Monday, May 27, 2013

Do it like the Kardashians: Visit Greece this Summer!



'Heavenly'
 tweets Kim Kardashian from Mykonos
reposting this photo tweeted by her brother Brody Jenner


Keeping up with the Kardashians?

Who?         

Well, we had to plead ignorance on this one…we didn't know too much about the Kardashian family, except that they are an American family of Armenian descent who are the subject of a television reality show.... Until a couple of years ago that is.




 The first time we heard about the family was this tweet by Kim Kardashian in April of 2010 to raise awareness for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
We replied with a photo from Athens’ Syntagma Square taken at the commemoration for the 95th Anniversary of the genocide by Greece's Armenian Youth.  




@KimKardashian From the stand in Syntagma Square in Athens - the
Armenian Youth of Greece informing the public about the 95th Anniversary of the #ArmenianGenocide’


 In case you didn’t know, the Armenian people, like the Greek Pontians, were the target of the ethnic cleansing campaigns in Turkey in 1915, losing 1.5million of their own, so in a very great sense, our two peoples are kindred spirits. 

Like the Hellenes, the Armenians have migrated all over the world and have not only adapted well in their host countries, they have also been enormously successful, while from generation to generation they proudly proclaim their Armenian heritage. 

 Kim and the family raise the issue of the Armenian genocide at every opportunity, but in particular on the 24th April, the anniversary of that massacre. 

“Wow” said someone on Twitter “ Kim Kardashian just introduced the Armenian genocide to millions of people activists and journalists could never reach.”

It is to their credit, that they are using their celebrity status to bring such a subject to the attention of people around the world, via Twitter, their blogs or in any other way. 

Now to get back to the Kardashians and how they got to Mykonos.

The family acquired celebrity status from the moment their mother Kris Jenner decided to allow cameras into their home to observe every moment of their family life. Never having seen the reality show, we can’t pass judgement but a quick look at American tabloids, lifestyle, celebrity magazines and sites will be sure to have one or other of the members of the family on the front ‘cover’. 

We might not have seen Greek olive oil or Greek wine in the stores of Florida’s largest Supermarket chain, Publix, during our last trip but we certainly managed to see the Kardashian name everywhere we looked.

 It is quite obvious that the Kardashian ‘brand’ sells and it sells big time! 

That’s probably what the Mayor of Mykonos and a group of Mykonian business people counted on when they put their heads, finances and resources together, and invited the Kardashian family to come to Mykonos, Greece’s number 1 island destination for international jet-setters.
They invited the Kardashians to holiday and film their reality show in the most heavenly place on earth… and the family accepted. 

After the battering Greece’s image has received in the last couple of years and with the 2013 tourist season just round the corner, the arrival of the Kardashians en famille, whether you love them or hate them,  was a big plus and probably the best advertising Mykonos and Greece could get! 

The family was here for a few days and appeared to be having a great time in Mykonos, judging from the tweets sent out, with photos of gorgeous views attached, from the respective accounts of Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner and the other members of the family! 

They took a quick side trip to beautiful Santorini where they dined, shopped, had fun and even smashed some plates… really getting their Greek on, so to speak!  



Source: Splash

Probably the most controversial part of the trip was the photo of a happily pregnant Kim Kardashian on a Mykonos beach, in a bikini. This picture was the subject of much intense and at times ugly debate on the internet as to whether she should have released the photos for publication. 

Often criticised for her taste in clothes and especially maternity clothes, the picture below shows a woman happy with herself and at ease with her body in pregnancy, the most life-changing months in any woman’s life. Yet many people saw fit to tear her to bits... a bit hypocritical from people who spend their lives watching other people's lives on Reality TV, you would think.



 Photo:  Brian Prahl / Splash News 


We have no problem with that, especially since she chose Mykonos as the backdrop!


Dear Kardashians, 

We’re so glad you enjoyed Mykonos and felt at home in our beautiful homeland!

Help us spread the word! 

Let’s bring the world to Greece this year!




At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!

© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

Friday, May 24, 2013

Au revoir, Georges Moustaki... Ευχαριστούμε: Merci!



