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Brief History |
| Greece boasts a very
long history. The first Greek - speaking civilization, the Mycenean
Civilization was centered in the Peloponnese region. The rise of the
Greek city states occurred sometime around 1200 to 800 BC and
heralded the Golden Age of Greece. The legacy of Greek Civilization
from this time period made a major impact on the world and continues
to influence us to this day. |
| During the 4th
Century, Alexander the Great, conquered all of Greece, and proceeded
eastward, creating an empire all the way to the South. Later, the
Italian City States of Genoa and Venice competed with the Ottoman
Turks for control of various areas of Greece and managed to conquer
various islands and coastal areas. The Greek Revolution finally
broke out and the nation finally achieved its independence from the
Ottoman Empire in 1829. |
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Getting There |
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Athens'
Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport (located near the Athens
suburbof Spata), is the country's largest busiest airport and main
hub. Other major international airports in term's of passenger
traffic are Heraklion (Nikos Kazantzakis Int'I), Thessaloniki (Makedoniaint'I),
Rhodes (Diagoras), and Corfu (Ioannes Kapodistrias). Thessaloniki is
Greece's hub for international rail service. Trains connect
Thessaloniki to Sofia, Bucharest, Budapest, Istanbul, and other
international cities. Greece can be entered by automobile from any
of its land neighbors. From Italy, ferries will transport cars to
Greece. From western Europe, the most popular route to Greece was
through Yugoslavia. There is some, albeit limited, international bus
service to neighboring Albania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. From Italy,
several ferries depart for Greece daily. There also ferries to
Marmaris and Kusadasi in Turkey and Cyprus and Alexandria in Egypt
to Greece. |
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Regions in Brief |
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The peninsula that constitutes
mainland Greece is surrounded by more than 1400 islands, of which
169 are inhabited. The islands are divided into six groups ; the
Cyclades, the lonians, the Dodecanese, the islands of the
Norhteastern Aegean, the Sporades and the Saronic Gulf Islands. The
two largest islands, Crete and Evia, do not belong to any group.
Roughly four - fifths of Greece is mountainous, with most land lying
over 1500m (4920ft) above sea level. |
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Getting Around |
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Intercity Buses are a very popular
option for domestic travel. KTEL is the national government -
subsidized network of independent businesses. It serves both long
and short distances, including routes from major cities to islands
near the mainland, such as Corfu. Trains are another inexpensive way
to get around. Exploring the country by automobile can be an
extremely rewarding experience, allowing you to explore the
incredibly scenic and varied terrain of the country's coastlines,
interior, and islands, at your convenience. To get to the islands
you will mostly have to take a ferry. There are extensive
connections from Athens and in- between islands for "hopping". There
are two ports in Athens; the main port Piraeus and outlying Rafina.
Typical travel times, slow boat from Piraeus; Athens - Paros : 4
Hours.
Athens - Mykonos : 5.5 Hours.
Athens - Santorini : 8 Hours
Athens - Hraklion : 9 Hours.
The nation's domestic air travel industry is dominated by
state-owned Olympic airlines and its growing competitor Aegean
Airlines. |
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Climate |
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Greece generally has mild wet winters
and hot dry summers. Winter temperatures can be severe in the
mountains and even Athens can get viciously cold. Maximum
Temperatures on the islands hover around 30 Deg Centigrade (87 F) in
summer. Best time to travel is between April to September. |
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Accommodation |
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In most of the Greek Islands and
mainland Greece, visitors can also find accommodation in private
houses (rooms to let) which are operating under the special seal of
the Greek National Tourism Organisation. Most tourist lodging
establishments have been recently renovated and upgraded, thus
boasting state of the art facilities. These establishments are
licensed by the Greek National Tourist Organisation (GNTO) and fall
in the following categories :
Hotels (Ordinary, traditional Guest houses, agrotourist lodgings
etc.
Rooms to Let
Apartments to Let
Self Catering Units (tourist residences and villas)
Campsites
Youth Hostels |
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