Flashback > Greece putting on its best face for the Olympics June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Athens 2004 Olympics, Greece Athens, Greece Mainland.add a comment
EDITOR’S NOTE > Please note that this article is dated back to 2004 and is reposted herewith, today in June 2007, after the request of a friend. This article is reposted from my personal archives. I apologise if this sounds a bit of out-dated, however, it brings some light as to the pre-Athens Olympics situation and how this city was rapidly changing during that time. On the other hand, the particular article, can also enlight you about what to see in Athens and Thessaloniki, during your visit.
Lastly, let’s not forget the fact that Greece and Athens will be staging the Special Olympics in the year 2011! Read more about it, at our category titled “OLYMPIC GAMES”. Thank you for your attention.
Greece putting on its best face for the Olympics > It’s the land of the gods and the birthplace of the Olympic Games. Whatever the time of year, Greece is a wonder to visit, but never more than this summer (2004) when the Olympics return to Athens.
The games taking place this summer (2004) in Athens will include 28 sports taking place in 38 venues. That’s a lot, and spectator fatigue could quickly set in. Fortunately, visitors will also be able to explore some of the wonders of this ancient city.
Whenever I was driving around Athens, I was struck by the extent of construction and by the sheer energy the Greeks were putting into preparations for the event. They have been eagerly awaiting this since the first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896, and they are intent on being at their best for the world.
Aside from the game sites, one major project has been the extension of the subway system, the hub of which is the station at Syntagma Square in the centre of downtown Athens. It is extending across Athens from Syntagma Square located in the centre of downtown Athens. The station is a state-of-the-art conception, and includes a range of boutiques. Artifacts uncovered in excavating are displayed at suitable points, all spotlessly clean.
Not far from the Syntagma Square station is the newly renovated Benaki Museum, which houses a grand array of art, artifacts and jewellery extending from Neolithic times to the present. You can follow the course of history by moving from level to level.
A more concentrated and easier to manage Museum is the Cyclades Museum, just around the corner. It houses artifacts, mainly from Cyclades Islands, that are up to 5,000 years old. Of course, there are other Museums in central Athens but after an exhausting visit to the games, you may wish to concentrate on the Syntagma area.
Try to catch the changing of the Guard in front of the Parliament Buildings facing the Syntagma Square. The guards parading by with rifles over their shoulders will be dressed in their traditional skirted “evzone” costumes.
Walk a few steps over to Kolonaki Square, where you will encounter some of the more upscale shopping boutiques in Athens. Browse and drool.
You can also head over to the Plaka, old Athens. Here tourists congregate and the shopping is more of the cheap souvenir variety, just what some of us expect to find in our travels to a foreign land.
For me, a visit to Athens is never complete unless I partake of loukoumades, hole-less doughnuts served with honey and chopped nuts. My favourite shop that sells these delights is located between Syntagma Square and Omonia Square. Ask the locals and they will direct you. In fact, the Greeks are a most hospitable people who love to give directions, particularly when they hear a “kalimera,” good morning, or the standard “yassou,” good life, in parting.
This brings us to another aspect of Greek culture, body language. If you ask a question and the response is a raised head accompanied by “Ohi,” that is an emphatic “no.”
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Greeks have been waiting for the return of the marble relief sculptures from the Parthenon that are now in the British Museum, hopefully during the Olympics. You will endear yourself to them if you refer to these as the “Parthenon Marbles” rather than the “Elgin Marbles.” They are most sensitive about this politically charged issue and appreciate everyone’s support.
If you are planning to use the bus system, don’t forget, as I did several times, to purchase tickets beforehand from kiosk vendors. Otherwise you may be fined on the bus for attempting to avoid payment. Fortunately a friend alerted me to this and I had my ticket when I was asked for it by the bus inspector.
Of course, there is more to Greece than Athens. Perhaps you might visit the islands to take in some of the most perfect beaches and clearest blue water in the world. Personally speaking, during the high peak season, which is June to August, I avoid the more popular islands such as Rhodes and Santorini. My favourite islands, frequented mainly by locals, are Spetses and Hydra. They are more out of the way and have less of the hustle and bustle of most island centres.
You could also go north to Thessaloniki (Salonika), the second city of the old Byzantine Empire and the second largest city today, after Athens. The city is poised between east and west, traces of the Ottoman Empire linger here. Most activity is centred along the waterfront. Here stands the White Tower, which houses an outstanding Museum.
