Tripadvisor and Huffington Post place Greece in Top World Destinations

Tripadvisor: Greece in Top World Destinations

Greece is among the world’s top-10 dream destinations according to TripBarometer April 2014: Global Edition, a study that reveals changes in consumer spending plans and worldwide travel patterns and also reports behavioural differences in planning and booking habits of travellers at different life stages. When asked "which countries would you love to visit in the next 24 months if money were no object?" Australia and Italy topped the global wish list, and were followed by the United States, France, New Zealand, Caribbean, Greece, Japan, Spain and Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Greece is included in the 10 dominant destinations of American tourists and tops the list of "dream destinations" for Argentines.

Huffington Post: 13 Reasons Why the Cyclades Are Basically Paradise

The Huffington Post pays tribute to the whopping 220 Cyclades islands, presenting "13 Reasons Why the Cyclades Are Basically Paradise." Spectacular hotels, colourful beaches, unique culinary experiences and breathtaking views are only few of the reasons to look for a slice of heaven in the Cyclades group of islands, "an amazing mix of culture, history, and cuisine, and a natural beauty to rival any of the world's exotic island getaways!"

Notre grande diva a son musée.

Maria Callas, la cantatrice grecque née le 2 décembre 1923 à New York et décédée à Paris le 16 septembre 1977, surnommée «la Bible de l'opéra» par le compositeur et chef d'orchestre américain Léonard Bernstein, est une référence incontournable en musique classique et le musée consacré à sa vie et à son œuvre sera accueilli avec enthousiasme dans sa ville natale. Costumes, souvenirs et accessoires personnels, lettres et télégrammes de Maria Callas seront exposés de façon moderne, interactive et amicale dans le musée homonyme au centre-ville d’Athènes à partir de 2015. 

Enrichi avec du matériel audiovisuel, le musée offrira aux visiteurs une expérience unique, car le fonds audiovisuel du musée sera l’axe autour duquel le visiteur approchera la vie et l’œuvre de la diva absolue. «Dès l’ascenseur, on pourra entendre Maria Callas s’exprimer dans sa langue natale, le grec, un document sonore inédit», selon Andromachi Gazi chargé du projet de musée consacré à la diva, qui doit ouvrir l’année prochaine à Athènes. Le musée fonctionnera en 2015 dans un bâtiment de style néoclassique de trois étages et de 1.070 m2. qui appartient à la municipalité d´Athènes et est situé au numéro 44 de rue Mitropόleos avec une vue qui donne sur l´Acropole.

Un prix pour le réseau ''Routes du vin du Nord de la Grèce''

 

Le réseau oeno-touristique ''Routes du vin du Nord de la Grèce'' a été primé comme ''l'une des plus importantes pratiques du tourisme grec" dans le cadre de l'institution des prix du tourisme "Tourism Awards 2014''. Le prix a été décerné pour la contribution du Réseau au développement et à la promotion du tourisme œnologique en Grèce.

Selon un communiqué du Réseau vendredi, la sélection des meilleures pratiques a été opérée via le ''processus équitable institué par « Hotel & Restaurant » sous les auspices du ministère du Tourisme et de l'EOT (Office hellénique du Tourisme) visant à promouvoir l'excellence et l'innovation dans le domaine des voyages, de l'hospitalité et du tourisme de loisirs".

Le réseau "Routes du vin du Nord de la Grèce" a été fondé en 1996, en établissant, selon le communiqué, le tourisme œnologique en Grèce à travers huit pistes viticoles différentes, des dizaines de caves qui peuvent être visitées, des entreprises associées (restaurants, hôtels, produits locaux du terroir) et de nombreuses propositions et activités avec de grandes manifestations annuelles institutionnalisées "Portes ouvertes''. Source ana-mpa.

 

Notre histoire œnologique: les vins de Mont Athos

Que peut-on trouver dans une bouteille de vin de Mont Athos ? L’histoire, la tradition, la religion et les coutumes dans l’ensemble sont bien maintenues

Depuis plus de mille ans, la viticulture a été l'une des principales activités des moines orthodoxes retirés sur les flancs orientaux de cette majestueuse péninsule dominant sur la mer Égée. Deux semaines avant la célébration de Pâques orthodoxe, le vin retrouve sa pleine signification, car avec le pain sont les deux symboles puissants, représentant le corps et le sang du Christ, célébrés lors de la communion de Samedi matin avant la Résurrection.
Certains disent que c’est grâce à ce rite sacré qu’on a pu s’assurer la survie de la viticulture en Occident. C’est sans doute le cas des célèbres vignes de la Montagne Sacrée.

L'histoire nous apprend que le vin a toujours servi non seulement pour la préparation du mystère de la communion, mais aussi pour la consommation. Les vendanges constituaient un rituel discret, sans chant ni danse. Ce fût le commencement d’une tradition de fabrication du vin qui remonte loin dans le temps. 

Cette tradition fait partie de la renommée production de vins athonites contemporains protégés par une indication géographique qui désigne les vins dont les caractéristiques sont étroitement liées à la zone géographique au nord de la Grèce de 389 kilomètres carrés dans laquelle les vignes se cultivent et où se déroule soit leur production soit leur transformation. La production de vin de Mont Athos a connu un essor considérable après les années 1970. Une invasion de phylloxéra suivi du manque de main d’œuvre nécessaire étaient à l’origine d’un énorme déclin de la production qui va de 1800 jusqu’au début des années 1970.

3η ΓΙΟΡΤΗ ΣΠΟΡΩΝ στην ΚΡΗΤΗ

Rally Acropolis 2014. First position for Breen and the Peugeot 208!

Craig Breen with his Peugeot 208 T16 made his first official appearance and managed to put his name on the list of the Acropolis Rally winners! It was also the winning debut for the 208 R5 and the first time in the career of the Irish driver to step up on the top of the podium, both in the ERC and internationally. 

