GREECE ALLOWS PHOTOSHOOT AT THE ACROPOLIS

 

The French luxury fashion company, Christian Dior, will be filming at the Acropolis and other major archaeological sites in the runup to its “Crosiere 2021” show to be held in Athens in June, after being granted the relevant permit by the Archaeological Council of Greece (KAS), this week.

                                              The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

                                               Gate of the Ancient Agora  

                                         The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

                                           

                                                       Ancient Nemea

More specifically, Dior will be making photo and video shoots for its “Croisiere 2021” collection at the Acropolis, the Theatre of Herodus Atticus, the Ancient Agora, the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion and in Ancient Nemea.

                    1951 Photoshoot for Paris Match by Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini  

KAS issued strict guidelines including no activities in ancient temples for the photoshoot.  On the 14^th and 15^th of June Dior will be filming in front of the Parthenon and the Erecheion commemorating its 1951 photoshoot for Paris Match by the photographer Jean-Pierre Pedrazzini.

                                        Kallimarmaron Panathenaic Stadium

The ministry’s Central Council of Modern Monuments is scheduled to convene again on Thursday to decide on whether to grant Dior permission to hold its June 17^th show at the Kallimarmaron Panathenaic Stadium.

According to the Ministry of Culture Dior’s request is being granted as part of the ongoing 200-year bicentennial celebrations since the Greek War of Independence.  “The submitted request intitled “Dior celebrates Greece” is dedicated to the 200^th anniversary of the struggle for Greek independence” said the Ministry of Culture, in a statement.

    "Resort 2022" Collection Made in Greece by Greek Creators with Greek Textiles 

“International media coverage of the event will contribute to promoting Greece abroad and strengthening tourism," added the Ministry of Tourism.  Besides its "Croisiere 2022" show Dior said it plans to present the "Resort 2022" collection dedicated to the Greek Revolution celebrations featuring work to be made in Greece, by Greek creators, with Greek textiles and materials aimed at promoting Greek tradition and expertise around the world.                         

INTERESTING DISHES

                                                              

 

Here are a few interesting international dishes:

 

 

 

 

                                                      PRAWN COCKTAIL

The origin of this cocktail is Mexico.

500 g (2 lb) medium-sized prawns, shelled, deveined thoroughly washed and patted dry

1 rosemary twig

2 lettuces, only the tender leaves, washed, dried and shredded

Snipped chives

1 large, ripe avocado, peeled, stoned, cubed and drenched with lemon juice

 

8 heaped tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

½ a liqueur glass Metaxa brandy

1 tbsp finely chopped sweet gherkins

A few drops of Tobasco sauce

Lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste

Pinch of sugar

1/8 tsp Cayenne pepper

6 shelled and deveined prawns with their tails left on

3 slices of lemon, cut in half

 

First, prepare the sauce.  Mix the mayonnaise with the tomato ketchup well together and add the brandy, the gherkins, the Tobasco sauce and black pepper, Cayenne pepper and a little salt, if necessary. 

 

In a bowl mix the prawns with 6 tsp of the sauce, reserving the remaining sauce for later.  Combine the shredded lettuce with the avocado and snipped chives.  Divide the prawns between 6 bowls arranging them over the salad.  Drizzle with the remaining sauce and garnish with the reserved prawns and halved lemon slices.    

 

 

 

                                           OMELETTE WITH VEGETABLES

This is a typical Greek dish prepared  with Mediterranean vegetables

6 eggs

1 spicy sausage, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, peeled and grated

2 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

2 courgettes scraped and grated

2 potatoes, peeled and grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 tbsp finely grated San Mihalis or Parmesan

Grated nutmeg to taste

 

Sauté the sausage in olive oil for 2 minutes on each side and add the vegetables and cook, stirring for4 minutes more until the vegetables are cooked and dry. Season to taste with salt, pepper to taste.

 

Whip the eggs in a bowl and stir in the grated cheese and nutmeg and season to taste.  Pour the whipped eggs over the vegetables in the frying pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.  Flip the omelette over and cook for 3 minutes more.

 

 

 

                            

                           VEAL ROLLS STUFFED WITH HAM AND CHEESE

 I wish to thank Argyro Barbarigou for the inspiration! I have changed the Italian products to Greek. I have used Ifantis ham instead of prosciutto, graviera from Crete instead of provolone, and San Mihalis flakes instead of Parmesan.  

