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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Beauty That Is Greece: World Tourism Day September 27, 2010

 General Theodoros Kolokotronis

This statue of the most well known of the leaders of the 1821 Revolution 
stands in front of the National Historical Museum in Athens

 The  Old Parliament (Palaia Vouli )
now 
The National Historical Museum


 Harilaos Trikoupis 
Greek Prime Minister 1880 on
 'The Father of Modern Greece'

The statue of the visionary Trikoupis is known stands in front of the Palaia Vouli.
Many of his personal belongings are on display in the museum

Η ΕΛΛΑΣ ΘΕΛΕΙ ΝΑ ΖΗΣΗ ΚΑΙ ΘΑ ΖΗΣΗ
Ellas wants to live and live she will!

This quote at the base of the statue is indicative of
Trikoupis' deep faith in the future of Greece

 Harilaos Trikoupis Bridge - Rio- Antirio
The world's largest cable-stayed bridge

Harilaos Trikoupis' vision of uniting mainland Greece with a
 bridge connecting Rio with Antirio, materialised in 2004 and took his name. 
The Corinth Canal and the Athens Suburban Railway (Ilektriko) 
were two of the projects undertaken during Trikoupis' premiership.



Yesterday, 27 September,  was World Tourism Day and as Greece is one of the world's foremost tourist destinations, the Hellenic Culture Ministry advised that all Museums and archaeological sites in Greece would be open and entrance free for the public! 

A great initiative which follows the Cultural Heritage Weekend which falls traditionally on the last weekend of September and effectively meant that Greece's visitors and residents alike had a unique chance to visit Greece's many museums and archaeological sites, free of charge for 3 days in a row!

This post is slightly different to our usual kind of posts. Greece has so many excellent museums and archaeological sites and so many beautiful spots that it is hard to fit them into one post, but we thought we would just share some of our favourites with you ...in photos!


Sunset
 
Kalyves Beach, Apokorona, Crete

Aghios Manolis, Askyfou, Sfakia , Crete

This is the only known church dedicated to St Manoli,
on the road to Sfakia

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus 

Sacred, hallowed ground
An amazing sense of History all around...

The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus 

The Left Portal

  Melina on The Acropolis

Melina Mercouri, Minister, Activist and Actress fought till her last breath for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles in Athens.
Her legacy to the world...



The New Acropolis Museum - Melina's Vision

Waiting patiently for the Parthenon Marbles to come home...

The New Acropolis Museum

One of the many excavations on display that the visitor can see in situ
 
The Theatre of Herodus Atticus (Herodeion)
  
History, culture and legend come together below the Parthenon


 Limni Kournas

The only natural freshwater lake in Crete, 
Kournas is also home to small creatures and many ducks. 


 Rumour has it that the ducks are looked after  by the resident 
water nymphs who comb their hair in the moonlight. The plants around 
the shores (liges) were used extensively for weaving the baskets 
which have made the region of Apokorona famous. 

Nafplio

Greece's first capital city, a beautiful town, a great main square, 
loads of history and it will soon host a great cupcake cafe!

Paleros 

Idyllic sailing in the deep blue of the Ionian Sea
with Meganissi and Lefkada just across the water... 
around the corner from Skorpios, Onassis' private paradise



The sacred olive tree....

Greece's capital city got it's name from the  Goddess Athena when she won the competition with Poseidon. Athena struck  her spear to the ground and caused an olive tree to spring forth, thus  supplying wood, oil and food. This appealed to the Athenians who judged  that the city would be named after her... This particular olive tree is  over 1000 years old and is in the Apokorona region of Crete

Venizelos Tombs

Magnificent view of Chania, Crete from the Profiti Ilia site of 
Eleftherios and Sofoklis Venizelos Tombs at Akrotiri 

Venizelos Tombs 

A 'Tomb' with a view, the best in Chania!

Hora Sfakion, Sfakia, Crete

The Allied troops were evacuated to North Africa from this bay 
after the Battle of Crete in May and June of 1941


Goats... with a view

A familiar sight all around Greece

The House of Troy... Iliou Melathron

was built by the architect Ernst Ziller for archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and his Greek wife Sophia, as a residence. At the time, it also housed some of the mythical treasures from Schliemann's Troy and Mycenae excavations. Today it is the Athens Numismatic Museum and apart from the fabulous coin collections and historical documents, it also showcases Schliemann's life and works with wall paintings of his finds. A well-kept secret is the little cafe tucked away in the garden behind the building - a welcome oasis in a busy city... makes great hot chocolate!

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