Pupils in Turkey will be taught the blue homeland concept from next year. Credit: Matt. Create. CC BY 2.0/flickr
From next year, pupils in schools in Turkey will be taught the geopolitical “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which envisages Turkish influence over large parts of the Mediterranean and other seas and aims to legitimize the government’s eastern Mediterranean policy.
According to the Turkish Education Ministry’s recommendations, which were publicized by the Turkiye and Takvim newspapers, the maps and the Blue Homeland concept will be taught in secondary school geography classes.
The recommendations claim that “the value of patriotism should be instilled as well as Turkey’s justified struggle against demands that ignore its legal and geographical rights in the Sea of Islands (the Aegean Sea) and the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Adding “The importance of Cyprus for Turkey and the Turkish world should be referred to.” The recommendations also said that along with the Blue Homeland (Black Sea, Mediterranean, Aegean Sea, Sea of Marmara), the reasons why Turkey is not a party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea should be explained.
What is the Blue Homeland Doctrine of Turkey?
The narrative of the Blue Homeland concept serves to legitimize domestically the Turkish government’s eastern Mediterranean policy, which has focused on the perceived threat that Turkey is being limited to Anatolia and its territorial waters, and therefore needs to maintain access to the Black, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean seas by projecting a high profile, according to a paper published by the Institute of International Politics and Economics in Belgrade.
The paper argues that at its core, Blue Homeland is a geopolitical concept that has been perceived and supported by the Turkish Navy, which claims through this a leading role in policy formation and implementation in the east Mediterranean Sea.
According to the paper, the post-2016 years (following the Gezi Park protests) constitute a new period in Turkey’s foreign policy. One where the Blue Homeland doctrine was increasingly reflected in its strategic positioning.
Turkey’s idea of a Blue Homeland. Credit: Cihat Yaycı. CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons/Cihat Yayci
The Blue Homeland has been gaining prominence both domestically and as a component of Turkey’s foreign policy. As per the paper, published in 2021, between 2016 and the publication date the country’s foreign policy has become increasingly aggressive and securitized, with an anti-western and anti-US outlook as the central organizing principle.
It had established the defense of Turkey’s maritime sovereignty as its first objective and set three goals: to ensure it possesses the capacity and capability to protect Turkey’s interests in the surrounding seas, to strengthen Turkey’s regional maritime boundary claims in order to gain access to new energy resources, increased influence, and economic growth, and to prevent the west from confining Turkey.
Tech giants are engaged in increasingly fierce competition to develop the next big advancement in AI. Credit: Pixabay / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
In recent months and years, the world of tech giants and artificial intelligence (AI) startups has seen significant growth in competition among the most prominent players in the field. Companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI are trying their best to gain dominance in the fields of AI chatbots and large language models.
As these life-changing and innovative tools continue to become more advanced and reshape various industries at a rapid pace, the race to develop the best, most advanced and capable AI systems has reached a critical moment. The consequences of this reality are still hard to predict and foresee.
The rise of ChatGPT and OpenAI
OpenAI, which is a San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research company, was founded in late 2015. It has been at the forefront of this new race to develop powerful AI tools with the development of the now well-known ChatGPT platform.
This popular AI chatbot has revolutionized and profoundly altered the way many people use technology. This is why it has already captured the attention of users worldwide with its ability to engage in accurate human-like conversations. ChatGPT also answers questions clearly and precisely and even generates one-of-a-kind creative content in a wide variety of fields. This has already begun to change the way people work and entertain themselves.
The impressive and innovative capabilities of ChatGPT have set a new benchmark for every other AI language model. This has forced other major tech giants to change, adapt, and innovate quickly to catch up with OpenAI. In many fields, this is already the case, and this can be seen in the release of Claude 3, by Anthropic AI, for example.
The rapid and unexpected success of ChatGPT and its very wide popularity can be attributed primarily to the cutting-edge research and development in natural language processing and machine learning that has taken place within OpenAI over the last few years. It had gone largely under the radar.
This commitment of the US-based company to the rapid advancement of AI technology has attracted significant investments and major partnerships with other big players in the market. The multi-billion dollar deal with Microsoft is such an example. This significant and huge collaboration has further fueled the growth of OpenAI and solidified its position as a current leader in the AI race even though the competition is becoming increasingly stronger.
Credit: Jernej Furman, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-2.0
Google’s response: Bard and Gemini
To avoid being left behind, Google responded to the challenge posed by ChatGPT with the announcement of its very own AI chatbot, Gemini, which was originally called Bard. Built on LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) technology that was developed by Google, Gemini tries to provide users with a sophisticated conversational AI tool. By taking advantage of the vast repository of data to which Google has access and its unmatched expertise in search and natural language processing, Gemini is Google’s bet that it can give ChatGPT a run for its money.
It’s not just Gemini, however, for Google. The large tech company has also been actively investing in various other AI initiatives and research projects. The company is primarily focused on developing more advanced language models and improving natural language understanding. This effort has positioned Google as a genuinely strong and formidable contender in the AI race, and it shouldn’t be ignored. As time passes by, and Google continues to integrate AI capabilities into its vast suite of hardware and software products and services, it is clear that the company does its best to maintain a leading position in the tech industry and answer the challenges posed by its rivals.
Microsoft’s AI ambitions
Microsoft, on the other hand, has made a series of significant strides in the AI race through its strategic partnership with OpenAI. This has put competitors like Apple in the back seat, at least until Apple responds to these moves. By integrating ChatGPT into many of its widely used products and services, Microsoft is attempting to revolutionize how people interact with technology at home and at work.
The American tech giant has already begun incorporating a series of various AI capabilities into its popular tools such as Bing search engine and Office suite, claiming that it can enhance functionality and user experience.
The vision for AI by Microsoft extends far beyond chatbots and language models. The company is investing billions of dollars in the development of other AI-powered productivity tools and decision-making systems that Microsoft claims can help businesses and individuals work more efficiently and make better-informed choices about everyday tasks. One can only understand that with its deep pockets and extensive research capabilities, Microsoft is well-positioned to shape the future of AI and its applications across various industries, once again becoming a dominant figure in the tech world.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Credit: Anthony Quintano, Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Meta’s AI endeavours
Meta, which was formerly known as Facebook, has also been making significant advancements in the field of AI even though it hasn’t been at the forefront publicly. The company has developed its unique AI language models as well as chatbots, such as BlenderBot. According to Meta, these tools can engage in open-domain conversations and assist the company’s billions of users with a variety of tasks. The main focus of Meta on AI extends to its social media and messaging platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp where the company is leveraging AI to improve content moderation, personalize user experiences, and enhance recommendation systems.
