Greece was home to some of the earliest advanced civilizations. From the Minoans of the second BC millennium to Mycenaeans who established the basis of the current language, the country has produced cultural, philosophical, political and sport advancements unrivaled by others.The modern Greek state obtained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1830. It has carried on what seems like a constant conflict with Turkey and was also involved in both World Wars. In 1981, Greece joined the European Community that eventually evolved into the European Union.

The official name of Greece is the Hellenic Republic. Greece covers an area of roughly 51,000 square miles. Athens is the capital and largest population center with roughly 3.5 million inhabitants. Thessaloniki is the second largest population area with just over one million people. The terrain of Greece ranges from mountains in the north to flat plains in the south and beautiful islands off the coast. Winters are mild while summers are hot and dry making Greece a huge tourist destination.

The people of Greece are known as Greeks. They total more than 10.96 million. Population growth exists, but it is just above .2 percent annually. Greek is the official language. From a religious perspective, 99 percent of Greeks claim Greek Orthodox as their religion. Literacy rate is 95 percent and all levels of education are absolutely free. Life expectancy is 76 for males and 81 for women.Greece is a relatively small country, but has accounted for a remarkable number of developments in the trek of mankind through history. Whether you are going to see the culture or loaf on the islands, Greece is a top travel destination for a good reason.

History

Greece (and the Greek Islands) is a country with a particularly rich and ancient history.Excavations show that the first settlement is dating from the Palaeolithic era (11.000-3000 BC). During the second millennium BC, Greece gave birth to the great civilisations of the Minoan (2600-1500 BC), the Mycenaean (1500-1150 BC) and the Cycladic civilisation on the greek islands of the Centre Aegean. The Classical Period of Greece History (6th -4th centuries BC) was the Golden Age and the most famous world wide; during this period lived the greatest philosophers and mathematicians.

Then, the history of Greece is a succession of various invasions and dominations: the Macedonians formed a strong Empire, followed by the Romans and the Byzantine Empire which ended with the invasion of the Turks. The Ottoman rule lasted for 400 years and was a dark period for the inhabitants of the ex-Byzantine Empire. Wanting to finally win their freedom, people of the Greece territory started to organise themselves and various revolts exploded against the Turkish oppressor.

The interior is a high arid plateau, about 3,000 feet (900 meters) in elevation, flanked to the north and south by rugged mountain ranges. Within the plateau a number of ranges enclose broad, flat valleys, where several salty lakes have formed.A Mediterranean-type climate of hot, dry summers and mild, moist winters prevails in the coastal areas. The dry central plateau has hot summers and cold winters. During all seasons high winds are common; moist Mediterranean winds bring rain to the coastal regions in the winter. There is little summer rainfall.

The Independence War started from the Peloponnese in 1821 and ended on March 1831, with the establishment of the new and independent Greek State. A monarchy was established a few years after that by the Great Powers. Then Greeks elected Eleutherios Venizelos as their Prime Minister; but only a few years after, he was assassinated. A civilian war followed as well as the terrible German and Italian occupation and the dictatorship of Metaxas (1967), which ended in 1974. This very incomplete and summarized recapitulation of the Greek history gives a taste of its complexity and of the sufferings alienation of its population who often fought for its freedom.

Greece has a mixed capitalistic economy with a large public sector that accounts about half of GDP and that is blamed for the slow economic growth.

It is an agricultural country (with agricultural products such as wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, tobacco, potatoes, beef, dairy products and wine) with 20 % of the workforce employed in this sector. 59 % of the workforce is employed in the sector of services and the 21 % in the sector of industry (food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining and petroleum) and construction. Even if Greece is an agricultural country, the agricultural contribution to the economy is only of 15 %. The industry which contributes the most to the economy is the tourism industry and the shipping. Greece welcomes every year a number of tourists greater than the country’s total population and its shipping sector is the most important in the world.

Greece exports total 12.5 billion dollars of manufactured goods, fuels, food and beverages to countries such as Germany, Italy, UK, France and the US. The imports of the country are higher (around 28 billion dollars); they consist in manufactured goods, foodstuffs, fuels and chemicals. Its imports partners are Italy, Germany, France, UK, Netherlands and US.

The language debate took a huge political significance: academics were sacked for using dimotiki, riots were taking place in the streets and a lot of people were claiming that katharevoussa was being used as an instrument of denying access to education to the common man. Nationalist governments like the dictatorship of the colonel Papadopoulos favoured katharevoussa. The struggle between the proponents of dimotiki and katharevoussa represented various strongly opposed social attitudes and political positions.The battle was only won in 1976, by various actions of the after dictatorship government. Dimotiki was adopted in education and administration and has been kept since then as the formal language of modern Greece. Katharevoussa can still be encountered in legal texts and in the lexicon. Occasional inclusions of a katharevoussa sentence or word in the dimotiki can still be heard sometimes and is considerated as a “good” spoken Modern Greek.

The last thing worth mentioning about Greek language is that most regions of Greece have their local dialects, of more modern origins than the dialects of ancient Greece, never used as writing means. Every region has, of course, its local accent.

The Greek population is composed of a 97% of Christian Orthodox. The rest of the population is Muslim, Roman Catholic and Jewish. Greece (and the Greek Islands) and Russia are the only countries to have such a great proportion of people that belong to the Orthodox Church.

Even if getting in the process of Europeanization and Globalization, Greece still remains a profoundly religious Christian Orthodox country full of beliefs, traditions, customs and religious feasts.

