According to COUNTRYAAH.COM, Greece or as the country is officially called the Hellenic Republic can be found in Southeastern Europe on the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula, but the country does not belong to the Balkan region. Greece consists of a peninsula and about 3,000 smaller islands scattered off the coast of Greece in the Mediterranean Sea.

The history of Greece, especially in ancient times, has played an important and defining role for the rest of the western world. This history begins around the eighth century BC. Archaeological finds in Homer’s works have taught us quite a bit about the ancient Greeks. Some of Homer’s stories can be directly linked to archaeological sites. Important milestones in Greek antiquity were the Trojan War, the Persian Wars, the Democracy of Athens, Hellenism and the conquest of Greece by the Romans. Ancient Greece came to an end with the conquest of Greece by the Romans. First, Greece becomes part of the Roman Empire and later it becomes part of the Byzantine Empire for centuries. During this period, which lasted more than 1,000 years, Greece was little more than an unimportant province. In the fifteenth century Constantinople was conquered by the Turks and not much later mainland Greece became part of the Ottoman Empire. The islands followed in the years and centuries that followed. It would take until the seventeenth century before Crete was conquered. The Ottoman rule is seen as a black page in Greek history. Many people were expropriated and forced to perform forced labour. In the early nineteenth century there was a major uprising that eventually led to an independent Greece in 1930. Greece was a monarchy for the first 133 years, but the king was sacked in 1965 and Greece became a republic.

Today, Greece is part of the European Union, you pay with the euro and is one of the Schengen countries. There has been quite a bit of talk about this in recent years, but nowadays the country seems to have got its act together reasonably well. Partly because of this, tourism to Greece is on the rise again. In particular, the islands of Rhodes, Crete, Corfu and Kos are popular destinations in Greece. A reasonable proportion of FTI travel’s holidays to Greece are booked to these destinations. The main reasons to book a holiday to Greece are the many kilometers of coastline and beaches, in combination with a wonderful Mediterranean climate that guarantees high temperatures and a large number of hours of sunshine in summer.

Sights

There are countless places of interest in Greece. It is therefore impossible to mention all places of interest in Greece in this text. We have tried to collect the most beautiful, most important and special sights of Greece. The most famous landmark in Greece is without a doubt the Acropolis of Athens. The Acropolis is a 116 meter high table just outside Athens with several historical structures such as the Parthenon, the Temple of Nike, and the Propylaea. Another world famous landmark in Greece is Knossos in Crete. Legend has it that a Minotaur lived in the labyrinth of Knossos. Other well-known sights that can be associated with the rich Greek history are the historic city of Rhodes,

Two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were found in Greece and three in total were built by the Greeks. Unfortunately, none of this can be found today.

Of course, not all sights in Greece are related to its history. For example, in Greece there are many beautiful sandy beaches, beautiful villages and nice cities. The most beautiful beaches in the country are Myrtos Beach on Kefalonia, Navagio Beach on Zakynthos, Balos Beach and Elafonissi on Crete and Katsiki and Egremni Beach on Lefkas. The best cities for a city trip in Greece are Athens, Thessaloniki, Iráklion and Rhodes Town.

There are also some special sights of natural origin in the country. Think of the Samaria Gorge, the Pindos National Park, the Butterfly Valley on Rhodes, the Olympos National Park and the Prespa National Park.

UNESCO

In 2016, there are seventeen different inscriptions on the UNESCO World Heritage List in Greece. Most of the inscriptions relate to the long and eventful history of the country. The oldest inscription in Greece is the temple of Apollon Epikourios near Bassae. The remains of this temple were accidentally discovered by a shepherd in the eighteenth century. This was followed by many inscriptions such as archaeological Delphi, Mytras, Olympus, Aigai, Mycenae and Tiryns. Mount Athos and the area of ​​Meteora were also added to the list over the years. One of the most famous inscriptions on the World Heritage List is probably the Acropolis of Athens. This ancient sanctuary can be found on a table mountain near the city of Athens. Two of the most beautiful cities in Greece Corfu Town and Rhodes Town are also on the list. A special mention gets the island of Delos, which belongs to the Cyclades. The Lion Terrace and the Apollo Temple are particularly worth seeing. Furthermore, the Christian and Byzantine monuments in Thessaloniki, the sanctuary of Asklepios in Epiaurus, Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos and several monasteries are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Climate

Most of Greece has a Mediterranean climate influenced by the Mediterranean Sea. Due to this influence, real weather extremes rarely occur in Greece and the average daytime temperature in the summer and winter period is not very far apart. Dir is typical of the Mediterranean climate of Greece. This does not apply to the more inland parts of mainland Greece and the highest mountain peaks on the Greek islands. In these parts of the country you have a chance of winter weather with frost and in some years even snow. Fortunately, these are exceptional cases because the average temperatures inland are also usually above zero.

The summer months can be quite hot, especially on the Greek islands of Crete, Rhodes, Kos and Samos and on the Greek mainland. The mercury will regularly rise above 40 degrees Celsius. There is therefore regular heat wave in these areas. During these days it is a good idea to avoid the sun as much as possible and to look for cool shady places. If you are near the Aegean Sea, take a splash regularly to cool down.

The average annual precipitation in Greece is very low, only during the winter months you have an increased chance of prolonged precipitation. The summer months are so bone dry. This in turn regularly causes forest fires.

Geography

Greece is located in the southeastern part of Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. Greece has land borders with Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, and Turkey and lies largely on the Aegean Sea. Off the coast of Greece are about three thousand islands that belong to Greece. These islands are among the most popular holiday areas in Europe. The islands can be roughly divided into a few archipelagos. The best known are the Ionian Islands, which include Corfu, Lefkas and Zakynthos belong, the Cyclades which include Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and Santorini, the Dodecanese which includes Kos, Rhodes, Patmos and Karpathos and the North Aegean Islands which include Lesbos, Samos and Limnos. Lesser known archipelagos are the Saronic Islands, the Sporades, and the islands belonging to East Macedonia. The largest and most famous island, Crete, together with the smaller islands in its vicinity, forms its own archipelago.

The largest and most famous city in Greece is the capital Athens about 700,000 people live here. Other large and well-known cities in Greece are Thessaloniki, Patras, Iráklion, Piraeus, Larise and Rhodes. It is striking that only a small part of the inhabitants of Greece live in large cities. The majority of the inhabitants live in small villages and smaller towns spread over the various islands and the mainland.

The highest point in Greece is Mount Olympus at 2,917 meters. This is also the most famous mountain in Greece because it plays the leading role in several myths. Other well-known mountain ranges in Greece are the Cylenne, the Dikti Mountains, the Ida Mountains and the Pindosgeberte.

The main rivers of Greece are the Alpheus, the Marita, the Nestos, the Strimone and the Vardar. The largest lake in Greece is Lake Prespa which lies on the border with Albania and Macedonia.

Travel advice

There are no special security risks for a trip to Greece. There are no other security risks in Greece than those in the Netherlands. Be alert if you are in a major city or at major tourist attractions. Thieves and pickpockets can roam here. In addition, you have to be extra careful in public transport and in large crowds.

As in the rest of Europe, there is a general threat of terrorism in Greece. Recently, Greece has been dealing with a huge influx of refugees on the islands off the coast of Turkey. As a result, these islands are currently less suitable as a holiday destination.

Travel documents

Since 2000, Greece has been part of the Schengen countries and since 2000 residents of the other Schengen countries can travel freely to and from Greece. However, as in the Netherlands, people are obliged to identify themselves, this also applies to children. There are severe penalties for possessing both soft and/or hard drugs, as well as trading them.

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