 

8 thin slices of veal, pounded

8 slices of Greek ham Ifantis 

8 slices of Graviera from Crete

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

1 tbsp chopped thyme

100 g (3.5 oz)  San Mihalis  flakes

 

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp plain flour

1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed

1 bay leaf

2 tsp METAXA brandy

125 ml (½ cup) tasty vegetable stock

2 tbsp Greek yogurt

A few drops of lemon juice

 

Place the slices of veal on a working surface.  Place slices of ham on top of the veal and cover with slices of graviera from Crete. Season with San Mihalis flakes.   Roll up tightly and seal each roll with a toothpick or tie with kitchen string.

 

Sprinkle with flour and sauté the rolls all over in butter and olive oil for 6-7 minutes.  Pour in the Greek brandy and allow the alcohol to evaporate.  Then add the stock and bay leaf, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes turning the rolls during the cooking period.  Check the seasoning, and remove it from the heat.

 

Add the  Greek yogurt, mustard, and a few drops of lemon juice, and stir the thick sauce.  Discard the toothpicks or the pieces of string and slice each roll diagonally.  Serve the rolls with mashed carrots and roast potatoes.    

THE FALL OF CONSTANTINOPLE

 

                        

 

The 29^th of May is a very sad day for all Greeks as it the anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

 

The Byzantine Empire came to a dramatic end as the Turks breached Constantinople’s ancient, formidable walls after besieging the City for 55 days.  The Ottomans surrounded the City from land and sea while employing a constant cannon barrage of Constantinople’s walls.

 

The fall of Constantinople removed what was once a powerful defense of Christian Europe against the Muslim barbarians, allowing the uninterrupted Ottoman occupation of south-eastern Europe.

 

By the mid-15^th century the Turks with constant battles against their European neighbours and the Roman Catholic threats had diminished the Byzantine Imperial holdings to Constantinople and the area west of it.

Constantinople having suffered through several devastating sieges, the population had fallen 400.000 in the 12^th century to 40.000 by the 1450s.  Unfortunately the Schism of 1054 that exhilarated the separation of the Eastern and Western Churches and the Latin occupation of Constantinople entrenched a mutual hatred among Orthodox Byzantium and Catholic Europe.

 

In contrast to the Byzantines, the Ottoman Turks had extended their control over virtually all the Balkans and most of Anatolia, having conquered several Byzantine cities west of Constantinople in the latter half of the 14^th century.

 

Hungary was the permanently European threat to the Ottomans and Venice and Genoa controlled much of the Aegean and Black seas.

 

This year Greece is celebrating 200 years of freedom from the Ottoman Turks and almost   the whole world is celebrating with us.

 

                           

ANCIENT GREEK NATURAL REMEDIES

 

                          

 

Ancient Greek remedies are still used today to cure illnesses and medical conditions.  Ancient Greeks believed that diseases were the punishment of the gods for their sins.  In fact, this false conception remained until the great classical physician Hippocrates changed ancient Greek medicine views from spirituality to scientific knowledge. 

 

 

Ancient Greek women used olive oil as a sunscreen and crushed the leaves of the olive trees to produce a facial mask, which helped to cure acne and other skin irritations.

 

 

 

Not so ancient, but as far back as the 15^th century, Greeks believed that by eating a tomato a day would lessen the chances of men developing prostate cancer. Definitely, a tip well noting.

 

 

Since beetroot has a high quantity of iron, ancient Greeks used it to cure anemia and other related blood conditions. They regularly ate beetroots and drunk fresh beetroot juice to help increase their red blood cell levels.

 

 

 

Ancient Greeks did not use mint just for its fresh aroma, but they also used it for migraines and stomach aches. 

 

 

 

Our ancient compatriots consumed wine. They would heat it add cinnamon and honey to treat the symptoms of cold and influenza.

 

 

Ancient Greeks used an herb called fenugreek to help stimulate the digestion of their horses and cattle.  Hippocrates saw other uses for this herb and used fenugreek for respiratory issues such as coughs and tuberculosis.  It is, also, reported that fenugreek was used to treat diabetes during antiquity.

 

 

 

Cumin seeds were chewed by ancient Greeks to cure colic and other digestive illnesses.

 

 

 

Flaxseed helps aid indigestion and lowers cholesterol levels and was a favourite prescribed healer for ancient Greek physicians. 

 

 

 

 Finally, horseradish was used, in ancient times, to help get rid of excess phlegm in the lungs and the respiratory system such as sinuses. 