Georges Moustaki


Immeasurably saddened by the news of Georges Moustaki's departure from this world today, the first song that came to mind was Le Facteur and the amazingly prophetic  words...

Le jeune facteur est mort
Il n'avait que dix-sept ans

L'amour ne peut plus voyager
Il a perdu son messager

 

C'est lui qui venait chaque jour
Les bras chargés de tous mes mots d'amour
C'est lui qui tenait dans ses mains
La fleur d'amour cueillie dans ton jardin

 

Il est parti dans le ciel bleu
Comme un oiseau enfin libre et heureux
Et quand son âme l'a quitté
Un rossignol quelque part a chanté

 

Je t'aime autant que je t'aimais
Mais je ne peux le dire désormais

Il a emporté avec lui
Les derniers mots que je t'avais écrit


Il n'ira plus sur les chemins
Fleuris de roses et de jasmins
Qui mènent jusqu'à ta maison
 

L'amour ne peut plus voyager
Il a perdu son messager
Et mon coeur est comme en prison

 

Il est parti l'adolescent
Qui t'apportait mes joies et mes tourments

L'hiver a tué le printemps
Tout est fini pour nous deux maintenant


Manos Hadjidakis' Ο Ταχυδρόμος Πέθανε... 


Translated into French as Le Facteur  took me right back to the days of our wonderful French Department of my university on the other side of the world...

The first Moustaki song I ever heard, it travelled me back to many wonderful hours spent listening to French music, a multi-talented, multi-cultural group of students, with many and varied backgrounds working as we listened to Moustaki, Mouskouri, Brassens, Brel, Aznavour, Piaf and many other amazing French artists. Hours of language lab work, hours spent in coffee and discussion, hours spent singing along with David and his guitar and the rest of the faculty on the many trips we went on, sharing our love of French music and culture with the rest of the country.

Looking back, I should have known what would follow. I was especially  interested in the Global Greek element of what we were listening to.

The mix of Greek-Alexandrian-French-Jewish that was Moustaki (meteque, juif errant et patre grec),and all those influences on his music, and the more classic Greek International that was Nana Mouskouri helped shape my musical tastes fairly early on. By the time I moved to Greece, I couldn't wait to see them in person - one of the many bonuses living in Greece would offer.

The first time I saw and heard Moustaki, was at a charity concert in the auditorium of the prestigious Athens College. 

We loved it, Moustaki was fabulous... expressive, soft, melodic voice even when speaking, great performance but we were blessed with the 'misfortune' of sitting behind his friend, the one and only George Dalaras, whose wife couldn't stop talking until Georges called George onto the stage to join him... thankfully, and we all breathed a sigh of relief...

En Mediterranee, Le Meteque , Eimaste Dyo - Nous Sommes deux, we heard all these and many more trademark Moustaki songs that night...fantastic melodies, beautiful words. Songs which we were lucky enough to hear live several times in Greece - Moustaki loved Greece and he came back often.

The last concert we saw him at was at the Veakion open-air theatre in Piraeus, and it was truly magical.

Moustaki with his flowing white hair elegantly clothed in classic all white, his magnificent voice and a full moon seemingly rising from the sea... what more could we ask for?  

Paradise En Mediterranee in every sense of the word.... 

So many wonderful memories to go with the beautiful songs you are leaving us and for which we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 

Beautiful songs which helped shape our lives. 
  
Merci, Ευχαριστούμε...

Au revoir, Georges Moustaki


Καλό Ταξίδι...

Bon Voyage...



PS The playlist above is our tribute to one of our most wonderful Global Greek artists. If you click on the video and let it play on...  from Joseph to Il y avait un Jardin...you are sure to hear most of your favourite Moustaki songs



At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!

© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

49 Years Old and Never Been to the Greek Islands? Just DO it! Visit Greece This Summer!



Russell Crowe, 
 Kiwi-turned-Aussie 'Gladiator', 
and Academy Award Winning actor
tweeted this yesterday, 21 May 2013,
from Mykonos, 
just ONE of Greece's magnificent Greek Islands... 

