
he detailed the catastrophic consequences, as he said,
that recent warfare inflicted on his country's tourism
sector and infrastructure.

Finally, the
president of the association of Greek tourism and travel
agents (HATTA), Yiannis Evangelou, said the number of
Greek tourists to Syria, for instance, doubled in 2006.

On the sidelines of the event, representatives
of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (EBEA)
signed a memorandum of cooperation with the
corresponding chamber in the UAE city of Sharjah.

Author : Athens News Agency

Getty Museum Will Return 2
Antiquities to Greece
September 17, 2006

After months of intense scrutiny of its
collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, the J. Paul
Getty Museum in Los Angeles said today that it had
agreed to relinquish ownership of two of four rare
ancient works that the government of Greece says were
illegally removed from within its borders.

The
compromise accord, which was initially reached in May at
a meeting in Athens between the museum’s director,
Michael Brand, and the Greek culture minister, Georgios
A. Voulgarakis, provides for the return to Greece of a
large stele, or grave marker, acquired by the museum in
1993 and a small marble relief from the island of Thasos
bought by the museum’s founder, the oil magnate J. Paul
Getty, in 1955.

The Getty has not yet worked out
the formal arrangement under which the stele and the
relief will be repatriated, but officials said the
accord might include a provision for long-term loans
from Greece. Talks are continuing on the other two
objects sought by the Greek government, with goal of
reaching an accord by late August, officials said.

Mr. Brand said the museum decided to give up
title to the stele and votive relief even though
negotiations are incomplete because the Getty was eager
to establish a new working relationship with Greece.

More on NYTimes

Author : HUGH EAKIN

Athens Classic Marathon

October 14, 2006

Among all the Olympic
events, the Marathon Race stands out because it was born
by a real historic and heroic event.

It was a
feat accomplished by a news-bearing foot soldier from
ancient Athens, who announced - with his last words -
the victory of the Greeks against the Persians in the
battle of Marathon (490bc).

The 42,195m Marathon
Race became one of the most competitive events when the
Olympic Games were revived in 1896. A Greek athlete by
the name of Spyros Louis, running what has ever since
been referred to as the 'Original Course' from the
ancient city of Marathon to the Panathinaikon Stadium in
Athens, won the gold medal of the first modern Olympic
Games and became a legend of Greek and international
athletics. The Marathon Race has always had a prominent
place in the hearts and minds of sports enthusiasts, as
it represents the highest effort where the human body,
soul and mind are tested to their limits as the runner
presses himself/herself to the finish line.

This
year the Athens Classic Marathon (the only Marathon race
in the world, which is held on the original course and
the course of the 1896 first modern Olympic Games) will
be held on November 5, 2006. Be there!

More info
on Athens Classic Marathon

Author
: Greece Athens

City of Athens to spend 1.5 million
euros on events for festive season
December 6,
2006

The City of Athens will spend 1.5 million
euros on decorating the city center and organizing
events for Christmas, Athens Mayor Theodoros Behrakis
said yesterday. The outgoing mayor said that the lights
on the Christmas tree in Syntagma Square will be
switched on in nine days. A 120-year-old carousel will
also be set up in the square for children to ride. A
smaller carousel will operate in Kotzia Square from
December 16. A giant snowman in front of Zappeion Hall
will house the “workshop of fun,” Behrakis said. The
municipality has also organized three New Year’s Eve
concerts at Syntagma, Kotzia and Klafthmonos squares.

Author : eKathimerini

The Grand Promenade
December
6, 2006

The exhibition title refers to the Grand
Promenade of the Unification of Archaeological Sites, a
majestically named footpath that winds around the base
of the Acropolis, taking in pine groves and
archaeological sites. Kafetsi’s idea was to create an
‘open’ museum combining Athenian heritage with
contemporary art and daily life. Forty-four
international and local artists were invited to choose a
site for their work, including not only the Promenade
but various other locations around town.

More on
Jeniffer Higgie review

Author
: Jennifer Higgie

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