The Kentriki Agora, central market, is its own world of sights and smells, where you’ll encounter hanging carcasses, barrels of Kalamata olives and more. If you haven’t tasted Greek yogurt, this is a good place to do it. The Greeks swear that by eating it you can add years to your life.
Tsimiskis Street is the city’s Fifth Avenue, where establishments selling some of the most exclusive merchandise can be found. As for souvenirs, when I am visiting Thessaloniki, my friends expect me to bring them back loukoumia, sweet delights, kariokes and bougatsa filled with cream triangles. The city is famous for such delicacies. To get the authentic product, ask to be taken to one of the factories, which are not far from the centre.
When it is time to head home, your flight will no doubt depart from the newly opened airport in Athens. Arriving early for your flight will give you the opportunity to spend some time in the airport shops. This may be a good place to buy Olympic souvenirs, as their price is being monitored by the government.
Then bid “yassou” to the land of the gods. Oh! and do come back soon, the Greeks would love to see you again, as I am sure that by that time you met a lot of interesting local people and that you made a lot of Greek friends!
Just a reminder > George Michael live in Athens, Greece June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in MusicLife LiveGigs.add a comment
GEORGE MICHAEL - 25 LIVE TOUR EUROPE - SUMMER 2007.
George Michael live in Athens!
Thurday, 26th of July, Athens Olympic Stadium (OAKA).
For more information > www.georgemichael.com
For tickets > www.ticketnet.gr
Greek shippers investing in a variety of sectors June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Business & Economy.add a comment
Shipowners are proving to be very successful on land as well > Greek shippers have made major investments in a variety of sectors
Greek shipowners are proving to be “good captains,” not only at sea but also on land, in recent years investing in various sectors with great success despite the bureaucracy they must overcome.
The investment upsurge on land is no coincidence for Greek shipowners. It reflects the high profits they have enjoyed in recent years, both from sales of ships and their operation. International analysts estimate that local shipowners daily earn tens of millions of dollars, while their cash flow is estimated at about $120 billion. This then explains how many shipowners can invest considerable amounts of money in the mass media, real estate, banks and shopping centers, while even donating to charity foundations.
Shipowners’ investments are by no means a recent phenomenon. They began several years ago and are now increasing at a rapid rate. Observers believe that if the state had had a more precise institutional framework for investment with less bureaucracy, the non-marine investments by shipowners would have been far greater and more enhanced in terms of quality, creating conditions for further economic development and thousands of new jobs.
One of the first shipowners to start investing on land was Vassilis Constantakopoulos, who envisioned a major tourism investment in his hometown of Kalamata in the Peloponnese back in 1997. Yet from the outset he ran into huge problems. Today it appears that the problems have been resolved and the investment can be completed within the next two to three years.
The complex planned will initially include four luxury hotels, two golf courses, a conference center, spa units and an artificial lake that will upgrade the area. The second phase will involve the creation of another seven hotel units and two more golf courses, creating 1,000 new jobs. The total cost of the investment is estimated at 750 million euros.
Sources suggest that this shipowner has secured an agreement with a major tour operator active in Southeast Asia for it to undertake the management of the complex at Pota, near Kalamata. This could potentially change the tourism flow to Greece and even more importantly raise the quality of incoming tourism.
Constantakopoulos has already created a modern town in the US, covering 2 square kilometers, and whose main avenue is named after the late Greek Minister and actress, Melina Mercouri. In another state he has bought an expanse of land on which he has created a modern vineyard and has already presold its entire production for one decade.
Other shipowners too have expanded into real estate: Leonidas Evgenidis-Dimitriadis has constructed a deluxe hotel on Sifnos. Miltos Kambouridis has along with Capital Dolphin gathered 350 million euros which he intends to invest in Cyprus and Greece, creating 11 large hotel units. Constantinos Martinos bought the plot next to the Karaiskaki stadium at Neo Faliron. Grigoris Hatzieleftheriadis and Yiannis Karastamatis are acquiring hotels in Karpenissi, central Greece. Giorgos Prokopiou has acquired a building on Stadiou Street in central Athens. Victor Restis founded the Assos Property Investors Ltd company. Diamantis Diamantidis has bought properties in the area of Legrena, near Sounion, from the Goulandris-Horn Foundation.
