A journey to Athens

The most of the Greek population of Athens was increased after 1921 by an influx of refugees expelled from Asia minor. At the same years the small number of Turks then residing in Athens was departed. 99% of the population belongs to the Greek Orthodox church, and Athens is the seat of the Orthodox Arcibishop of Greece. Athens is the center of the Greek government and parliament and the capital of the department of the prefecture of Attica. The old palace of the foreign kings of Greece is now used as the house the Greek parliament. Athens is the main financial and commercial center of Greece and is the main junction of the air, road and rail system . Most of Greece’s maritime trade is at the port of Piraeus. Athens has an international airport in Spata. Manufacturing, textile, electronic,shipyards industries have been developed primarily in and near Piraeus and further on the Attica basin. Light engineering, textiles, chemicals, and cement making are important, as are distilling, milling, tanning, tobacco preparation, oil refining, and the processing of other local agricultural products. Tourism is also important.Athens is surrounded by mountains: Aigaleon to the west, Parnitha to the north, Penteli in the northeast, and Hymettus to the east. Most mountains are made of limestone, granite or marble, from which materials the ancient buildings of the city were constructed. The valley on which Athens lies contains isolated limestone hills, including the Lykavittos hill, which rises 339 meters  above the sea level , and the rock of Acropolis, 156 meter high, around which the city of Athens grew.  Ilissus and Kifisos River are partly dry for much of the year and carring  water only after winter storms and rain falls. Athens has  Mediterranean climate, with very hot and dry summers and mild winters. Rainfall is slight. Athens Day trips can be done to many of the areas and islands that are near to Athens.
Athens is the main cultural and educational center of Greece and has a university, founded in 1837 a polytechnic, many private universities, as well as many professional schools and TEI. The city of Athens is world famous for its amazing archaeological collections, especially the ones that are in the National Archeological Museum of Athens. Athens most important cultural remains  are its numerous architectural  and historical monuments, dating from ancient times and later periods. Most famous among these is the Acropolis, the ancient fortified rocky hill on which stands the Erechtheum temple, Parthenon temple, and the Propylaea, all of the 5th century BC the golden age of Athens. To the south of the Acropolis are the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, and the Theater of Dionysus and the  Areo pagus   in which St. Paul spoke. The ancient agora is partially excavated. The stoa, or colonnaded walk, of Attalos, which is located near by, has been reconstructed and now holds a great collection of Greek antiquities. The city also has many Orthodox churches from the Byzantine period.

Visit Athens

Athens  located at the Attica peninsula in a basin surrounded by mount Aegaleo at the north west , mount Parnitha and Penteli at the north ,mount Hymettos at the east and the Saronic gulf at the west.  Athens situated at the middle of Greece between Peloponnesus and Sterea Hellas, became the capital of Greece in 1834 and it is easy to see that this choice was made because of the city’s historical importance. In the 172 years since then it has become an attractive, modern city with modern buildings and facilities that perfectly and sympathetically juxtapose the ancient. Athens has a long and glorious history. The first settlers came during the Neolithic Age but it was Solon 638 B.C.-558 B.C the first one to put the stepping stone of the Athens Democracy that reach its glory during the Golden Age under the leadership of Pericles 495 B.C.- 429 BC. During this time Parthenon was build by Callicrates ,Ictinus and Phidias.Athens with its unique values ,ideas , politics and civilization became a blueprint for future societies around the world. During this time the development of science, architecture, rhetoric ,political thought , the arts, theatre and philosophy reached its peak. After the decline of its power that caused by the Peloponessian wars against Sparta, Athens lost its former glory and later was occupied by many conquering empires including the Roman, the Byzantine and the Ottoman all of which have left their mark on the city in the guise of many splendid monuments.

