Do you know what rakomelo is? It is a Cretan hot cocktail! A delicious mixture of honey, spices and the alcoholic beverage tsikoudia. Bottoms up!
Did you know that Epirus is the most mountainous territory of Greece and the poorest in the EU; however it has a unique natural wealth!
No part of Greece is more than 137km from the sea.
About 7% of all the marble produced worldwide comes from Greece.
Greece is a leading producer of sea sponges.
Did you know that Greece has around 6,000 islands, islets and rocky islets? 2,000 of them are islands and only 107 of them are inhabited!
The species and subspecies of the native plants in Greece are about 6,000, almost as much as 50% of the native plants of Europe!
The very first sprint race of the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. was won by Coroebus of Elis, a cook!
Did you know that Greece is the 4th largest cheese producer worldwide. Greeks eat 28 kg per capita per year. And guess what, mostly feta cheese!
Did you know that Greece hosts 50% of the brown bear population in western & southern Europe.
Athens is one of the few coastal cities worldwide that is surrounded by mountains. These are Mt. Hymettus, Mt. Penteli, Mt. Parnitha and Mt. Aigaleo.
Did you know that Greece has the biggest EU consumption of olive oil per capita, with around 12 kg per person per year?
Did you know that in Greece you can enjoy mountain skiing with a sea view?
On Anafi Island, lies the rock of Kalamos, the second highest monolithic limestone after Gibraltar; a must-see for climbers who will enjoy a great challenge here.
Greece has historically engaged in wine making. Take for example Dionysus, the son of Zeus, the God of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine. His face is seen today on the sommelier’s pin which is a symbol of respect to wine’s contribution throughout history.
An old Greek legend says that when God created the world, he sifted all the soil onto the earth through a strainer. After every country had good soil, he tossed the stones left in the strainer over his shoulder and created Greece.
Greece has more archaeological museums than any other country in the world; in-fact they are around 196!
Τhe concept of democracy developed in Athens around the 6th century BC. The Greek word demokratia (δημοκρατία) meant “the power of the people”.
Did you know that Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world? Greeks have cultivated olive trees since antiquity. Some of the olive trees that are still producing olives date back to the thirteenth century.
Greece is the place where democracy was born. But democracy in ancient Athens was significantly different from modern democracies. It was both more participatory and exclusive, and there were no political parties in Athenian democracy.