Meta recognizes the potential of this technology in transforming how people connect and communicate online, as it did almost fifteen years ago with Facebook. By integrating more and more AI capabilities into its vast network of social media and messaging apps, Meta hopes it will manage to maintain its position as a leader in the digital space despite the waves of negative publicity it has received in the last few years about the way it’s been handling its users’ data.
The future of AI competition between tech giants
As we can see, the intense level of competition between all major tech giants in the field of AI is more than likely to have far-reaching consequences for various industries and our societies as a whole in the coming years. These companies don’t look like they’re willing to stop pushing the boundaries of what is possible with AI. Thus, we can expect to see even more significant advancements in fields such as healthcare, education, finance, and entertainment among others in the coming years.
However, the very nature of the rapid development of AI also hides a multitude of threats and dangers. For example, it raises crucial ethical considerations that companies and authorities alike urgently need to address and answer. Issues such as data privacy, the inherent bias of many algorithms and the potential for AI to be used for malicious purposes by malign actors on the global stage must be addressed. This is necessary to ensure that the technology is developed and deployed responsibly rather than uncontrollably.
Hence, as the AI race continues to unfold in front of our very eyes, it will be existentially important for tech giants to collaborate with policymakers in the US, the EU, China, and beyond. It will also be necessary to work alongside various experts to establish guidelines and best practices for the safe and beneficial use of AI.
Looking ahead, it is likely the development landscape for AI will not only remain dynamic and fast-paced, but it could become even more competitive. While companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and Meta are currently leading the charge, new players and startups might emerge in the near future. This will most likely continue to happen as we are still in the early stages of this new AI era.
Each company has its own innovative approaches to AI development, and only time will tell which ones are going to succeed and potentially dominate the stage in the next decade. This is why we can expect to see even more exciting breakthroughs and applications in the years to come. These could potentially change the way we work and engage with technology in the future.
Judge orders Donald Trump to pay $9,000 for violating gag order in hush money trial. Credit: Michael Vadon. CC BY 2.0/flickr
The judge overseeing the criminal hush money trial of Donald Trump has imposed a fine on the former US president of $9,000 for contempt of court and said he would consider jailing him if he continued to violate a gag order.
Justice Juan Merchan said in a written order that the fine may not be enough to serve as a deterrent for the wealthy businessman, and expressed regret at not having the authority to impose a higher penalty.
“Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate wilful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” Merchan wrote.
Merchan had put in place the gag order to stop Trump from criticizing witnesses and others involved in the case.
The fine – which came out at $1,000 for each of the nine online statements that Merchan said violated the order – was just short of the $10,000 penalty that prosecutors had requested for posts that insulted likely witnesses and challenged the impartiality of the jury.
Will there be a Further Fine for Trump?
Merchan will reportedly consider whether to impose further fines for other statements at a hearing on Thursday. He also ordered Trump to remove the statements from his Truth Social account and his campaign website by 2.15 pm EDT.
The former president has argued that the gag order violates his free speech rights, and his lawyer Todd Blanche told Merchan last week that the statements at issue were responses to political attacks – as reported by Reuters.
Merchan highlighted that Blanche was unable to give any evidence to show that the expected witnesses had attacked Trump before he insulted them.
The $9,000 fine, due by Friday, is a relatively small penalty for the multi-millionaire, who has already posted $266.6 million in bonds as he appeals civil judgments in two other cases. Jail time, however, would be an unprecedented occurrence in the first criminal trial of a former US president.
It isn’t clear whether Trump would be sent to New York City’s jail on Rikers Island, or whether security concerns would require more lenient treatment, such as home confinement in his Trump Tower triplex.
Merchan’s order came as the trial continued with testimony from a banker familiar with accounts involved in Trump’s alleged scheme to influence the 2016 election by covering up a sex scandal.
The Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election is charged with falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump in 2006. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denied having sex with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.
19th-century depiction of Phoenician sailors and merchants. Publisher New York Ward, Lock Public Domain
The ancient Greeks named the Phoenicians the “purple people” because of the rare purple dye they made out of snail shells, but they were much more than that: they were the Mediterranean seafarers who created the first alphabet
It was the Greeks who named the Mediterranean civilization Phoenicia (Φοινίκη) in the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC). It was located in modern-day Lebanon and locals called their land Canaan and themselves Canaanites.
Herodotus described the Phoenicians as avid sailors, skilled merchants, technological innovators, and naval warriors. Homer’s literary depiction of them is that they were famous skilled sailors in the Mediterranean with posts reaching to modern-day Portugal and Spain and that they made beautiful textiles which they traded.
The Phoenicians were a Semitic people who originated in the Levant region, descendants from the Canaanite cultures that had existed there since at least 2000 BC. Their language, known as Phoenician, was closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. Their major cities were Tyre, Byblos, and Sidon.
They were trading between Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Greece. They traded timber, metals, and textiles across these regions. The Phoenicians established colonies throughout the Mediterranean, including Carthage in North Africa (modern Tunisia) and Gadir (Cádiz) on Spain’s Atlantic coast.
As skilled navigators and clever traders, the Phoenicians established colonies wherever they wanted. They traded with the Greek islands, across southern Europe, the Atlantic coast of Africa, and up to ancient Britain.
Their mastery of navigation allowed them to travel to distant ports and create an extensive trade network that enabled them to acquire goods from distant lands such as tin from Britain or gold from West Africa.
Developed City-States
Income from trade helped the Phoenicians build city-states and create an empire. Unlike other empires forged from wars, theirs was an empire built on trade. Phoenician city-states included Tyre which became prominent between the 9th and 6th centuries BC, and prestigious colonies around the Mediterranean Sea, such as Carthage and Leptis Magna.
Tyre came under Persian rule in 572 BC and was later conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The Roman historian Justin wrote that the original founders arrived from the nearby city of Sidon in search of a suitable place for a new harbor. Using the profits generated by trade, they overtook ambitious projects such as building a large temple complex dedicated to Melqart, the god of sea voyages.
Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Tyre in 450 BC, wrote in Histories that the priests told him the city was founded 2300 years earlier (in 2750 BC).
