 Overview: The Olympic Games were spawned in ancient Greece, along with
democracy and the fundamentals of philosophy, science and
mathematics. The Greek civilisation is renowned for contributing
many of the cultural building blocks that western civilisation is
founded on. Modern Greece is better known as a great holiday destination,
rather than a centre of learning and culture. Today the country
attracts visitors by the thousands by offering simple pleasures:
delicious food and wine at reasonable prices, beautiful beaches and
sunshine, quaint villages, a seemingly endless lacework of
coastline, and little islands full of scenic surprises. The country exudes traditional charm, particularly on its
ever-popular islands, which cling to their traditional architecture
and way of life despite being often over-run with tourists.
Black-clad women still deliver vegetables to island tavernas on
panniered donkeys, while bronzed, weatherbeaten fishermen sit in
the sun, drink thick coffee, and play dominoes or backgammon. The
tourist infrastructure has intruded in many respects, but the
timeless aspect of whitewashed buildings clustered on hillsides
around narrow pebbled alleys has been retained. The myriad islands
in the Aegean Sea are easily accessible from Piraeus, the historic
harbour of Greece's mainland capital, Athens, by ferry or
hydrofoil, offering a unique chance for 'island-hopping'. Many of
the larger islands also have airports with connections to Athens or
seasonally with major European cities. On the mainland, the city of Athens in the south is sprawling,
overcrowded and polluted but nevertheless enthrals visitors, while
Thessaloniki in the north is vibrant and modern with a Byzantine
flavour. Athens is dominated by its major landmark, the Parthenon;
the remains of other wonders of the ancient Greek classical world
are to be found mainly on the Peloponnese Peninsula, south of
Corinth, the gateway to a veritable treasure trove of history. Greece and Greeks welcome with open arms the thousands of
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