One of the biggest investment moves planned for Bulgaria, involving the construction of a mall costing 150 million euros, is by realized by shipowner Ioannis Koustas. His company, Danaos Shipping, has already secured a plot of 50,000 square meters about 6 kilometers from the center of Sofia in order to erect a building with a total surface of 250,000 square meters.
This investment, being realized in cooperation with construction companies and banks, is aimed at creating a modern building in Sofia that will house offices and stores which will later be sold or leased. At present, efforts are focused on obtaining the necessary license for the investment.
In addition to its shipping activity, Danaos is also breaking ground in the supply of integrated information technology solutions. It began its activity in the shipping domain, developing and installing its pioneering Info at Gate system of electronic communication in many companies in Greece and abroad. The system fully covers the communication needs of all modern and rapidly developing enterprises. In the shipping sector, it is estimated that the system meets 70 percent of the needs of Greek shipping offices and ships with IT systems.
The Livinia group of Panos and Thanassis Laskaridis has also continued to invest in the last few years. It has put over 100 million euros into the “Grande Bretagne” hotel in central Athens, in casinos and in the shipping companies Hellenic Seaways and Minoan Lines. It is meanwhile negotiating the acquisition of 51 percent of listed company Elmec Sport. Panos Laskaridis also has a stake in Aegean Airlines.
A few months ago Theodoros Angelopoulos bought the Eleftheros Typos newspaper. On 19 April this year, Victor Restis caused a stir by offering 7.8 million euros and acquiring 33.4 percent of IMAKO, the publishing company of Petros Costopoulos, just a few days later acquiring a further 5.02 percent in the same company from shipowner Nikos Pateras. He was recently reported to have increased his stake in the Lymberis Publications group from 2.18 percent to 5.01 percent.
Restis has in recent months been very active in sales and acquisitions of companies. In late 2006 he bought 51 percent of FB Bank, before selling this stake to Pavlos Psomiadis of Alpha Bank.
Finally, Evangelos Marinakis recently acquired a 25 percent stake in Skai television. He has succeeded his father in the latter’s shipping company and today is chairman of Capital Product Partners, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Supermarkets try to curtail losses from shoplifting June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Business & Economy, Shopping.add a comment
Often the supermarket trolleys at the checkout counter tend to be emptier than customers’ coats and pockets…
Suppliers and retailers are about to hold a belated round of talks in search of more effective ways to combat shoplifting, a longstanding problem facing supermarkets. Thefts are estimated to cost domestic retail businesses some dozens of million euros each year. On a European level, losses from theft amount to some 180 million euros in annual turnover. Should retail and industry effectively reduce such losses by, for example, 50 percent, they would immediately see profits rise by 30 percent, sector officials suggest.
The so-called “hot items” mostly preferred by shoplifters, are those whose price is inversely proportionate to their size, e.g. cosmetics and shaving gadgets, with a particular preference for Gillette products. However, the hot items list also includes drinks. According to one recent report, a customer is said to have been found carrying an incredible 12 bottles under a heavy, special-pocketed coat. Many supermarkets have responded by placing the empty package of a product on shelves, which means consumers have to contact an assistant to get the actual product.
In the local market, it is estimated that shoplifting represents 2 percent of annual turnover and many businesses spend considerable amounts to curb the phenomenon. It is interesting to note that retail businesses believe they are better off not selling some products at all, as the rate of theft may be up to 30 percent on some items. It follows that certain suppliers are having problems with their sales, as their products have been found in practice to be especially susceptible to shoplifting, and as such are excluded from shelves.
Another protection method is to put high-risk products inside locked display cases, which means that an employee has to attend for the consumer to get a product, but this “takes away the spontaneous element in shopping,” according to Aristidis Panteliadis, Metro supermarket chain Managing Director. In addition, fearing shoplifting-related losses, businesses may even consider not carrying certain new product categories altogether, such as CDs and accessories.
The local branch of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), an organization established by suppliers and retailers around Europe to deal with common problems, recently placed shoplifting on its agenda for the next two to three years. Members of a working group that was set up to examine ways of minimizing thefts in Greece believe the first results will be apparent in six months’ time.
A recent ECR meeting in Milan heard that efforts to deal with shoplifting in the past eight years have helped businesses save some 620 million euros from thefts at retail stores. According to ECR data, the overall losses suffered by the entire supply chain is up to 2.3 percent, which translates into 18 billion euros in total.