Map showing the territory and trade routes of the Phoenicians. Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons
Byblos, located 30 km (19 miles) north of modern-day Beirut, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited towns in the world. It was occupied at least by the Neolithic Period (c. 8000–c. 4000 BC) and during the 4th millennium BC an extensive settlement developed there. It was the chief harbor for the export of cedar and other valuable wood to Egypt.
After the collapse of the Egyptian New Kingdom in the 11th century BC, Byblos became the foremost city of Phoenicia.
The Phoenician alphabet was developed at Byblos, and this is where almost all of the known early Phoenician inscriptions were found, most of them dating from the 10th century BC. By that time, the Sidonian kingdom, with its capital at Tyre, had become dominant in Phoenicia, and Byblos, though it flourished into Roman times, never recovered its former supremacy.
The 22 letters of the Phoenician alphabet. Credit Tsp2 Wikimedia Commons CC0
The Phoenician Alphabet’s Influence on the Greek Alphabet
The Phoenician alphabet was adopted and adapted by the Archaic Greeks in the 9th-8th century BC. It was picked up by the Phoenicians due to extensive commercial contacts between the two peoples.
The Phoenician alphabet, language, and culture were strongly influenced by Egypt, which controlled Phoenicia for an extensive period, as King Rib-Adda of Byblos admits in a letter to the pharaoh. The language is Canaanite and is related to Hebrew.
Before c.1000 BC, the Phoenician and Hebrew languages became distinct from the Aramaic spoken in Canaan. The Phoenician writing system was simple and easy to learn, and also very adaptable to other languages, quite unlike cuneiform or hieroglyphics.
Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions have been discovered across the Mediterranean region. It became a hugely influential language, it was used to write the early Iron Age Canaanite languages such as Phoenician, Hebrew, Ammonite, Edomite, and Old Aramaic.
Its impact is partly due to its adoption of a regulated alphabetic script that was written from right-to-left, rather than in many directions. Its success is also in part due to Phoenician merchants using it across the Mediterranean world, which spread its influence outside the Canaanite sphere.
Black figure vessel with double Phoenician alphabet inscription, showing new letters ΥΧ[Φ]Ψ, and ΥΧΦΨΩ. Credit: Marsyas Wikipedia CC BY 2.5One of the best examples of a full text in Phoenician script is engraved on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram in Byblos, Lebanon, which dates from around 850 BC.
Only a few surviving texts written in the Phoenician language survive. Nevertheless, the Phoenician alphabet was adopted and adapted by various cultures, and eventually went on to become one of the most widely-used writing systems of the age.
The procession of the Epitaphios on Good Friday, or Μεγάλη Παρασκευή. Credit: Maggas,CC BY 3.0/Wikipedia Commons
Greek Orthodox Easter, or Pascha, is the most important religious feast of the year, with customs and traditions that have been part of Christianity for two thousand years.
The 40-day period of Lent before Easter (Πάσχα-Pascha), the solemnity of Holy Week, the rich symbolism, and the unique traditions of Orthodox Easter make it very different from Easter as celebrated by Roman Catholics, Protestants, and other Western Christians.
The way Greek Orthodox Easter is observed by the faithful is so very different and includes different symbols used to commemorate the Resurrection. Orthodox Easter and the Easter of other Christian denominations are also observed on different dates.
Every Easter, Greeks thank and honor Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins, and we celebrate the miracle of the Resurrection, the rise of Jesus Christ from the dead, and the promise of an afterlife.
Preparations for Easter start 40 days prior
Greeks prepare for Easter forty days prior to the great feast, with fasting, prayer, and the attendance of liturgies through Holy Saturday when the resurrection of Christ is celebrated on Easter Sunday.
On that Sunday, Greeks celebrate with a huge feast that includes drinking, singing, and dancing, a joyful culmination of forty days of devotions.
Easter in Santorini by Klearchos Kapoutsis. The Easter Vigil takes place in darkness before the coming of the Light. Credit: Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0
Preparations for Easter begin at the start of Great Lent. Orthodox Christians fast and pray regularly during the forty days of Lent and Holy Week.
Great Lent officially begins on what Greeks call Clean Monday, seven weeks before Pascha, and runs for forty consecutive days. Clean Monday is celebrated with Greeks eating seafood, octopus, and dishes containing fish roe.
Great Lent prepares the individual believer to reach for, accept, and attain the calling of his Savior.
Observance of Great Lent includes abstinence from many foods (including all meat and dairy), almsgiving and an intensified period of prayer alone and in church along with self-examination, confession, repentance, and restitution for sins committed during the past year.
Lent for the Greek Orthodox concludes with the Presanctified Liturgy on Friday of the Sixth Week. The next day is called Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday.
Easter liturgies
On Holy Week, the church’s liturgies run for hours and hours. Also called Passion Week, the gospels read in church during this time recount the Passion of Christ, the painful days that led Him to the Cross and finally to Resurrection.
Holy Monday’s liturgy commemorates the blessed and noble Joseph and the fig tree which was cursed and withered by the Lord.
The evening liturgy begins with the Hymn of the Bridegroom: “Behold the Bridegroom comes in the midst of the night… beware, therefore, O my soul, lest thou be borne down in sleep…and lest thou be shut out from the Kingdom….”
Liturgy on the Tuesday of Holy Week commemorates the parable of the Ten Virgins. It is about the preparation of the soul and wakefulness.
On Holy Wednesday, Orthodox churches hold the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. This very ancient Liturgy is a Vesper Service held during the evening.
The sacred ceremony of the Mystery of the Holy Unction takes place during that liturgy. It is the evening devoted to repentance, confession, and the remission of sins by the Lord, preparing the faithful to receive Holy Communion, usually on the following day.
Holy Thursday liturgies are the most heartbreaking of all as Jesus Christ’s betrayal is recalled, and he is led to his death at the end of the day.
On Holy Thursday morning, the liturgy celebrates four events: the washing of the disciples’ feet, the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Marvelous Prayer, and the betrayal.
After the washing of His Apostles’ feet, He pointed out the betrayer, celebrated the Eucharist as part of the Passover meal with His disciples, and pronounced the new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.
Upon leaving his Apostles, Christ spoke to them about the descent of the Holy Spirit to complete man’s union with Christ. His departure, Christ said, would bring joy to them and the world.
The liturgy also includes the reading of the “Twelve Gospels.”
