Christmas: Shopping in Athens

Athens is a holiday destination for all seasons but during Christmas period, the streets take on an entirely different fervor. It is common secret that in Athens you can buy Christmas gifts you probably would not find at home.

At the areas of Monastiraki and Plaka, you will find many tourist shops selling mostly  souvenirs, jewellery, traditional local products and antiques.
 

Around the pedestrian Ermou street, near Syntagma Square, you will find chain department stores, fashion stores and cosmetics shops. A little further, at Kolonaki area, you can visit famous Greek and International designer's shops.

At Panepistimiou Str. and  at Academia’s Str., you can find among others many Book Stores.
 
However, the best place for shopping in Greece is the "little shop at the corner", where you ‘ll find the traditional way of shopping.   

The Medieval City of Rhodes

Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in the eastern Aegean and a popular tourist destination.   

The Medieval City of Rhodes was built in 1309, under the rule of the "Knights of Rhodes". 

It is considered as the oldest inhabited medieval town in Europe. In the Medieval City of Rhodes, which has been declared a World Heritage Site, you may for sure enjoy one of the most interesting walks on the island.

The Medieval City of Rhodes fascinates its visitors because of its impressive monuments: Medieval castles, Byzantine buildings, Gothic churches, Mosques and traditional fountains, create a unique mosaic of different cultures and civilizations.

The city's most famous monument undoubtedly is the Palace of the Grand Masters which has imposing dimensions and very strong fortifications. The palace is converted to a museum.

A few words for Mount Athos

Mount Athos is the oldest surviving monastic community in the world. A World Heritage Site and self-governed state (by its own local administration, although part of Greece), Athos is home to 20 stavropegial Eastern Orthodox monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople. Greeks commonly refer to Mount Athos as the "Agion Oros" (Holy Mountain).  It occupies the best part of the Athos peninsula in Halkidiki (North Greece).
The peninsula, the easternmost "leg" of the larger Halkidiki peninsula, protrudes 31 miles into the Aegean Sea at a width of between 4.3 and 7.5 miles and covers an area of 129.59 square miles. The actual Mount Athos has steep, densely forested slopes reaching up to 6,670 ft.Though land-linked, Mount Athos is practically accessible only by boat. This why Mount Athos has remained one of the most unspoiled parts of Greece, a place of extraordinary natural beauty.

The fortress of Trikala

Trikala is a city located in Thessaly perfecture. In the northeast side of the town lies the "Fortress of Trikala" with the imposing tower-clock. It was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD. The Clock Tower of Trikala is the oldest known in Greece. 

 

The first clock was replaced several years ago, because it was bombed by the Germans.

Every summer, visitors can enjoy a variety of events and theatrical performances at the fort (it hosts the famous open air theater of Trikala). 

The Clock Tower is open for tourists.

Mount Athos Monasteries: Iveron

The Holy Monastery of Iveron was founded at the end of the 10th century (between 980-983 AD) under the supervision of the master architect St John the Iberian.

It is an Eastern Orthodox monastery at the monastic state of Mount Athos in Greece.  The monastery ranks third in the hierarchy of the Athonite monasteries. The library of Iviron monastery contains over 2000 manuscripts, 15 liturgical scrolls, and more than 20,000 Georgian, Greek, Hebrew and Latin books.

 

The monastery has the relics of more canonized saints than any other on Mount Athos. Among the numerous relics and other holy objects treasured at the monastery is the Icon of the The Panagia Portaitissa, a famous 9th century icon.

The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron

It is the biggest and oldest of the six monasteries located at Meteora. It was founded in the 14th century AD by St. Athanasios Meteorites, a monk from Mount Athos. The rock on which the Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron stands, rises over 2,000 feet above sea level.

The old building of the monastery serves nowadays as the main museum for tourists. Among the exhibits of the museum are wood-carved crosses, important religious manuscripts and rare ricons.

National Park of Messolonghi-Etoliko Lagoons

The park is located in Etoloacarnania prefecture, near Mesolonghi town, where Evinos and Acheloos rivers fall. 

The whole park is considered one of the most important wetlands in Europe. 

A large tract of land is under nature protection by the Ramsar Convention Rules, also included in the Natura 2000 network.

The Mesolonghi lagoon which is 11,600 hectares large, is considered to be one of the largest lagoons of the Mediterranean sea. The Achelous delta, is the most extensive delta in Greece.  Evinos river outfalls and Etoliko Lagoon are areas of great ecological, biological and aesthetic value.

The park is very important for bird watchers since more than 170 species of birds are found (most of them protected): the Short-toed Eagle, the Imperial Eagle, the Dalmatian Pelican, the Middlespotted Woodpecker, the Isabelline Wheatear, the White Stork, the Greater Flamingo, the Spur-winged Plover and many others.

Lake Kerkini

Lake Kerkini is a significant birding site in Greece located at north Macedonia. The role of lake Kerkini is very important since it is situated along the migratory flyway for many species of migratory birds. 

The lake hosts at least 300 kinds of birds, many of them rare. 76 of them are recorded in the National Red Catalogue, and more than 30 of them are protected by EEC's Directive concerning wild life.

The wetland of Kerkini is included in the catalogue of the Ramsar Convention. It is considered the most significant area for hibernation of the Dalmatian Pelicans in Europe. Some rare species that use the wetland area are: the little egret, the European cormorant, the short toed eagle, the black tern, the pygmy cormorant, the squacco heron, the spoonbill, the white stork, the purple heron, the glossy ibis, the little grebe, the peregrine, etc

The Wetland of Sourpi

 

The wetland of Sourpi is located in Magnesia Prefecture, 55 km southwest of Volos, very close to Almyros town. 

 The whole area is under nature protection by the Ramsar Convention Rules because of its great ecological, biological and aesthetic value.

The site encompasses coastal wetlands, brackish marshland, and lowland oak forest.   

The wetland of Sourpi is important to numerous migratory birds, such as the mute swan, spoonbill, glossy ibis, as well as various nightingales and herons.

Other bird species that live in the area are various species of eagles, vultures, woodpeckers etc

Happy New Year 2013

Wishing you a year that is filled with all the fragrance of roses, illuminated with all the lights of the world and be blessed with all the smiles on the planet. 

Hope this year will be the year when all your dreams come true. Happy New Year 2013.

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