49 Reasons To Love Hellas (Greece)

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After a few tough years, Greece is resurgent once again.

1. Greeks take their time.

Photo: Flickr: yannisag

2. They let beautiful moments linger.

Photo: Flickr: linmtheu

3. They are passionate. (A man plays the traditional bouzouki.)

Photo: Flickr: nickchino

4. Like their ancestors, Greeks are still thinkers (and often big talkers).

Photo: Flickr: vanou

5. They live closer to nature than we do. (A man tenderizes a freshly caught octopus on a rock.)

Photo: Flickr: 63391301@N00 / Via Leezard

6. For Greeks, time with family and friends always comes first.

Photo: Flickr: papazimouris

7. … and they party like it’s their last day on Earth.

Photo: Flickr: linmtheu

8. The Romans really loved it here. (Hadrian’s Arch built for the Roman Emperor in Athens in 131 A.D.)

Photo: Flickr: 27382580@N02 / Via Mateus Pabst

9. As did the crusaders. (Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes built around 1309.)

Photo: Flickr: jlascar / Via Jorge Lascar

10. So did the Venetians. (Methoni Castle in the western Peloponnese region.)

Photo: Flickr: dubefranz

And the Turks… well, let’s just say they overstayed their welcome. (The 18th-century mosque of Gazi Hassan Pasha on the island of Kos.)

Photo: Via Flickr: jdawson554

11. Eighty percent of the country is picturesque mountains… (The White Mountains on the island of Crete.)

Photo: Flickr: pappousaki

12. …but the beaches are absolutely… (Porto Katsiki beach on the island of Lefkada.)

Photo: Flickr: imagea Via imagea.org

…crazily… (Lindos beach on the island of Rhodes.)

Photo: Flickr: esther-

…ridiculously… (Voidokilia beach in the Messenia region of western Greece.)

Photo: Flickr: visitgreecegr

…ludicrously… (The western coast of Greece’s Peloponnese region.)

Photo: Flickr: visitgreecegr

…breathtaking. (Navagio beach on the island of Zakynthos.)

Photo: Flickr: tr8la

13. The towns look like this… (Astypalea.)

Photo: Flickr: darkb4dawn

and like this… (Corfu, Kerkyra.)


and sometimes like this… (Skiathos.)

Photo: Flickr: cmgramse

but also like that. (Ermoupolis on the island of Syros.)

Photo: Flickr: alexcoitus

14. The Mediterranean diet is from here. (Horiatiki (village) salad with tomatoes, feta, Kalamata olives, peppers, oregano, and olive oil — never lettuce. EVER.)

Photo: Flickr: a-culinary-photo-journal

…where it is best enjoyed next to the Mediterranean. (Mykonos.)

Photo: Flickr: polselli

15. Greek food is so much more than souvlaki and gyros.
Clockwise: Grilled sausage and meats on the spit; fresh grilled sardines; Greek meatballs in tomato sauce with yogurt; loukoumades (honey doughnuts); portokalopita (orange pie); horta (boiled greens with lemon); and grilled squid with olive oil.

Photo: Flickr: pazavi Via Flickr: avlxyz

16. Feta. The real, salty, creamy, crumbly stuff.

Photo: Flickr: santos

17. Freshest. Seafood. Ever. (Fresh sea urchin roe on the island of Amorgos.)


18. Figs grow wild. Lots of them. Everywhere.

Photo: Nathan Via Flickr: nobo

19. Breakfast in Greece is something special. (Greek yogurt with pine honey and toasted nuts.)

Photo: Flickr: gorgeoux

20. Coffee breaks are serious affairs.

Photo: Flickr: p-andr

21. They make mighty fine beer. (Alfa being the best.)

Photo: Flickr: matt_gibson

22. Athens is one of the most underrated cities in the world. (A dog looks out over Athens to Lykavittos Hill.)

Photo: Flickr: identity-chris-is

23. Athens’ nightlife goes on till the wee hours every day of the week. (Metamatic:taf art space and bar.)


24. Athens’ central market is a wonderland of delicious food.


25. The Exarchia neighborhood in Athens will never gentrify and never surrender. (Athens street protests 2011 spilling out from the leftist Exarchia neighborhood.)