On Holy Friday, church bells throughout Greece ring mournfully all day long, and in the evening there is the Procession of the Epitaphios—a recreation of the tomb of Christ—in each parish.
In the morning, the Epitaphios is decorated with spring flowers—mostly white, red, and purple—until it is entirely covered.
The Epitaphios is often sprinkled with flower petals and rosewater, decorated with candles and ceremonially censed as a mark of respect. Traditionally, the faithful walk underneath it as it is held aloft as a gesture of faith.
In the evening, the ceremonial Epitaphios Procession takes place, led by the parish priests and followed by the faithful who hold lit beeswax candles.
On Holy Saturday, psalms are read and Resurrection hymns are sung, telling of Christ’s descent into Hades: “Today Hades cried out groaning,” the psalm says.
The hymns speak of the conquering of death and the day’s celebration is called “First Resurrection.” Most of the readings of this day are from the Old Testament on the prophecies and promise of the conquering of death.
Fireworks shoot into the skies at the moment the priest says “Christos Anesti!” at a Greek church. Credit: Georgios Liakopoulos/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
Finally, at midnight comes the moment that all Orthodox Greeks around the world eagerly anticipate: The Resurrection ceremony when the faithful can finally greet one another by saying “Christos Anesti!” (Christ is risen!).
On this night, Greeks wear their Sunday best, carry a white candle, and go to church to attend the liturgy and wait for midnight.
Children hold their lampatha (λαμπάδα) a decorated white candle given to them by their godfather or godmother. This is a gift which children eagerly anticipate.
Children keep their lampatha throughout the year, because the blessed candle which has been lit by the Holy flame on Resurrection night can be used in other special liturgies such as baptisms and weddings.
At midnight, all the priests come out and chant “Christos Anesti!” while they pass the Holy Light from which all the faithful light their candles and pass the light to one another, saying “Christos Anesti!” with the recipient replying “Alithos Anesti!” or “Truly, He is risen!”
The Holy Fire
In Orthodox tradition, the Holy Fire is considered a miracle that occurs annually on the day preceding Pascha within Jesus Christ’s tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In the church, a blue light is said to emit from within Jesus Christ’s tomb, rising from the marble slab covering the stone believed to be that upon which Jesus’ body was placed for burial.
The light is believed to form a column of fire from which candles are lit. This fire is then used to light the candles of the clergy and pilgrims in attendance.
The fire is also said to spontaneously light other lamps and candles around the church. Pilgrims and clergy say that the Holy Fire does not burn them.
The Patriarch is inside the chapel kneeling in front of the stone while the church is dark. Then, the Patriarch exits with the two candles lit and shining brightly in the darkness.
The crowd roars as they witness the bright candles with the Holy Fire and light their own, jubilant after seeing the miracle.
The Holy Fire, which Greeks call Holy Light, is taken to Greece by a special flight, while it is received in the country by political and church leaders with all the honors of a visiting state leader.
Roasting lambs on Easter Sunday in Fokida. Public Domain
Greek Easter Food traditions
Naturally, after the 40-day Lenten fast before Easter, what most Greeks have in mind is to rush to the table to make up for lost time.
Since meat, milk, and eggs, as well as alcohol and sugar, have been prohibited for a long time, there is a great deal of eating to make up for.
Right after the Resurrection liturgy, in the middle of the night, Greeks return home to eat meat once again for the first time in forty days. Magiritsa (μαγειρίτσα), a soup made from lamb offal, is consumed at that time; tradition dictates that it be the offal of the very lamb which is to be roasted on Sunday.
Magiritsa also contains dill, lettuce, and other herbs and greens. Eaten after forty days of strict fasting, it is an ideal food with which to prepare the stomach for the Easter Sunday feast.
Easter Sunday is the big day in Greece, the day of the greatest feast of all. The festive day begins with the many preparations for the roasting of a whole lamb on an outdoor spit.
The particular meat is high in religious symbolism.
According to one theory, it pertains to God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. Abraham obeyed God and began preparing for the sacrifice; when Isaac saw what his father was doing, he asked, “The fire and wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Although Abraham naturally did not really want to kill his son, he was willing to do what God wanted him to do. When God saw that he was willing to obey, He told Abraham to stop, and Abraham sacrificed a nearby ram instead.
A second, and more probable theory, is that it pertains to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, first offered on the night of the Exodus. In the Torah, the blood of this sacrifice painted on the door-posts of the Israelites was to be a sign to the destroying angel, when passing through the land to slay the first-born of the Egyptians that night, that he should pass over the houses of the Israelites.
In the Mishnah this is called the “Passover of Egypt”. It was ordained, furthermore, that this observance should be repeated annually once the Israelites entered their promised land. For Christians, the lamb symbolizes Jesus, who was sacrificed and shed His blood to save mankind.
Today, Greeks spend Easter Sunday morning slow-roasting the delicious lamb, and then the whole family gathers at the table to eat. All the preparations and the turning of the spit are a communal experience.
The whole Easter Sunday experience builds strong bonds between family and friends on the most holy of days for Greek Orthodoxy.
Once at the Easter table, Greeks crack eggs dyed a brilliant bright red with their family and friends. The eggs are dyed red on Holy Thursday, a custom which goes back to the early Christians and symbolizes the sacrificial blood of Christ.
Later on, Greek Orthodox tradition said that the eggs are dyed red on Holy Thursday in commemoration of the Last Supper.
The cracking of the red eggs has its own symbolism, as well. The hard shell of the egg symbolizes the sealed tomb of Christ, while the cracking means that the tomb has been broken open, and that Christ has been resurrected from the dead.
Along with the red eggs and all the feasting comes the delectable tsoureki. Called τσουρέκι in Greek, this is a sweetened yeast bread made with butter, milk, eggs and spices.
Tsoureki is also prepared on Holy Thursday, but it is not to be eaten before the Resurrection, much like the red eggs. The tsoureki also usually features a bright red egg nestled into its braids.
Tradition has it that the tsoureki symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and rebirth in general, as after the dough is molded into shape, it rises and looks like it is alive as it swells and transforms into the finished loaf.
The tsoureki has different names and shapes in different parts of Greece, such as “kofinia,” “kalathakia,” “doksaria,” “avgoulas,” “koutsouna,” “kouzounakia” and others. The most common shape is the braid.
