Europeans to Enjoy Travel throughout Europe this summer ! With many of the European countries now opening up their borders to Europeans who are healthy, the message is clear. Yes, it may take some spunk to leave the safety and comfort of your home, but during these past 3+ months of stay-at-home life, most of the…
Greece : the cradle of western civilization!
Greece COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD No 70 : Greece, the cradle of western civilization! The land of the magnificent blue skies and blue waters! See our previous Countries of the World posting at Ghana : land of the Gates of No Return ! Greece has so much to offer to a visiting tourist! The…
Villa Galini : Live the life of a Greek shipping magnate!
Villa Galini. Read our previous posting : “The autonomous polity of Mount Athos” A stay at the Villa Galini Hotel in the Halkidiki region of northern Greece probably represents one of the very few opportunities you will ever have to live the life of a Greek shipping magnate. And that is because, before being…
The autonomous polity of Mount Athos!
Mount Athos. In 1960, Greek shipping magnate Yannis Carras, aboard his three-mast 58-meter schooner yacht Carita (later renamed Argonaftis), decided to cruise north to the Mount Athos peninsula of the Halkidiki region of Greece to celebrate the 1,000 year anniversary of the establishment of monasteries around Mount Athos, I am instinctively intrigued by any…
Thessaloniki, formerly the Jerusalem of the Balkans
Thessaloniki, Greece is a city with a long history, which many nationalities have helped build over the centuries. The Greeks, the Turks, the Bulgarians, the Romans have all played major roles, but one group whose major contribution is at risk of being overlooked, because relatively few traces remain of its presence, is the Jews…