Visitors to Athens Greece can experience the exhilaration of stepping back in time and seeing the places where great historic events actually took place over 20 centuries ago. Most important, of course, is the fabulous Parthenon (448-437 BC), which stands like a crown on the rocky hill of the Acropolis, dominating the city. Also here is the famous Erechteum with the Caryatids supporting the porch, the Temple of Nike (Wingless Victory) and the Acropolis Museum. North of the Acropolis is the Temple of Theseus (believed to be 437-432 BC), best preserved temple of Athens’ classic period. Other places of interest include the Temple of Zeus, the Chapel of St. George on Lycavittos Hill, the National Museum of Athens, the Benaki Museum (noted for its fine collection of Greek costumes) the Byzantine Museum and the Stadium. The Dionysos Theatre is where the great plays of Sophocles, Euripides, Aischylos and Aristophanes were first performed. The whole of the Acropolis is surrounded by the beautifully tranquil archaeological park which features many other important archaeological wonders including The Pnyx which was the meeting place of the people of Athens where they could gather to hear great orators and take part in the democratic politics and the Ancient Agora or market place. A stroll around the Ancient Agora of Athens will be walking in the footsteps of the great philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates and climbing the rock of Arios Pagos will take you to the spot that was the seat of the court and the Parliament of ancient Athens ,on Arios Pagos spoke the Apostle Paul to the Athenians.

At the foot of the Acropolis nestles one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Athens, Plaka. This tiny neighbourhood of narrow cobbled streets, is crammed with ancient monuments, churches, mosques and elegant 19th century mansions .In Monastiraki area you will find bustling markets and shops for your shopping in Athens, where you can buy new and second hand goods ranging from clothes, jewellery and furniture to books, CDs, records and musical instruments. Amongst all of this you will find a multitude o traditional Greek taverns, cafes and museums. Here you can satisfy all your needs, cultural, gastronomical or shopping .The National Garden is an oasis in the middle of the city next to the Greek Parliament. The areas of Psisri ,Plaka ,Thission,Monastiraki and Kolonaki are the most recomended for night life with numerous of bars ,cafeterias ,night clubs ,international restaurants and live music halls.The ones that travel to Athens in the summer season and want to take a brake at the sea we recommend day trips in Athens  to the beaches at the coastal resorts of Athens. In the southern suburbs of Athens, along the Saronic Gulf (from the Paleo Faliro area to Vouliagmeni and further to Varkiza ,Lagonisi to Cape Sounion), and other areas of Attica, are dozens of organized and other beaches, with clean waters and easy access. Several Attica beaches have been awarded “Blue Flags of Europe”, granted every year to beaches meeting strict criteria regarding clean waters, good organization and security and the protection of the coastal environment. For the ones that want to go around by car ,in the Athens area are many reliable car rental companies, most of them located at Syngrou Avenue.Most of those resorts are less then an hour from the new Athens airport and the city center. From the port of Piraeus the largest of Greece and Zea the islands of Aegina ,Poros ,Hydra and Spetses can be reached within 1 up to 3 hours with hydrofoils and ferries. The system of  Athens transport includes urban buses ,trams, trolleys ,the new Metro and the Proastiakos rail.Taxis in Athens as well all over Greece are from the cheapest in western Europe The best time to visit Athens and Greece in general is Spring when the temperature is mild and the blue sky of Attica is really blue ,if it happens to be at the Easter (the major religious holiday of Greece) ,then you will be more relaxed because the half of the Athenians are on holidays .

Mykonos island

 Mykonos though the most popular and touristy island of Greece is mountainous and dry. located very near to Syros and Tinos and its can be reached from Athens and Rafina by Greek ferries and high speed boats within a few hours. In antiquity, the only two kilometres away neighbouring island of Delos an important cultural and religious centre was more important than Mykonos and the island was mostly used as a transfer point to Delos. During its history Mykonos and the culture of the island was effected through various Greek tribes and conquerors, like the Macedonians of Great Alexander, the Athenians, the Byzantines the Venetians, and later by the Ottomans who influenced its traditions and culture. In 1207, the island, like most of the Cyclades islands was under the rule of the Ghizzi dynasty. Their last ruler, Georgios Ghizzi, handed over the island 100 years later to the city of Venice.In 1537 Mykonos was conquered by the Turks. In the War of Independence Mykonos joined the straggle for freedom with the rest of Greece with many means, financial, men, guns and ships .Mykonos developed its tourism mainly after the end of the world war 2. But the main factor that made Mykonos worldwide famous and boost its tourism industry it was its tolerance towards gay and nudism. Mykonos has become the summer metropolis of many celebrities from Greece and from all over the world. Many celebrities from the world of music, finance, television, journalism, movies have build their super luxurious villas on Mykonos. The nightlife of Mykonos is to be compare with the nightlife of other famous islands and resorts in the Mediterranean like Majorca, Ibiza and saint Tropez. Mykonos is an island for holidays and fun. There are many Greek jokes about Mykonos especially that have to do with the famous mascot of Mykonos the Pelican.

