METEORA

Meteora

 



      In this post, I wanted to share with you an absolutely amazing and awe inspiring video with 'unearthy' landscapes of a place in Greece called Meteora which literally means “suspended in the air”.

                 

      Meteora is an area in Thessaly (Central Greece) and what makes it so special is the monasteries on the top of these enormous rock towers.

      Access to the monasteries was originally (and deliberately) difficult and until the 17th century, the primary means of conveying goods and people from these eyries was by means of long ladders lashed together, as well as baskets and ropes.

 

      The Meteora is a protected Unesco World Heritage Site.

CRETE

A video of the beautiful island of Crete. Enjoy!



Incredible Crete Spot (5min) from Incredible Crete on Vimeo.

SUMMER VACATION 2012 (PART 4)

               

PHOTOS

                    (PART 4: Places we visited)



An oak tree with a story. Legend has it that when this tree dries up the village will disappear (meaning it will be completely deserted and become a ghost town).

       Okay, Part 4 and last! I know it almost became a TV series but I took soooo many photos and I wanted to share them with you. I really hope you enjoyed them and I didn't tire you!

 

       Well, here I have some photos from my mom's hometown. My mom spent her childhood on the high and rugged Pinthos mountains of Ipiros, in a village of the Souli area, called Agia Kiriaki. Back then, it was a very large and thriving village but as people started migrating to flat lands of lower altitude the village gradually became decayed and abandoned. Today, very few people (mostly of old age) remain in the village. 

 

Ruins of what once used to be a house

 

SUMMER VACATION 2012 (PART 3)

               

PHOTOS

 
                    (PART 3: Plants and Animals)

      The vacation saga continues with Part 3 (check out Part 1 and Part 2) - interesting plants and animals (we don't encounter in the city).





Every village in the Greek countryside has a "platano" tree (which is a kind of Sycamore Maple tree) in the middle of the village or town square. It offers plenty of shade and often tavernas set their tables right under its branches.



This next plant really astonished us with the pretty complexity of its flower bud...

SUMMER VACATION 2012 (PART 2)

                                                 PHOTOS 

(Part 2: Ocean and river)

       OK here's Part 2, the photos I promised of the ocean and the river. As I mentioned in Part 1, we stayed in a small village called Ammoudia, which is located on the banks of the river Acherontas AND by the ocean! 

      As the beach was only about 100m away from the hotel we...

                      ...were walking through the trees..

...across the hot sand...

SUMMER VACATION 2012 PART 1

                                                 PHOTOS 

     (Part 1: Destination 2012 = Ipiros)

      A very long way from Athens in the northwestern part of the country lies Ipiros (look at the map). It is 520 km (323 miles) away from Athens. It is my mother's hometown and that's where we went to this year for our vacation. Last time we had been there was 6 years ago and the kids were too young to remember much.
     Well, we had a blast! I took so many photos I had to categorise them for the blog and show them to you in parts. 

PHOTOS FROM GREECE - Part 2

PHOTOS FROM GREECE (part 1)

Really beautiful pictures from my homeland, Greece. Enjoy !!!

Iraklio, Crete island

Santorini island view

Kalymnos island

  P.S. Most of the photos are courtesy of   WorldWideGreeks.com

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL BY GREEK ARCHAEOLOGISTS

  INTERNATIONAL APPEAL BY GREEK 
  ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR 
  CULTURAL HERITAGE

     A 57'' spot to support the international campaign by S.E.A. (Greek Archaeologists Association) against the IMF / E.U. cuts in Culture ( in GREECE -and not only there..!.) Inspired by the recent museum thefts in Athens and Olympia. 19.000 archaeological sites in danger.

'ACT NOW.
MONUMENTS HAVE NO VOICE. THEY MUST HAVE YOURS'.
         

SPRING IS COMING

SPRING IS COMING !!!

The grass is getting greener and the sun is shining more often! These photos were taken 2 weeks ago at my in-laws' place (they live about an hour's drive outside of Athens). You can see there's still snow on Therphe, the mountain on Evia Island in the background.

 

Another view of Mt. Therphe. The blue water you see is not a lake, it's the sea and that is Evia island.

BREATHTAKING ATHENS FILM

                    ATHENS, GREECE



New and old combine, live togeher harmoniously!

WINTER VACATION IN GREECE?!

                     

WINTER VACATION IN GREECE?!

(Arachova)

   Greece is universally considered ideal for summer vacations with its sandy beaches, crystal clear seas and wonderful sunny days BUT it can also be an exciting winter destination!

(Mt. Parnassos)

    Who would have ever imagined that skiing or snowboarding or even snowmobiling in Greece is quite common activity during winter season!

WHAT DOES GREECE LOOK LIKE?

           

        Take a few minutes to enjoy the sights !

FULL MOON IN AUGUST

(private photo)

The full moon in August

 

 

 

       The full moon of August has a characteristic that sets it apart from the rest of the year's full moons. Its distinct color! Especially when the moon starts to rise in the sky. Magical!!! A lot of songs have been written about the August full moon.

     It is considered to be the biggest moon of the year.  Fifteen or so minutes before I took the picture the moon was huuuuuge! It was during our summer vacation last year and we had just finished our afternoon swim and I had to run back home to get the camera...I was a little late! Still, I think it's a nice photo, the full moon at sunset. So romantic!!!

 

 

NAFPLIO CITY

Nafplio (private photo)

    A panoramic view of a part of Nafplio city from the top

of its medieval castle. Nafplio is a historical city located in the southeastern part of the mainland of Greece. Beautiful, isn't it?