How is it that I've lived 49 years on this planet but never been to the Greek Islands before? So beautiful. Yassou Mykonos I will return."

Time to make up for those 49 lost years Russell

So many islands to go!

See you again soon!  

Yassou!


At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!

© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

Saturday, May 18, 2013

GO GREECE! Eurovision 2013 - OPA!!!!




 Agathonas and Koza Mostra

The group Koza Mostra got together with popular rebetiko singer and cult figure Agathonas Iakovidis to perform the song Alcohol Is Free, Greece's entry in tonight's Eurovision Song Competition!


Agathonas with baglamadaki and komboloi

We love the song, we love the cool, unmoved-by-anything-except-his-song-and-his baglamadaki-Agathonas, and we love the skirts, which take us back to Greece's school uniforms of yesteryear!

Wacky, catchy and crazy enough to win!

If you are in a European country other than Greece, don't forget to vote for G R E E C E!!!

Looking forward to a few 'douze points' (12 points) tonight! 

As Agathonas says:  

Γεια μας!!!




Agathonas and Koza Mostra 
Eurovision Final 18 May 2013  

Results: the song came in at No 6, with a real fun performance by Agathonas and Koza Mostra - probably the most fun performance of the night!

Greece got off to a great start receiving its first 12 points from San Marino, the first country to call in the results! 

Greece got her 2nd 12 from Cyprus, 10 from Albania and Russia, 8 from Armenia, the United Kingdom and Montenegro, 7 from Austria, Italy, Rumania and Bulgaria, 6 from Belarus, Denmark and Germany and  1, 2, 3, 4  and 5 from a few other countries. 

Thank you to all who voted for Greece: we proved that we know how to have fun despite the economic doom and gloom!! 

OPA!!!


 At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!

© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Today's Google Doodle: My Greece, Sun and Sea - Η Ελλάδα μου, 'Ηλιος και Θάλασσα



 Η Ελλάδα μου, Ηλιος και Θάλασσα
My Greece, Sun and Sea
 Asterios Reynik

We've always known that Greece's blue and white flag, 
her blue sea and her golden sun are a winning combination and today Google simply confirmed it! 

 The beautiful, colourful and essentially Greek drawing that we saw on Google's main page today
was the winning entry in the  
Doodle 4 Google 2013 Competition
organised by Google.
Open to all students in Greece, between 6 and 18 years old, 
the competition ran from 15 April to 7 May this year.

The winning entry came from
 
Asterios Reynik, 
 2nd Primary School, 
Litohoro, 
Greece 

 This young man has won a couple of prizes for himself but more importantly he has won a lot for his school! 

Congratulations Asterios! 

We love it! 

You've done us proud!



At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows! 

© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Καλή Πρωτομαγιά - Happy May Day!



Μια εκδρομή την Πρωτομαγιά / May Day Picnic ...
a bit of nostalgia from the gorgeous classic Greek school books that we grew up with



In Greece this year May Day falls in the middle of Holy Week and as the public holiday has been transferred to the Tuesday after Easter, we will be gathering our May Day flowers next week.

Thanks to Stella X, Holland for sending this picture to us, just to remind us of the happy, carefree days of our childhood. Wonderful carefree days that all children around the world are entitled to but don't always have. As we celebrate May Day and its meaning, the rights to humane and dignified working conditions that our ancestors fought for, let's spare a few minutes to think of the children in countries where child labour is 'normal', countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, India, Pakistan or Bangladesh - a country that today is mourning the loss of at least 400 clothing workers killed under a collapsed building, killed because the authorities and the brand names they were working for, conveniently forgot that these are people with exactly the same rights as the rest of us and did nothing to ensure the safety of 'their' people, the people working for them.


Happy May Day everyone!
Καλή Πρωτομαγιά!
Καλό μήνα!



At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!
© GlobalGreekWorld 2013 All Rights Reserved

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

IMAGES OF GREECE ...ABROAD

IMAGES OF GREECE ...ABROAD
Archangel Michael's Shrine, Tarpon Springs, Florida, USA

25th March Parade To Cenotaph Wellington, New Zealand

25th March Anniversary Parade, Wellington, New Zealand