He was in fact the winner beyond any doubt since he was on the lead of the overall classification during both days of the rally. Today he faced no problems on the gravel stages and, in fact, not even the counter attack of Bryan Bouffier with his Citroen DS3 RRC was capable of threatening him. On the contrary, whenever needed he speeded up in the special stages, managing in the end to celebrate an impressive win which made the organizers of the Eurosport event to award him with the "Colin McRae Trophy", a prize given to the most spectacular driver of each ERC round.

The second position of the podium was taken by the French Bryan Bouffier, former official test driver of Hyundai, who despite his famous performances on tarmac, was determined to push today on gravel, although without achieving the win. That being said, it is certain that he could have managed to lead in the rally if he had avoided the three mistakes during the two days of the rally that cost him precious time. In any case, his work was not easy since at the beginning of Leg 2, Kajetan Kajetanowicz and his Ford Fiesta R5 were close behind him, pushing for the second overall position. Nevertheless, in the middle of the day, the French speeded up causing the less experienced Poland Rally Champion to fall back in time. Nonetheless, Kajetanowicz gained important points for the rest of the Championship.

Further behind, at the fourth overall position, lies Esapekka Lappi and his factory supported Skoda Fabia S2000. The talented Finn, although he is considered to be one of the key players of ERC, was not competitive in today's gravel stages. Being himself a winner in Latvia Rally, he argued that it would be difficult with R5 and RRC cars since his S2000 was not powerful enough. The fifth position was won by the Portuguese Bruno Magalhaes with his Peugeot 207 S2000 who was troubled throughout the rally by both poor tyre choice and car setup. Anyhow, the former Portugal Rally Champion is more than happy for the final result as he has minimum participation in gravel rallies over the past years. From Rally Azores he will be competing with a Peugeot 208 T16 R5. A few steps behind him lay the Russian Vasily Gryazin with his Ford Fiesta S2000, who was faster on his favorite gravel surfaces today. In fact, had he avoided the flat tyre at the start of the day, he would have managed to take the fifth position from Magalhaes. Jaroslav Orsak with a Skoda Fabia S2000 and Jean Michel Raoux with his Peugeot 207 S2000 were at the seventh and eighth positions, respectively.

The big drama was played at the Production Category, with the leader Erdi Tibor Jr. and his Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX finishing the last special stage Loutraki 2 with a broken rear suspension, preventing him from reaching the last service park and completing the rally. Thus, the winner of this category was Vitaliy Pushkar with a Lancer EVO X, who also finished the last special stage with problems at the front suspension of his Mitsubishi. Equally exciting proved to be the 2WD category, when the leader of the rally until the penultimate special stage, Zoltan Bessenyey and his Honda Civic Type-R, was passed by the Italian Simone Tempestini. Nonetheless, neither he managed to smile, since the engine of his DS3 R3T failed him at the last stage and the victory passed to the Russian Evgeny Sukhovenko and his Renault Clio R3. Typical Acropolis! Today the Acropolis Rally signaled also the second round of the Greek Championship, with Lambros Kirkos and his Lancer EVO IX being first, followed by Grigoris Nioras and a Subaru Impreza N12 and the Cypriot Kiriakos Kiriakou with a Subaru Impreza N14.

The 60th Acropolis Rally closed with the typical Award Ceremony at the crowded Service Park at Loutraki.

Protect Migrant Crime Victims in Greece.

The Greek government should immediately drop plans that would deter migrant victims from reporting law enforcement abuse, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also reintroduce measures to protect undocumented victims and witnesses of crimes, including racist violence. Parliament is debating these issues as it examines a draft immigration code.

“The government’s last minute proposals targeting migrants who report law enforcement abuse go in exactly the wrong direction,” said Eva Cossé, Greece specialist at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of encouraging victims to come forward, the changes would have a chilling effect and increase existing obstacles for justice.”

On March 19, 2014, Interior Minister Giannis Michelakis introduced an amendment to the draft immigration code providing for the arrest, prosecution, and deportation of migrants who accuse government employees of using violence against them if a prosecutor determines the accusations were false or that there is insufficient evidence to press charges. The controversial amendment was removed twice from the bill last week amid criticism from opposition parties and the government coalition partner, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PA.SO.K.). But the government has indicated it will submit a new version of the amendment this week.

The provision would violate the principle of non-discrimination by limiting access to justice for migrant victims of law enforcement abuse, Human Rights Watch said. It would also reverse the presumption of innocence at the expense of victims and witnesses of law enforcement abuse, by creating a statutory presumption of the guilt of the person filing the complaint if the prosecutor decides to not press charges against a law enforcement officer.

At the same time, the government removed a provision from the bill that would have given prosecutors the authority to grant humanitarian visas to undocumented victims and witnesses of felonies and other serious crimes, including hate crimes. Human Rights Watch has heard repeatedly from victims of racist violence in Greece that the threat by police of possible detention and deportation deterred them from reporting a racist attack or pursuing the case.

The government should immediately reintroduce the humanitarian clause, Human Rights Watch said. In addition, law enforcement officials should be required to suspend any immigration law actions arising from the undocumented status of a victim or witness of an alleged attack, pending a prima facie assessment by a prosecutor of the merits of the complaint about the attack. These provisions would be consistent with the EU directive on the rights, support, and protection of victims of crime.

“It’s in everyone’s interest in Greece to hold anyone responsible for a violent crime accountable – and that should include law enforcement officers,” Cossé said. “The government should encourage reporting, not threaten victims with arrest, detention, and deportation.”

Let's make change together, Racist Impunity in Greece http://goo.gl/ZWh7p6

Source: Human Rights Watch