Easter fireworks over Mt. Lycabbetus in Athens. Credit: Kreuzritter 163/Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0
The unique fireworks of Greek Easter
A unique Easter tradition in Greece is the fireworks and firecrackers that go off at midnight when priests across Greece declare that “Christ is Risen.”
It is a moment when the ringing of the bells is drowned out by the the noise of firework displays throughout the country, lighting up the skies.
This tradition is fairly recent and its origin is unknown. It is reminiscent of people who fire guns into the air to celebrate a great occasion.
Usually, neighboring parishes participate in a “fireworks war” against each other in trying to outdo the “opponent.” It is a tradition that the Church of Greece and authorities have denounced.
Greek Orthodox and Western Easter
The Greek Orthodox and Western Easter are usually set on different dates. Unlike most European nations which celebrate Easter on April 17th, Greece celebrates Orthodox Easter on April 24th this year.
Orthodox Churches still use the Julian calendar for Easter, meaning that in certain years, there can be a weeks-long gap between the Gregorian calendar that Catholic countries use and the Julian calendar. There may even be a weeks-long gap between Jewish Passover and Easter.
Due to this difference in calendars, the last time the two great Christian denominations celebrated Easter on the same day was in 2017.
In the early days of their faith, Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ at different times. It was the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council in 325 AD who came up with a uniform way of determining the date.
The Holy Fathers decreed that Easter was to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox and always after Passover.
To this day, the Orthodox have stuck with this method of calculating the date of the feast, leading to the fact that it usually falls later than does Easter in the Western world.
In several years, however, Eastern and Western Easter fall on the same date, as will be the case once again in 2025.
In 1923, a group of Orthodox churches met in Istanbul to re-examine the calendar issue, eventually adopting a controversial position that important religious dates would follow the more astrologically-accurate Gregorian calendar. Orthodox Easter would be the only holiday exempt from this, as it would continue to follow the Julian calendar.
Greece has established a solid relation with Israel since 2010. Pictured Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during a February 2021 meeting in Israel. Credit: AMNA
Relations between Greece, Israel, and Palestine since Greece’s restoration of democracy in 1974 have gone through phases depending on seminal events and the Greek governing party of the time.
While relations with Israel were rather cold until 1990, due to its arms supply to Turkey, Greece had sided with the Palestinians in the ongoing conflict with Israel in the 1980s. The general public sentiment has been more pro-Palestinian overall. It wasn’t until 2010 through today that Greece and Israel became strong allies in the military and energy sector regardless of the party in power.
Greece after the military dictatorship
The much expected regime change of July 23, 1974 found a country in jubilation after seven years of harsh military rule and isolation. At the time, the only external concern of Greek people was the situation in Cyprus. The island nation had been invaded by Turkish troops occupying more than one third of the island.
During the first years of the Konstantinos Karamanlis New Democracy government, Greeks were enjoying liberties they had been deprived of for seven years. International relations took a back seat even though, since August 1974, the prime minister had withdrawn Greece from the military part of NATO in protest of the alliance’s inability to deter Turkey from the barbarous invasion of Cyprus.
At the time, the Israel-Palestine conflict had subsided, and on September 1, 1978, the Camp David Accords between Israel and Palestine-protecting Egypt was signed. This meant Egypt would no longer fight against Israel to protect Palestinian interests. On March 26, 1979, Israeli armed forces withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula.
Overall, Greece’s relations with the Arab countries before the 1980s were characterized by an attempt at rapprochement, both diplomatically and economically. Specifically, during the 1970s, due to the Cyprus problem, a simultaneous effort was made by both Greece and Turkey to approach the Arab world in order to secure diplomatic level support.
Greece sided with Palestine by establishing diplomatic relations with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Pictured PLO leader Yasser Arafat (left) and Greek PM Andreas Papandreou in December 1981. Credit: Athens- Macedonian News Agency archive.
Greece and Palestine in the 1980s
The 1980s brought great changes in Greece and on the international field. On October 18, 1981, Greeks elected PASOK, the first socialist government in the country’s history. Party leader Andreas Papandreou, whose pre-election rhetoric spoke for withdrawal from NATO and the EU (then called European Economic Community), immediately assumed a neutral if not anti-West stance.
Soon after PASOK rose to power, on December 14, 1981, Papandreou welcomed Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to Greece. At the time, PLO advocated for the establishment of an Arab state in the entire territory of former Mandatory Palestine and the elimination of the State of Israel that was in its place.
Arafat was received with head of state honors. The PLO Information Office in Athens was upgraded to a Palestine Diplomatic Mission. In his book Greece in Regime-Change Era 1974-1990, Yiannis Voulgaris wrote: “Greece was the first country in Europe to upgrade the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to an official diplomatic mission.”
In regards to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the PASOK government maintained a different attitude from that of Western European countries, maintaining an obviously “independent” character and bearing the seal of Andreas Papandreou. PASOK developed relations trying to create a bridge between the Arab countries and Europe. At the same time, it sought no diplomatic relations with Israel.
In June 1982, fights between Israel and PLO operating in South Lebanon led to a full-blown engagement. The Palestinians were aided by Syrians, leftists, and Lebanese Muslims .The fights became known as the 1982 Lebanon War. The war continued for years, and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group gained significant power. The Israeli army finally left Lebanon in 2000.
During his administration, Papandreou continued playing the role of mediator in affairs between the West and the Middle East. He played a crucial role in improving relations between Libya and France after friction between the two in Chad’s civil war (1979-1987). Mediated by Papandreou, a Muammar Gaddafi-Francois Mitterrand meeting was arranged on Crete, and, eventually, the two countries reached an agreement to withdraw their troops from Chad.
At a level, PASOK continued to follow along the lines of the country’s previous policy regarding the Middle East crisis. Papandreou supported the establishment of a Palestinian state but simultaneously was for Israel’s right to exist securely as a state within its pre-1967 war borders.
Foreign Minister Yiannis Charalambopoulos and, later, Karolos Papoulias fought a diplomatic battle at the UN for the PLO to be recognized as a “freedom fighter,” meaning that someone who fights for the liberation of his country from a foreign occupation is not the same as a terrorist. The PASOK government intensified economic and political relations with Iraq and Libya, while the United States considered the latter a terrorist country.