Photo: Flickr: 76721782@N04 Via nsocialableblog

26. Greeks leave paradise intact, unlike their Mediterranean neighbors.

Photo: Flickr: southbayer Via Alexander Besant

27. Over 1,200 stunning islands to choose from.

Photo: Flickr: amira_a

28. Most of Greece is hard to reach and that’s a very good thing. (Catch a ferry to Greece’s far-flung islands but don’t expect to be able to book online.)

Photo: Flickr: adamwitwer

29. From May to September you’ll almost never see a cloud. (The island of Sifnos.)

Photo: Flickr: papazimouris

30. Mykonos is summer’s biggest beach party.

Photo: Flickr: rwp-roger

31. This unsuspecting island village is home to an even more debauched party scene than Mykonos. Any guesses?
(This village parties like it’s 1999 (every night). Photo circa 1975 but not much has changed.)

Photo: Via janwillemsen

32. Folegandros is one of the most enchanting places on Earth. (The main village on the island of Folegandros built along a cliff to stave off pirates.)

Photo: Flickr: eliasfilis

33. Lesbos is a real spot and it’s beautiful. (And yes, the word comes from there.)

Photo: Flickr: mavroudis

34. Crete has more history and landscapes on one island than some large countries have. (Rethymnon, Crete.)

Photo: Flickr: theo_reth Via Theophilos

35. Mount Athos is still mysterious nearly 1,000 years later. (The nearly two dozen monasteries dating back to the Middle Ages hang precipitously from the peninsula’s cliffs. Sadly, women are not allowed in the area.)

Photo: Flickr: cod_gabriel

36. The acoustics at Epidavros will blow your mind. (Built in the 4th-century B.C., the theater seats 15,000 people.)

Photo: Flickr: rosino

37. Rock climbing on the island of Kalymnos is some of the best there is.


38. Yes, yes, that famous sunset from the village Oia on the island of Santorini (Thira) is OK too. (Good luck finding a free place to stand or sit.)

Photo: Flickr: byrdiegyrl

39. The mind-boggling monasteries at Meteora. (Meteora’s Byzantine monasteries date back to the Middle Ages.)

Photo: Flickr: jaimeperez

40. The Greeks saved Western civilization right here. (The burial mound of the 192 Athenians killed during the Battle of Marathon against the invading Persian army in 490 B.C.)

Photo: Flickr: dandiffendale

41. This WAS Sparta. (The ruins of ancient Sparta with modern Sparta in the background.)

Photo: Flickr: d1v1d

42. Alexander the Great was from here. (Pella, Greece.)

Photo: Via Flickr: carolemage

43. Zeus once ruled the world from up there. (Mount Olympus in Greece’s Macedonia region.)

Photo: Flickr: 33284937@N04 Via Nikos Koutoulas

44. The oracle worked its magic up here on Mount Parnassus in Delphi. (The oracle at Delphi.)

Photo: Flickr: ejs76 Via Emilio J Santacoloma

45. …and Poseidon from down there. (Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, just south of Athens.)

Photo: Flickr: papazimouris

46. Icarus would have seen this beautiful place just before he crash-landed. (The island of Ikaria, named after the mythical figure.)

Photo: Flickr: 86813892@N00 Via Woody Wade

47. Theater was born here. (Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens.)

Photo: Flickr: ejs76

48. Philosophy too. (A statue of Plato in Athens.)

Photo: Flickr: telemax

49. Democracy was conceived here on this rock. (The Pnyx, Athens.)

Photo: Flickr: arkntina

Greeks have been through a lot lately.

Photo: Flickr: agelakis

But the truth is while we worried about them, maybe they should have been worried about us instead.

Photo: Via alexcoitus

Source: Life Buzz

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