It has been observed that shoplifting is often not linked to immoral customers or rundown districts, but rather to ineffective management. Recent data shows that many European businesses have successfully dealt with the problem of shoplifting mainly through measures such as proper shelf layout and improved packaging fitted with advanced anti-theft devices.
Blind finally gain access to Museum June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts Museums.add a comment
The new exhibition was launched last week at the Byzantine and Christian Museum
Following up on an earlier initiative to improve its accessibility for individuals with special needs, the Byzantine and Christian Museum has just taken another commendable step aimed at making it a more fulfilling experience for the blind.
Earlier this week, the Museum launched an exhibition comprising 10 items that can be touched by blind visitors. The Byzantine and Christian Museum stands as the country’s only Museum to have upgraded its accessibility for persons with special needs.
This latest move comes as part of a wider initiative titled “Museums For All”, a program that was launched in 2004 within the framework of the European Union’s Culture 2000 project ACCU: Access to Cultural Heritage. Agencies from five EU countries, Finland, Norway, the UK, Romania, and Greece, are taking part. The ACCU program focuses on the needs of individuals barred from taking part in activity at Museums and other cultural institutes because of inappropriate design or layout.
The makers of “Open Doors”, a DVD on the initiative that was presented at the Byzantine and Christian Museum on Wednesday, the opening day of the exhibition for the blind, hope their film will act as a constructive guide for Museum directors.
The Museum will host an international conference titled “Cultural Heritage for All: Removing Barriers, Creating Experiences” on Thursday and Friday.
Theater bids for the limelight June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts ExhibitionsGreece, Arts Festivals, Hellenic Athens Festival, Stage & Theater.add a comment
Among other events, the cycle ‘From the Page to the Stage’ features eight adaptations from novels
A rich variety of theater, local and from overseas, is on the agenda at the Hellenic Festival this summer, starting in Athens and moving on to the two ancient theaters at Epidaurus later in the season.
This year the stage is set for a veritable cornucopia of music and dance, with 36 musical performances and 34 theatrical productions, 21 Greek and 13 foreign. The latter include an especially interesting cycle titled “From the Page to the Stage”, comprising eight theatrical adaptations of novels by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy, Alexandros Papadiamantis, Dimitris Hadzis and Sotiris Dimitriou, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, Heiner Muller and Dimitris Dimitriadis.
Dostoyevsky, who appears to be especially popular this year, Peter Brook recently presented “The Grand Inquisitor”, will feature this summer in a lavish Athens Festival production as Maya Lymberopoulou, who celebrates 50 years in the theater this year, has adapted, directed and stars in “The Possessed,” along with a strong cast, including Mania Papadimitriou, Anna Mascha, Constantinos Papachronis and others. The performance will be held at the Pireos 260 venue, July 22-31.
The other great of Russian literature, Leo Tolstoy, had already been brought to the stage by Pyotr Fomenko in his adaptation of the first part of the first volume of “War and Peace” in an internationally acclaimed production.
“The Destitute Dervish”, the famed hero of one of Papadiamantis’s few so-called “Athenian Tales”, provided the inspiration for director Thodoris Gonis on which to build his production of the same title. As the dervish, shunned by society and homeless, seeks shelter one night and plays his ney to find some solace, he is approached by the wanderers of the night, the characters of a mural of Athenian society in the late 19th and early 20th century. Each has a story and a song to tell, rendered by a fine group of artists: Nikos Xydakis for the music, Christos Bokoros for the sets, Angelos Mendis for the costumes, Katerina Marangoudaki on lighting and a cast led by Sophocles Peppas, Giorgos Moroyiannis and Manolis Mavromatakis. A coproduction between the Hellenic Festival and the Regional Municipal Theater of Agrinion, “The Destitute Dervish” will be performed at the Little Theater of Ancient Epidaurus on July 6 and 7.
The Sfendoni Theater company will present “Dimitris Hadzis’s Stories” performed by a veteran of adaptations, Anna Kokkinou, who has been assisted by literature adviser Vassilis Dioskouridis. Hadzis’s highly popular stories paint a portrait of Greek history and society in the 20th century, zooming in on the modern Greek’s quest for a personal and national identity. The performance will be on stage at Pireos 260 from July 23 to 26.