Israel and the West displeased with Greece
The Greek government’s favorable policy towards the Palestinians displeased the West and Israel. The US was irritated by Greece’s cooperation with Libya and the open support of PLO. The Reagan administration issued a travel directive for Greece in 1985. As a result, the Papandreou administration was forced to tone down its Middle East policy and follow a more cautious course in foreign affairs during its second four-year term (1985-1989).
In the first post-1974 years, Greek-Israeli relations were strained. Israel had developed a close cooperation with Turkey, as it was the neighboring country’s arms supplier. After the invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkey cleverly aligned with the West and supported Israel in the conflict with the PLO. Turkey’s stance irritated some Arab states that provided oil to Turkey, so Ankara was forced to severe ties with Israel.
However, during the Lebanon War, Turkey saw that radical anti-Turkish forces were operating from Lebanon and needed the help of Israeli Intelligence. That led to a restart of Turkey-Israel relations. Furthermore, seeing that the US was a strong ally of Israel, Ankara sided with Israel again.
Greece-Israel relations remained strained through the 1980s not only because of Israel’s close ties with Turkey but also because the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem often faced problems from Jewish institutions and individuals.
A widespread wave of Palestinian protests and civil disobedience, culminating in acts of violence and terrorism against Israelis, began in December 1987 and continued into the early 1990s. It was the First Intifada (referring to a resistance movement or revolt) sparked by a combination of factors, most importantly Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, economic hardships, and a lack of political progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The First Intifada had a significant impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it brought international attention to the issue. It also led to the birth of Hamas. The international political changes between 1989 and 1991 eventually led to peace negotiations, notably the Madrid Peace Process and the Oslo Accords in the early 1990s.
Greece-Israel rapprochement
In 1990, a new chapter in Greece-Israel relations opened. It was the beginning of rapprochement of the two countries, albeit short.
From the inception of the state of Israel in 1947 through 1990, all Greek governments had rejected requests and pressure from Western powers for De Jure recognition of Israel as a state. The Israeli envoy in Athens carried the title of “Diplomatic Representative” and not “Ambassador.” In May 1990, Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis recognized the Israeli state.
Mitsotakis had stated that he considered the recognition of the Israeli state necessary “for the reinstatement and establishment of peace in the region.” Indeed, the two countries signed a defense agreement and started new trade relations and increased exchanges. However, good relations between the two countries soured again in 1995 because of an Israeli-Turkish rapprochement. In 1996, Israel signed a bilateral defense agreement with Turkey, severing ties with Greece.
It took almost fifteen years for the two countries to come together again, but this time it was for good.
After Hamas had taken control over the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel imposed an indefinite naval blockade in the area. Several attempts to approach Gaza by sea were thwarted by the Israelis. In May 2010, a flotilla of six ships organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH) carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials sailed from Cyprus with the intention of breaking the Israeli blockade on Gaza. Western media had reported that amidst the 640 passengers, including European lawmakers and activists, were several people involved in terrorist attacks.
On May 31st, Israeli forces intercepted the Turkish-orchestrated flotilla with commandos raiding from helicopters and speedboats. The raid resulted in the death of nine passengers while dozens were injured. Israeli forces counted ten injured, one of them in critical condition. Turkey condemned the Israeli action and called on the international community to do the same.
The incident tipped the iceberg of Israeli discontent with Turkey that was already exhibiting serious revisionist tendencies in the broader Eastern Mediterranean region. Israel had to make a foreign policy U-turn and seek closer cooperation with Greece. Greece had, in the meantime, emerged as a potential honest broker in the Arab-Israeli conflict, mostly as a result of the country’s record in the UN Security Council in 2004 to 2005.
A new era of Greece-Israel relations
In August 2010, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli prime minister to visit Greece. On his two-day tour, Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, the son of Andreas, discussed the possibility of expanding strategic ties and establishing greater cooperation between the two nations’ militaries and defense industries.
Greece was also about to begin a budding energy partnership. In the same year, Israel discovered Leviathan, holding an estimated 566 billion cubic meters of gas and turning the country overnight into the Eastern Mediterranean’s biggest owner of exportable gas.
In 2011, Greece and Israel began discussing construction of the EastMed, an undersea pipeline that would carry 10 to 20 billion cubic meters of Israeli gas to Europe via Greece each year. Greek hydrocarbon companies have formed a consortium to build that pipeline.
Greece-Israel relations have remained excellent from 2010 until today. Pictured Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017, Credit: AMNA
In November 2015, when leftist party Syriza was in government, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited Ramallah in the West Bank and discussed a two-state solution with the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmous Abbas. The two leaders announced then that Abbas would visit Athens on December 21st and 22nd.
“We ask states that have not yet recognized Palestine as a state but who believe in a two-state solution to do so,” Abbas stated. Tsipras said his government was in favor of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. Greece and the Palestinian Authority agreed to form a joint ministerial committee aimed at strengthening relationships.
Prior to talks with the Palestinian leader, the Syriza government had already agreed on a highest cooperation council of Greece-Israel. This crystallized the nature of the partnership being established by the two countries in the region with synergies and collaborations in trade and energy.
During Syriza rule, the government had often expressed its support to Palestine to please voters but remained true in its official relations and collaborations with Israel.
A solid defense partnership
When in 2020 Greek-Turkish relations became tense again due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s neo-Ottoman ambitions, Greece sought a relationship with Israel’s sophisticated defense industry. In the same year, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis signed cybersecurity cooperation protocols with his Israeli counterpart, Netanyahu, and invited Israeli investors to use Greece as a base from which to reach the EU single market, especially in IT.
Greece signed its first military agreement with Israel on May 6, 2020, leasing two Heron UAVs to monitor the Aegean. In 2022, Greece bought the Drone Dome anti-drone defense system from Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Additionally, the two defense partners launched a joint flight training center in the southern Greek town of Kalamata.
In 2023, weapons procurement continued with the purchase of dozens of Orbiter 3 surveillance and reconnaissance drones, also from Rafael. In September 2023, Greece purchased air-to-surface precision-guided munitions, manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, to improve the attack capabilities of its F-16 fighter jets. Finally, Greece bought 34 Spike NLOS short-range missile defense systems and about 500 missiles from Israeli manufacturer Elbit.
Latest chapter in Greece-Israel relations
On October 7, 2023 the Iran-backed Hamas of Gaza launched an unprovoked surprise attack on over twenty Israeli communities using rockets, paragliders, boats, motorcycles, and other vehicles. The terrorists infiltrated Israel killing over 1,200 Israeli civilians and taking over 130 hostages.