 

DECORATE YOUR BALCONIES THE GREEK WAY

 

      

 

Everyone desires to visit Greece, a paradise in the Mediterranean Sea.  So, decorate your balcony to resemble Greece.

 

 

 

                                                 Sweet Scented Geranium

                                                               Verbina

It is easy to bring the atmosphere of the Greek islands to your balcony.  Choose chairs and tables in brilliant reds and yellows, and fill vases multicoloured bougainvillea, roses, marigolds, lavender, lilies, hibiscuses, pansies, chrysanthemums, and geraniums.  A favourite Greek flower to have on your balcony is the rose-scented geranium and the aromatic verbena, with both of which fantastic tisanes are prepared.      

 If you are lucky to have a house in Santorini, use furniture with sleek lines upholstered with multicolored linens.  Use white and cobalt blue for the background and plant numerous pots with colourful aromatic flowers.     

RECIPES WITH BANANAS

 

                                   

 

                                                  SPICY BANANA BALLS

A delightful appetizer!

2 large bananas, peeled and mashed

1 cup of bread, soaked in water and squeezed dry

1 egg beaten

2 tsp turmeric

1tsp curry powder

2 tbsp honey

Salt to taste

 

½ cup plain flour

½ cup dried breadcrumbs

Mild tasting olive oil for frying

 

Mix the first 6 ingredients well together and shape small walnut-sized balls.  Dust them with flour and breadcrumbs and fry them all over in olive oil until brown and puffed.

 

 

                                   CHEESE HAM AND BANANA CASSEROLE

Do prepare this delicious main dish. 

Butter

12 slices of brown bread

8 slices of smoked ham

4 bananas, peeled and sliced

2 cups of grated kasseri or Cheddar

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cups of crushed potato chips

6 rashers of smoked bacon, extra fat discarded and finely chopped

 

4 eggs whipped with

500 ml (2 cups) of thick cream

 

Spread 6 slices of bread with butter and place them into a buttered Pyrex dish.  Arrange the ham, the banana slices, the grated cheese, pepper, the potato chips, and the bacon evenly over.   Cover with the 6 remaining buttered slices of bread.

 

Whip the eggs with the cream and season with black pepper and a touch of salt and pour evenly over the bread and bake in an oven preheated to 180 C (450 F) for 30 minutes or more, until puffed and golden.

                                 

                                                    BANANA CURRY         

My favorite Indian dish.  

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

4 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced

1 medium-sized onion, peeled and finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

500 ml (2 cups) of coconut milk

2 tsp hot curry powder or

2 tbsp mild curry powder

1 tsp salt

Chopped cilantro to serve

 

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the bananas on both sides for 2-3 minutes until they are well browned.  Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.

 

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook the onion, garlic, and curry powder to the pan, stirring until the aroma fills the kitchen.  Transfer the onion mixture to a blender, add ½ cup of the cooked bananas, and pulse until completely smooth.

 

Pour the sauce into a large pot and bring the curry to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer very gently, uncovered, for15 minutes.  Stir in the remaining bananas and cook for 2 minutes more.  Serve over steamed rice sprinkled with chopped cilantro.     

 

 

HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE

 

                                            

 

On Wednesday, the 26^th of May, at 6 pm Greek time, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will be seen on a live conversation with Harvard professor of Public Policy and co-author of the famous 2018 book “How Democracies Die”, Daniel Ziblatt.

 

The event, which will be broadcast on culturalsociety.gr.is organized by the Thessaloniki-based Cultural Society of Entrepreneurs of Northern Greece and was the idea of New Democracy MP and university professor, Dimitris Kairides, who will also moderate the debate.  With the Prime Minister, former vice President of the Greek government, Evangelos Venizelos will also talk with professor  Ziblatt, as well as the rector of the Panteion University, Christina Coulouri and Elaine Papoulias director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center of European Studies at Harvard University.  

 

It takes the opportunity of the bicentennial commemoration to explain the pioneering role of Greece, at the European level, in adopting democratic models of representation from the early 19^th century until May 2021. On the occasion of this event professor, Ziblatt spoke to the press.

The event is titled “200 Years of Independent Greece 1821-2021: From the Ideal to the Practice of Democracy. Then and Now.” It takes the bicentennial commemoration to explore the pioneering role of Greece. at the European level, in adopting democratic models of representation, from the early 19^th century until today.  On the occasion of this event, Professor Ziblatt spoke to the Greek press.    