The Greece weather is fairly uniform throughout Greece . Due to its geographical position, the weather in Greece and the Greek Islands has mild winters and warm summers, cooled by different kind of seasonal winds. The summers are characterized by sunshine and very little rainfall

The Greece weather of the islands of the Aegean and the Ionian seas is milder.Some regions are characterized by the Meltemi, a summer wind which blows mostly the islands of the Aegean and offer perfect wind conditions for sailing and windsurfing.

It is important to always have some cash in Greece and the Greek Islands.You can use your cash card on ATM machines but you should ensure also an other way to have access to money. Some ATM may not accept your cash card so you better get information from your local bank agency.

There are ATM machines in all parts of Greece but there are so places where their access is difficult. For example, some islands have only cash machine in the main town. The safer way to travel to Greece and also in all countries is the travellers cheque.Outside banking hours, currency and cheques can be exchanged at ticket agencies.If you travel with cash, do not keep them all in one place (in case you get robbed).

Greece is part of the European Union and its currency is the Euro. (The Euro replaced the Drachma).The euro banknotes come in: 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5.The are coins of 2, 1 Euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 cents of Euro.

• Time: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
• Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs are used. North American require a transformer and British an adaptor.
• Country code: 30

Customer should be in Greece at least 4 days before shipment arrives at port of entry in Greece. Returning citizens should either be present at time of customs clearance or send the original passports to our office in order to provide them to the customs authorities. We strongly recommend the presence of customers during customs clearance, for facilitation of long bureaucratic procedures.Also, they must personally attend clearance of motor vehicles and pick up motor vehicles from port by them selves. Personal effects and household goods are generally duty-free except of electronics or high value items.For foreigners coming to work in Greece, VAT (Value Added Tax) is payable on all goods.

Restricted Items:

• For Greek Repatriates - returning citizens only one of each electrical appliances is allowed - the make and serial number is required on inventory.
• Office equipment such as facsimile, photocopies and telephone systems are dutiable
• Firearms
• Drugs and medicines
• Rugs
• Flammable items, such as gas propane tanks, or other hazardous material of any kind.

Prohibited Items:

• Alcohol and tobacco products
• Matches
• Pornographic material Volatile
• corrosive, caustic, or otherwise dangerous liquids of any kind.

Getting Around Greece

Information about domestic and international flights are ossibility to book a flight online. The great majority of people that comes to Greece and the Greek Islands every year choose to arrive and depart by plane. Greece has 15 international airports. Many airports of Greece are not directly connected to the international airports of the world. The only way to go there is by having a transfer at the airport of Athens. Greece has 44 airports

Greece and the Greek Islands has 15 international airports which are hosting regular and chartered flights and 25 state domestic airports.The beautiful Greek islands are usually reached by ferries. The ferries are very popular in Greece as there are more than 169 inhabited islands. There are three sorts of ferries to travel to the islands: the ordinary ferries, the high speed catamarans which carry a certain number of cars and the hydrofoils which only care passengers. The large ferries are the cheapest while the catamarans and hydrofoils can be really expensive.

Cars can be easily transferred from the European countries by ferries from Italy (Ancona, Brendesi, Bari, Otranto, Venise and Trieste) to the different ports of the Greek west coasts (Petra, Ygoumenitsa and Corfu).Cars can also be rent in Greece in all the different cities and regions/islands.

The Greek railway network is run by the OSE and is limited to the mainland. They are less popular than the buses transportation. They are, with a few exceptions, very slower than the buses but also cheaper. Greece has a huge and efficient network of buses both on the mainland and in the Greek islands.Contrary to Europe's other countries, buses are most popular than the trains.

For the citizens who travel form the EU, no passports are required. For the non EU subjects, a valid passport is necessary to enter in Greece.In case of lost, the local police and the embassy of your home government must be contacted.It is recommended to have a photocopy of your passport in order to get the process of replacement lost quickly.

All the citizens from the countries except from the countries of the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand need a visa to enter Greece.A passport can serve like an ID. Apart from the official identity card of your country, other forms of ID can be recognised: a driver's licence, a teacher or student identification.

The Island of Santorini, Greece covers an area of 96 km2 and has a coastline of 69 kilometres, with a length reaching 18 km. It has a population of 6,500-7,000 in the winter but sometimes over 11,000 during the summer.The name "Santorini" comes from "Santa Irini", although it is officially called Thera. It is situated at the south of the Cyclades islands, between Ios and Anafi.These villages are made of white typical Cycladic houses with blue painted windows facing the black volcanic rock of the Caldera, especially when meddled with a horizon tainted by the amazing colours of the sunset, one of the most striking in the world.

The Beach of Navagio or Shipwreck or even Zakynthos smugglers cove is the most famous of Zakynthos beaches and one of the most famous of all Greece. This superb beach is located in the eastern part of the island, close to the Anafotiria village.It was initially called Agios Georgios but owes its new name to the shipwreck of a boat that transported illegal cigarettes, in 1983. The deep sea left the remains of the ship on this beach.The vestiges of the ship can be seen in the middle of the large white sandy beach which has amazing turquoise and crystalline waters.

Red beach in Santorini is one of the most famous and beautiful of the beaches of Santorini. It is located near the village and ancient site of Akrotiri.Because it is smallish, the red beach gets quite busy. A number of people come onto the headland just to admire this beach and never make it down to the hot sand. The reason why it attracts so many people is because of the slabs of red and black volcanic rocks behind it.The sand itself is reddish black and painful to sit straight onto. There are thus a lot of sun loungers and shades. Just in front of the clear water is a corridor of large pebbles and find on this beach that the sun seems to beat down particularly strong.