Athens a concrete jungle

 Athens became important the recent years, About 50% of Greek industrial companies have their headquarters in the metropolitan area of Athens, the  trade with China has stressed the importance of the Greek shipping increase, most Chinese products on the Greek container ship to Europe. The Athens map has change in the resent years as the city is expanding further to the coastal resorst to the east, west and south of the greater Athens area. A big problem is the textile industry, which no longer competitive, but a major employer. the Olympic Games have an intensive building activity in Athens. The new infrastructure with highways makes easy the day trips from Athens to several places in Attica.
Athens has the advantage of the remoteness of Europe, because the city become an important trading post between Europe and the Orient,.In Athens, mainly in the suburbs built new residential buildings, most of the major projects concerning the infrastructure or administrative buildings. An urban blessing was the Olympics, to the many planned projects pushed or only achieved. There currently is the largest city park in Europe on the site of the former airport. The center of the modern city is the Syntagma Square, where the old Royal Palace, the Greek Parliament and other public buildings of the 19 th century. It established itself as the center of Athens after the devaluation of the transport centre of Harmony. In the 3 decades that followed World War II was build many new multi-storey buildings, which they characterize the current image of the town. Incomplete but was urban planning of the city in these decades of development, without provision for parks and public spaces and broad avenues. These problems contribute to the characterisation of the city which the recent municipal authorities  and governments are trying to reverse pedestrian roads to with roads, public works and extensive subsidy maintenance of external faces of buildings. The municipality has given a great effort to the development of the historical center of Athens. Sightseeing is a great pleasure through the pedestrian roads around the Acropolis. The general picture of Athens today is of a modern city.

Visa requirements for Greece

Greece is a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement. For further details about passport/visa regulations within the Schengen area:

Visa is Required by all except the following:
* Nationals of E.U. countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and US for a period of up to 3 months;
* Nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Korea (Rep. of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, St Kitts & Nevis, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Switzerland and Vatican City for a period of up to 3 months;
* Nationals of Brazil, El Salvador and Uruguay for a period of up to 2 months;
* Nationals of Singapore for a period of up to 2 weeks;
* Passengers continuing their journey to a third country within 48 hours provided they are holding tickets with reserved seats and other documents for their onward journey except: Nationals of Angola, Bangladesh, Congo (Rep. of), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and Turkey who always need a visa, even if they are transiting on the same aircraft.
Note: The above list is subject to change at short notice; please check with the Greek Consulate or Consular section at the Greek Embassy in your country before travelling.

A Passport valid for 6 months is required by all except:
- EU nationals with a valid national ID card and with sufficient funds for their length of stay;
- Nationals of Monaco and Switzerland with valid national ID cards.

Required documents for visa:

Personal interview is sometimes necessary for the application.
Completed application form with stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Proof of sufficient funds to cover stay.
Fee (payable in cash).
Passport valid for at least 6 months with blank pages to affix visa.
1 passport-size photo.
Return or onward ticket or proof of booking / itinerary from travel agent.
Proof of reason for visit, such as proof of participation in the symposium or a letter of invitation from the Organising Committee.
Proof of travel insurance.
Time required to issue visa:

For personal applications: 3 weeks
For applications by post: 1 month
Type and cost of the visa: A uniform type of visa, the Schengen visa is issued for tourist, business and private visits. There are 3 types of Schengen visa: Short-stay, Transit and Airport Transit. The cost varries.

By ariving in the airport of Athens or in Piraeus harbour be sure to use the Athens public transport sytem, metro trolleys and buses. Visit also the famous Plaka the Acropolis of Athens and Monastiraki the flea Market. Buses in Greece connecting the whole of the Maionland.