 

“Greeks were among the first people in Europe to create a democratic nation-state in the 19th-century government, by a democratic constitution.  One hundred-and-fifty years later, Greece became one of the first 10 members of the European Union in 1981, seven years after the seven-year military junta.  Greece is a shining example in the current era of autocracies and offers some optimism that democracy is resilient to overcome setbacks.”

 

The great Harvard political scientist, Samuel Huntington, argued that democracy swept the world in great sparks, a phenomenon that he called democracy’s “three waves”, the first beginning in the 1830s, the second after 1945 and the third after 1974.  What is so striking, if one looks back to both 1^st and 3^rd waves, is that Greece is always there, in 1821 and 1981, a forerunner of what’s to come elsewhere.

“The recent resilience of the Greek Democracy in the face of momentous economic crises we can hope is the harbinger of resilience elsewhere.  The main point I would like to make, however, is that democracy is not a machine that runs on its own, it requires skilled leadership to overcome forced polarisation, political courage to withstand the demagogues, and a bit of good luck.”

 

The Greek contradiction is "that democracy almost collapsed in 2015 because of a referendum for the EU’s support package, which was handled as a celebration of democracy.  Why do more and more voters, in democratic countries, seem to be ready to empower autocratic politicians to undermine democracy by winning elections?"

 

Throughout history, there have always been demagogues who are happy to use the institutions of democracy to accumulate power and, in the process, destroy democracy.  In recent years this threat has become more significant for a couple of reasons.  One key factor is that mediating institutions of our democracies – political parties, interest groups, and media institutions have weakened, in some way.  The rise of social media and new political parties looks “democratizing.”  But the paradox of our times is that these changes have welcomed demagogues, making it easier for them to gain power. A second key factor that has harmed democracy in the US, though to a lesser degree in Europe, is the rise of political division, which creates a policy where rivals increasingly regard themselves as enemies.  This, obviously, is very dangerous.

The US Republican Party is dominated by the belief that the 2020 elections were “stolen”.  Do they believe that was the case because so many black and Latin Americans participated in the electoral process for the first time?  Is US in danger because of pervasive and persistent racism? Can Joe Biden’s agenda for democracy save this extremely difficult situation? 

 

Governments around the world are accused of cutting fundamental rights and constitutional freedoms because of COVID 19, and many fear they might be tempted to continue using some of those powers to control societies, even after the pandemic ends.  They even used massive-scale powerful surveillance systems for the first time.  Is there more need to strengthen the constitutional checks and balances against excessive use of government power?

 

Our democracies have responded to Covid is a positive way. People have been convinced  that keeping distances, wearing masks and being inoculated against Covid will save the world from this deadly plague.   

  

  

EXPLORING SAMOS

                                                   Vathy a Port of Samos 
                                   

Samos, the legendary, beautiful Greek island is situated on the eastern Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Asia Minor.

 

The proximity to the coast of Turkey has made the island a link between the two cultures, despite Turkey’s modern expansion theories.  Let us remember that the Ottoman Turks occupied most of Greece except the Ionian Islands for 400 long and terrible years, with massacres, exploitations, and, the most tragic being, the mass kidnapping of Greek children.

It was in Samos where the astronomer Aristarchus introduced heliocentrism, the astrological model in which the planets revolve around the sun.

Samos was also the home to other brilliant minds, including the philosopher Pythagoras, father of mathematics, the philosopher Herodotus, referred to as the “Father of History” and Aesop the ancient Greek storyteller and fabulist.

It was also, the birthplace of Hera the goddess of women, family, marriage, and childbirth.

 

The island came into frequent contact with important Mediterranean cultures, throughout history, such as the Egyptian, Roman. French and Iberian and was the center of trade in the Aegean Sea and a naval force of antiquity.

Apart from its fascinating legends, Samos has beautiful landscapes.  The natural environment of the island, makes one think of the Greek mainland  in miniature, with caves, canyons and mountains, Kerkis and Ampelos, which receive a large amount of rainfall and during winter has Alpine temperatures.

 

                                            Ruins of the Heraion in Samos 

According to the historian Herodotus, Samos had the largest temple in Greece dedicated to Hera features a sanctuary called the “Heraion” and is located in the southern part of the island.  Out of its original 155 huge columns, unfortunately, only one exists today.  This ancient place of worship also includes the ruins of three earlier temples.

The Tunnel of Eupalinos is the tunnel of water that used to be the middle section of a huge aqueduct named Eupalinos.  This was also the name of its architect, who was a famous engineer in antiquity. The tunnel was built during the reign of Polycrates, during the 6^th century BC.