A slice of contemporary history, from both sides of the Greek-Albanian border, rendered in a caustic tone through the stories of individual characters, is provided by Sotiris Dimitriou in his novel “God Tells Them So”. Nikos Arvanitis has taken this material, so rich in dialects and mood, and adapted it to the stage, in a performance where he also stars, alongside Christos Ninis, Spyros Poulis and Karafil Sena. Three musicians, playing a band of Albanian gypsies who seek shelter with three builders, played by the actors, add their own color and feel to the performance, which will be staged at the Scholeion venue on June 20 to 23.
The French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos “Les liaisons dangereuses” has provided the basis of the acclaimed film by Roger Vadim, and also for Heinser Muller’s “Quartet,” among many others. The popularity of the novel married to Muller’s signature treatments, is bound to pique the theater aficionado’s interest rather than dull it, especially as the production is directed by Robert Wilson and stars Isabelle Huppert as the Marquise de Merteuil and Ariel Garcia Valdez as Valmont. The Greek National Opera will host the Hellenic Festival’s production from July 2 to 8.
Modern Greek writing will be represented by Dimitris Dimitriadis’s “I’m Dying Like a Country”, directed by the highly capable Michail Marmarinos. “A performance with seven actors, 993 extras and a microphone,” is how the director’s original note first described the production. The writer himself will also participates in the performance, which will be held from July 14 to 16 at the Pireos 260 venue.
The “From the Page to the Stage” program will also bring us the famed Volksbuhne Am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz theater company, one of the best and most radical companies in Europe today, in Celine’s “Nord,” directed by an enfant terrible of the East German scene, Frank Castorf. The performance stars Annekathrin Burger, Marc Hosemann, Irina Kastrinidis, Young-Shin Kim and Michael Klobe, among others.
In similar vein to this cluster of performances, actor Vassilis Papavassiliou will give a reading of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s “The Death of Socrates” on July 11 at the Benaki Museum, which, in collaboration with the Hellenic Festival, is holding an exhibition of drawings that reveal the writer’s pictorial side, titled “Friedrich Durrenmatt’s Myths.” The exhibition runs through to July 29.
A no-frills ‘Seagull’ on stage in Athens June 11, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Hellenic Athens Festival, Stage & Theater.add a comment
The Krekator Theater gives its final show tonight > Annamaria Lang is one of the stars in Anton Chekhov’s play
A no-frills “Seagull” will be staged for the last time at Stage H of the 260 Pireos venue tonight. Budapest’s Krekator Theater has presented Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece without sets, costumes or lights, as part of the 2007 Athens Festival.
The production marked a landmark for the Hungarian theater company. Since its opening in 2003, it has traveled around Europe and has won the critics over.
Even from the rehearsals, the troupe strove for a new and original reading of the “The Seagull.” “Every play, every production, needs a different approach,” claims director Arpad Schilling, who does not give many interviews. “The first important step with ‘The Seagull’ was to analyze it. For months, we did nothing but discuss Chekhov’s play with the actors. We then isolated ourselves in a house on a mountain and improvized for 10 days, so as to comprehend its mise-en-scene. I believe that work never ends. Actors must continue to seek the deeper meaning in the characters they play.”
Shilling’s theater is physical, baring the characters and putting both the actors and the audience through a test. Schilling only keeps the essence of the text, uses the stage in unconventional ways and always uses live music. Every Krekator production is different, introducing a new style and not part of any tried technique. “There is no specific style or technique for me,” says Shilling. “I don’t want people to see my work and say: ‘This is Schilling’s work.’ In other words, I don’t want the audience to have any predisposition about what they are about to see when they hear a performance is mine.”
For the Hungarian director, “The Seagull” is no social drama. “It is about the strategies some people follow in their lives and the consequences of those strategies. Chekhov describes daily life with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. He reveals human nature without mercy, with blunt irony. All the characters want to satisfy their desires, their egos. It is that syndrome that Chekhov describes, not the story. Seeing a specific message in the play would be over-simplifying it. Real teachers do not convey messages, they follow their object from a distance without reaching moral conclusions.”
Krekator is considered one of Hungary’s, as well as Europe’s, major theater companies. The name Krekator means the chalk circle and symbolizes a circle that comprises a piece of human existence, life’s fleeting element and its constant rebirth.
grhomeboy