In retaliation, Israeli armed forces—after warning civilians to evacuate—bombarded Gaza and then entered the Strip in an effort to root out Hamas fighters. During the bombing and fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians were killed and hundreds of thousands were misplaced.
Greece has called for humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians and aided by sending food and necessities to Gaza but remains on Israel’s side in the conflict as do almost all Western nations.
The ruins of the ancient Greek city in Afghanistan. Credit: Délégation archéologique française en Afghanistan
The ancient Greek city of Ai-Khanoum in Afghanistan was discovered by accident in the 1960s, but its demise has captivated historians and archaeologists for decades.
The city that was lost under the desert sands for almost two thousand years was founded by one of Alexander the Great’s successors, Seleucus I Nicator. It is believed to be the historical city of “Alexandria on the Oxus.” Also possibly later named Eucratidia, this was one of the primary cities of Alexander’s Greco-Bactrian Kingdom.
It served as a vital hub for trade and cultural exchange between the Greco-Macedonian world and the native inhabitants of Bactria. Its strategic position along the Silk Road ensured a bustling economy, bolstered by the fusion of Greek and local cultures.
Ai-Khanoum flourished as a cosmopolitan center, adorned with Greek-style architecture. It boasted a grand palace, sprawling marketplaces, a gymnasium, and well-planned residential areas.
Corinthian tent found in the citadel of Ai-Khanoum. Public Domain
It was laid out in a grid pattern, reminiscent of many Greek cities. The city’s inhabitants included Greeks, as well as various other ethnic groups.
The palace gateway was supported by eighteen columns. Within, the palace’s own courtyard was lined with 118 elaborately carved Greek Corinthian columns some 5.7 meters high and others 10 meters high. The palace interior was a carefully planned sequence of rooms and halls.
A Macedonian mosaic was discovered in the ruins of the city. Public Domain
A residential zone was situated in the area south of the palatial complex. This consisted of rows of blocks of large aristocratic houses, separated by streets at right angles to the main north–south road.
“There were Greek, Macedonian and Thracian citizens, who enjoyed the temples, the gymnasiums and the arenas exactly as if they were in a city on the Greek mainland,” wrote Oxford classicist Robin Lane Fox.
The city’s acropolis had stood on the massive rocky cliff rising beside and protecting the lower city on a small plain at the confluence of the rivers Kokcha and Amou Daria, historically known by its Latin name, Oxus.
A portrait of a man discovered near the ancient palace. Public Domain
The excavators discovered three temples at Ai-Khanoum—a large sanctuary on the main street near the palace, a smaller temple in a similar style outside the northern wall, and an open-air podium on the acropolis. The large sanctuary, often called the Temple with Indented Niches, was located prominently in the lower city between the main street and the palace.
While originally thought to have been founded by Alexander the Great, more recently, scholars believe this easternmost Hellenic city was more likely founded by the subsequent Seleucid Empire, a major center of Hellenistic culture reinforced by steady immigration from Greece.
“What is certain is that, two centuries after Alexander the Great, Greek was still spoken [there],” notes Nicolas Engel, head of Afghan antiquities at the Guimet Museum in Paris.
Golden coin of the Seleucid Empire ruler Antiochos I, with Ai-Khanoum mint mark on the reverse. Public Domain
What caused the demise of the ancient Greek city in Afghanistan?
Despite its initial prosperity, Ai-Khanoum faced challenges that contributed to its eventual decline.
Ai-Khanoum’s geographical location made it susceptible to geopolitical disruptions. The city found itself sandwiched between the rival empires of the Seleucids and the Mauryas, both vying for control of the Silk Road trade routes. This political tug-of-war likely destabilized the region and impacted the city’s ability to maintain its economic and political autonomy.
The region was vulnerable to invasions by various nomadic and indigenous groups, including the Sakas, Yuezhi, and others. These invasions disrupted the stability of the city and may have contributed to its decline.
As the Hellenistic era waned, the influence and power of the Greeks in the East began to decline. With emerging regional powers seeking to assert their own identities, many Hellenistic cultural centers, including Ai-Khanoum, gradually lost their relevance. They became irrelevant.
The overarching cultural shift towards Parthian and later Sassanian influences might have marginalized the Greek presence and contributed to Ai-Khanoum’s decline.
The exact circumstances surrounding the downfall of Ai-Khanoum remain elusive. Among the many theories posited, some suggest that the city fell victim to invasions or wars, while others propose natural disasters such as earthquakes or flooding.
There is also speculation regarding a gradual abandonment due to economic decline or a shifting allegiance towards religious and cultural centers elsewhere.
The confluence of the Amu Darya and Kokcha River could lead to periodic flooding, which might have damaged the city’s infrastructure over time.
The exact date of Ai-Khanoum’s decline and abandonment is not well-documented, but it likely occurred in the 2nd century BCE. The city was gradually abandoned, and its ruins were eventually covered by sediment and lost to history.
Today, Ai-Khanoum is an archaeological site of historical significance, but it no longer functions as a city.
Plato’s statue in Athens. Credit: Edgar Serrano, CC2/Wikipedia
The final hours of one of history’s most influential philosophers, Plato, are brought to light by newly deciphered passages from a papyrus scroll that was buried beneath layers of volcanic ash after the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
In a groundbreaking discovery, the ancient scroll was found to contain a previously unknown narrative detailing how the Greek philosopher spent his last evening, describing how he listened to music played on a flute by a Thracian slave girl.
Despite battling a fever and being on the brink of death, Plato – who was known as a disciple of Socrates and a mentor to Aristotle, and who died in Athens around 348 BC – retained enough lucidity to critique the musician for her lack of rhythm, the account suggests.
The decoded words also suggest Plato’s burial site was in his designated garden in the Academy of Athens, the world’s first university, which he founded, adjacent to the Mouseion. Previously, it was only known in general terms that he was buried within the academy.
In a presentation of the research findings at the National Library of Naples, Prof Graziano Ranocchia, of the University of Pisa, who spearheaded the team responsible for unearthing the carbonized scroll, described the discovery as an “extraordinary outcome that enriches our understanding of ancient history”.
He said: “Thanks to the most advanced imaging diagnostic techniques, we are finally able to read and decipher new sections of texts that previously seemed inaccessible.”
