About Greece
Official name of Greece is Hellenic Republic.
The country is located in southeastern Europe, on
the southern end of Balkan Peninsula and extends
over 131,940 sq. km. Greece consists of a mainland
and numerous islands (1400, only 227 if them are
inhabited).
Greece has land boarders as well as sea borders.
Greece is boarded by the Ionian Sea in the west, by
the Aegean Sea and Turkey in the east, by Albania,
Macedonia and Bulgaria in the north and by
Mediterranean Sea in the south.
Below you can see a Greece Island Map, simply
click on the name of any place to get more
information about Greece cities.
The capital of
the city is Athens with the population of 3,566,060
people.
The other major cities of Greece are Thessaloniki
(1,057,825 people), Piraeus (880,529 people), Patras,
Iraklion, Larissa.
The climate in Greece is Mediterranean, the winters
are wet, the summers are hot and dry.
Greece is a member of European Union, NATO, WEU, ESA,
OECD.
Government & Politics
Greece is a republic with the Parliament and
Constitution drawn up in 1975. The President of the
Republic has got a nominal position and is elected
by the Parliament every 5 years. The president's
duties are ceremonial, and all the political and
strategically important decisions are taken by the
Prime Minister who will appointed by the President
in the formal way and who is also the head of
Government.
According the Constitution the executive power is
represented by the President and the Government,
legislative power is represented by the unicameral
Parliament. The judicial power is independent and
includes 3 Supreme courts: the Court of Cassation,
the Council of State and the Court of Auditors.
The Judiciary system is represented also by civil
courts, administrative courts and administrative
authorities.
Nowadays the political system in Greece is dominated
by 2 parties: liberal-conservative New Democracy
(ND) and social -democratic Pan-Hellenic Socialist
Movement (PASOK). The other significant parties in
Greece are represented by the Coalition by the
Radical Left (SYRIZA), the Popular Orthodox Rally
(LAOS) and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).
Greece Religion
97% of the Greek population call themselves Greek
orthodox. Muslim confident population (300,000
Muslims are estimated) is mostly concentrated in
Thrace. Other small religious groups in Greece are
Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Old Calendar Orthodox
and Mormons.
Greece Languages
Greece is a multilingual country today, however the
majority of population in Greece use their native
language Greek as their primary language. As for the
Muslim community, generally Turkish, Bulgarian and
Romani are spoken. There are some small groups
speaking Macedonian, Ladino and the Pontic dialect.
Greece Culture
Greece culture is a combination of different
cultures and is influenced first of all by its
location between East and West, thus the life style
of the Greek population is also influenced by
various cultures and traditions. Greeks are very
religious people and the institute of marriage plays
an important role in Greek society. There is a lot
if religious festivals which Greeks celebrate with
great pleasure. Greek Festivals have a common name "panagiri"
in the country. The panagiri are celebrated in
different seasons and are always connected with
Greek traditions. Among all the festivals some many
events can be pointed out:
-
Summer cinemas in Greece: open-air cinemas show the
public different movies in the open area from May
till September.
-
Easter in Greece: the Easter's celebration lasts for
1 month in Greece, from April till May. The
tradition of celebrating Easter includes the Epitaph
on Good Friday and the colossal celebration with
music, good food and dance.
-
Greece carnivals: the mostly of them are organized
for fun and entertainment and marked with dance,
music, shows of art and culture. However some of the
festivals are dedicated to some traditional and
religious events in Greece: epiphany, Greek
Independence day (Greece' liberation from the
Ottomans on 25th of March 1821), the NO (28th of
October, the day where Metaxas said no to the
Italians who intended to invade the country).
-
Greek traditions come usually from
religion or paganism, it differs from region to
region. Here are some of them:
-
Bread. In villages bread is thought to be a gift of
God, old women bless bread crossing the sign upon it
with the knife before slicing.
-
Knifes. Greeks never hand knifes from hand to hand
directly. They believe that if they do it, they will
fight with this person, that's why they first put
the knife down and then the other person can take
it.
-
Priests. In villages there is a custom to kiss the
pope's hand while meeting him, it means respect.
However meeting a pope and a black cat on the same
day means bad luck.
-Tuesday
the 13th. The Greeks believes that Tuesday the 13th
is unlucky day, not Friday the 13th, like it is
believed in West.
-
Piase Kokkino (Touch red). When 2 people say the
same thing at the same moment, they should
immediately say "piase kokkino" to each other and
touch something red they can found in the
surroundings. It is believed that saying the same
thing is an omen and these 2 persons will argue or
fight with each other, if they do not touch red.
Greece education
The Greek educational
system consists of 3 levels:
-
Primary level: it is divided into Preschool
education (kindergarten classes) and Primary
education (Primary schools).
-
Secondary level: the first step of this level is
provided in Gymnasiums, and the second steps - in
Educational Institutes and Unified Lyceums.
-
Tertiary Level: consists also of 2 alternatives.
University education is provided by Universities,
and non- university education is offered by Higher
Technological Educational Institutes or Higher
Education Institutes.
Education is compulsory for the children from 6 till
15 years. The school life starts for children from
2,5 years of age and is offered in public or private
crashes.
Greece Educational system was brought to the
international standard according UNESCO.
Tourism in Greece
Greece mainland and the Greek islands are one of the
most favorite travel destination in Europe. Over 15
millions tourists come every year to Greece famous
with its rich history and wonderful beaches. The
income from tourism is a huge part of Greece
economy. There are a lot of historical and
archaeological places in Greece showing us the past
of this country. Greece has a lot of popular
destinations, the Greek islands possess all the
facilities to make your vacation in Greece
unforgettable. The peak of season lasts from May
till September inviting everybody to enjoy sunny
weather and beautiful beaches and landscapes of
Greece and Greek islands.
We invite you to surf our web page, we provided here
a lot of pictures and useful information about
Greece, Greece History, accommodations, sightseeing,
tours in Greece mainland and the Greek islands.
