A little over a year after the devastating fires that destroyed much of Mount Parnitha' forests; Greece's highest court approved a plan for the development of the capital's first industrial park. The park, which will be nearly 50 hectares large will be in a part of the so called 'protected area' of Mount Parnitha, part of which was burned last year.
There were previous attempts to develop part of Mount Parnitha as recent as 2006, but certain government decrees prevented development. It seems awfully ironic that after the area was burned that development will now be allowed.
DF: While establishing a business park (or several for a matter of fact) would be a plus for Athens, choosing to develop it on Mount Parnitha is upsetting and a shame. Your comments?
Kathimerini
Parnitha
posted on Monday, September 8
los angeles
united states
The Aegean island of Ios in the Cyclades (which many associate with for clubbing and its great beaches) in was among six European locations awarded the European Union Cultural Heritage prize for 2008. Ios received the award for "outstanding quality of conservation work and above all the minimal and extremely sensitive character of the interventions, having no detrimental impact on a unique landscape" at the island’s archaeological site of Skarkos. Not only was the site carefully conserved, but efforts to rebuild rural houses using local methods and material from the Skarkos area have given it a unique and special setting.
Prizes were also awarded to two projects in the Netherlands, and one each in the Czech Republic, Spain and Romania. Each prize is worth 10,000 euros. The prizes are given in recognition of outstanding conservation, research and education efforts. They are awarded jointly by the European Commission and Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation of Cultural Heritage.
DF: Have any of our readers been to Ios, or more specifically the ancient Cycladic settlment at Skarkos?
Europa Nostra
posted on Friday, September 5
The much anticipated reunification talks for Cyprus began on Wednesday in the capital of Nicosia. The leaders of the long-divided island of Cyprus have both stressed that this is a very crucial time in the development of the future course of the island. (Demetris Christofias is the leader of the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government in the south, and Mehmet Ali Talat, is the leader of the Turkish community)
The United Nations has appointed Ban Ki-moon's special envoy, former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, to mediate the talks.
The most critical phase is expected to begin at a meeting scheduled for Sept. 11, when administrative and power-sharing issues will be addressed. Any agreement has to be agreed upon both communities thru a referendum.
DF: If YOU had to draft a resolution, what would be some crucial keypoints that would need to be resolved?
BBC
Cyprus Talks
posted on Thursday, September 4
Driving from the port city of Igoumenitsa to the Turkish border will be cut nearly in half, down from the 13 hours it currently takes, to six hours when the huge highway (the Egnatia Highway) project accross northern Greece finishes next year. The 6.8 billion euros project is in its final stage, finishing up the last 117 kilometers. When the project opens to the public next year, it will span over 640 kilometers across northern Greece.
Driving on this new highway will come with a price. Government officials have announced that tolls may be placed at points along the highway, but no decision has been made as to how much tolls would be.
In other news related to Greek roadways, this summer has seen a spike in the number of road deaths in the country. (Sadly, over 220 people were killed in July alone). While no cause has been determined (Greece averages nearly 1,500 road deaths a year), there is concern of the unusually high number of accidents. Greece ranks near the bottom of the EU 27 Group when it comes to road safety.
DF: What needs to be done to make Greek roads safer?
posted on Wednesday, September 3
A rare anabolic steroid named methyltrienolone was the substance found in the bloodstream of over a dozen Greek athletes this year. The drug's use had never before been officialy recorded and apparently thought undetectable.
"The (Greek) state wants clean athletes,"
said Michalis Liapis (cultural ministor for sport). Judicial probes have begun and anti-doping regulations are seeing some significant changes in Parliament as this recent episode has embarassed athletes and Greek authorities alike.
DF: Not sure if we agree with this one but the new regulations include cutting the rewards given to successful athletes so as to discourage those who would use drugs to cheat.
afp
posted on Tuesday, September 2
A group of pagans joined at the Acropolis last evening and chanted hymns to Athena (the godess of wisdom) to protect the sacred site from the impending inaugration of the new Acropolis museum. The worshippers demand the return of sculptures removed from the temples and placed inside the museum stating
"It's scandalous that antiquities of such value, carved in honour of Athena, should be wrested from their natural environment and moved to a new locale."
The new museum is slated to open later this year.
guardian
posted on Monday, September 1
Summer is flying by and will be gone before you know it. But it isn't over yet!
We hope all our readers have gotten a chance to take some time off of work, school or just the daily routine - whatever that may be. It's so important to fit some time for yourself. If you haven't gone anywhere this summer, you really need to turn off the computer --like right now.
That said, we're taking our own advice and heading over Greece. Good times ahead as a DF staffer ties the knot in the Athens.
Needless to say, posting will be light over the next few weeks. But do hang with us through the end of Summer and Fall! There's plenty of ideas swirling around DF headquarters and with a little renewed energy and spirit, we'll channel that into a better site for all to enjoy.
All the best,
Spiro, Kyriakos & Kostas
posted on Friday, August 29
posted on Friday, August 29
A recent article in the WSJ caught our eye and we think it's worth sharing. The story outlined the failure of the Italian government to create not only a tourist website (five years -- and more than €45 million set aside -- on creating the portal, and nothing to show for it.), but to create a recognizable "brand" as well.
Did you know that over the past 30 years, Italy has watched France, Spain, the U.S. and -- more recently -- China surpass it as a tourist destination?
On the other end of the spectrum is Spain -- which in 2002 launched an attractive website that now draws 65 million page views a year and debuted a shiny new logo featuring Joan Miró's sunny "España" emblem. Spain is now the world's second-most-popular tourist destination after France.
What's this have to do with Greece? Well, we think the next couple of years will be critical in building out not only Greece's infrastructure (perhaps a new website), but also it's entire branding campaign.
We'll go on record as saying we think Greece is going in a positive direction and look forward to Secretary General of Information, Panos Livadas, expanding his "Brand Greece" initiatives.
DF: With billions of tourism dollars at stake, this is a huge opportunity.
WSJ
Spain's tourist site
Italy (future site)
Greece's tourist site
posted on Thursday, August 28
Mini - tsunami? Not quite, but waves as high as two meters startled swimmers and locals on several beaches on the northern coast of nomos Korinthias. (The beaches were the waves were observed were at Kiato, Derveni, Selianitika and Loggos.)
At first, people feared that a earthquake had hit, which may have caused the huge waves. But officials now believe that either an underwater rock slide or a huge vessel passing by in the water generated the waves.
DF Quick Fact: While tsunamis are almost impossible to occur in the Gulf of Corinth, they can occur in the Aegean Sea, and occurred during the eruption of Thera which devastated Crete and other small islands.
Kathimerini
posted on Wednesday, August 27