AI Helps Scholars Read Scroll. Credit: Vesuvius Challenge / scrollprize.org
Scroll also reveals when Plato was sold to slavery
The text also reveals that Plato was sold into slavery on the island of Aegina, possibly as early as 404BC when the Spartans conquered the island, or alternatively in 399BC, shortly after Socrates’ passing.
“Until now it was believed that Plato was sold into slavery in 387BC during his sojourn in Sicily at the court of Dionysius I of Syracuse,” Ranocchia said.
“For the first time, we have been able to read sequences of hidden letters from the papyri that were enfolded within multiple layers, stuck to each other over the centuries, through an unrolling process using a mechanical technique that disrupted whole fragments of text.”
Ranocchia said the ability to identify these layers and virtually realign them to their original positions to restore textual continuity represented a significant advance in terms of gathering vast amounts of information.
He said the work was still in its nascent stages and the full impact would only become apparent in the coming years.
The scroll was preserved in a lavish villa in Herculaneum and discovered in 1750, and is believed to have belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law.
Over the years, scholars have tried to decipher the scrolls found in this villa, known as the Villa of the Papyri.
40 pavilions with Greek crewed yacht charter companies including companies providing maritime tourism services participated. Credit: Greek Reporter
The island of Poros in Greece recently hosted the annual East Med Yacht Show, considered one of the largest maritime industry events worldwide.
Hundreds of Greek and international yachting agents and media representatives specializing in marine tourism’s international promotion attended the event.
Its location has established itself as a strategic marine-oriented island since ancient times. In 1834 the new Greek Government established its first naval base following the liberation from Turkish rule.
The international Boat Show was co-organized by the Municipality of Poros, the Municipal Port Organization of Poros, the Hellenic Professional Yacht Owners Association and FX Yachting, under the aegis of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy, the Ministry of Tourism, the Region of Attica, the Hellenic Tourism Organization, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE), the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Propeller Club, the Charter Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) and the Federation of Hellenic Associations of Travel and Tourism Agencies (FedHATTA).
More than 300 charter brokers attended the event on Poros. Credit: Greek Reporter
105 commercial yachts participated in the show on Poros
In its 20th year, the East Med Yacht Show included 105 Commercial Yachts moored at Poros port out of which 65 Catamarans, 30 motor yachts, 5 motor Sailers and Monohull Sailing yachts and 40 exhibitors were registered such as Greek crewed yacht charter companies, including companies providing maritime tourism services.
More than 300 charter brokers from America, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, UK. United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, Italy, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, New Zealand, Poland and Turkey attended the EMMYS Boat Show.
40 pavilions with Greek crewed yacht charter companies including companies providing maritime tourism services participated.
The Boat Show promoted an ecological footprint, in line with the “green” transformation of Poros, in the framework of the “GR-Eco Islands” initiative and the agreement signed between the Greek PM, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the UAE, President of COP28 and President of Masdar, Dr Sultan Al Jaber.
EMMYS – Poros 2024 was based on the slogan “no plastic”, promoting the production and consumption of filtered drinking water on yachts rather than bottled water for both customers and crew to eliminate the use of plastic bottles on board.
Poros is also running a project founded by the Greek National Tourism Organization and part of the yacht docking facilities will be reconstructed and upgraded to a smart and eco-operated yacht port; The Municipality΄s and the Port Authority΄s goal is to make all port facilities smarter and greener making Poros a dominant and well-known yacht destination.
The Show opened its gates on the 25th of April and was attended by government high Officials and local officials. On the left is the Mayor of Poros Mr. George Koutouzis. Credit: Greek Reporter
The Mayor of Poros George Koutouzis and the President of the Municipality Port Organization of Poros Mr. Konstantinos Moutzouvis offered local products to the Captains and crews of professional yachts as a sign of recognition of their vital role in the successful chartering and promotion of marine tourism.
The Port Organization arranged and decorated the exhibitors’ stands with flowers.
75.7 percent of those registered are residents of Greece and 24.3 percent are Greeks residing abroad. Credit: Europarl/ CC-BY-SA 2.0
Over 200,000 Greeks residing in Greece and 127 countries abroad have registered for postal voting in the upcoming European elections.
According to the Interior Ministry’s final data, registered voters for postal voting in the upcoming European elections on June 9 reached 202,556.
Of these, 153,322 (75.7 percent) are residents of Greece and 49,234 (24.3 percent) are Greeks residing abroad with voting rights in Greece.
Germany recorded the highest number of registrations, with 9,578 Greeks applying to participate in the European Parliament elections via postal vote.
Close behind was the United Kingdom, with 9,090 Greek voters entering their details on the epistoliki.ypes.gov.gr platform.
The United States followed with 3,857 registrations, then Belgium (3,491), the Netherlands (3,119) and Cyprus (2,808), according to the final tally released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the early hours of Tuesday.
Among the registered voters are Greeks residing in countries where participation in national elections in 2023 was not feasible due to the lack of a polling station in their area. Examples include American Samoa, Djibouti, Angola, Mozambique, Congo, Cambodia, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, El Salvador and Zambia.
Greece launched the online platform for registration in the electoral roll for postal voting in February.
The initiative aims to streamline the process for Greek citizens to exercise their voting rights in the European Parliament elections and national referendums.
The mail-in system applies to all citizens registered in the electoral rolls who wish to participate in the elections, regardless of their location within or outside the country’s borders.
Greek residents living abroad can only participate in the upcoming European elections through postal voting.
“For the first time in the history of the Greek state, postal voting is introduced,” said Interior Minister Niki Kerameus. “The removal of all practical barriers for our fellow citizens in Greece and abroad to exercise their voting rights. Our democracy is expanding.”
Postal voting in Greece follows voting from country of residence
Announcing postal voting last November, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “It is a brave reform, it widens the electorate that participates in elections and is the most powerful answer to abstention and inaction.”
He pointed out that many groups of citizens, including the elderly, students, and seasonal workers far from their place of residence, can participate in the election procedure through the postal vote. Furthermore, he added that the activation of this possibility in the elections for the European Parliament this spring would be followed in the national elections.
The PM said that postal voting is a “brave institutional reform’ that follows his government’s initiative in 2021 to allow the diaspora to vote without having to fly back home.”
Until then, Greece was the only country in Europe—and perhaps the entire Western world— where full citizens living abroad were denied the right to vote in Greek elections from the country of their residence either by casting a ballot at the Greek embassy or through postal voting.
