CONTENT GREECE IN BRIEF TRAVEL INFORMATION VISA INFORMATION - PDF document

CONTENT GREECE IN BRIEF TRAVEL INFORMATION VISA INFORMATION SANTORINI AT A GLANCE SANTORINI TRAVEL INFORMATION GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION WEATHER ACCOMMONDATION BEACHES SIGHTSEEING NIGHTLIFE FOOD SANTORINI WINE USEFUL TIPS PROPOSED CONGRESS VENUE ANDROMEDA SANTORINI LUXURY HOTEL THE MAJESTIC HOTEL PETROS M. NOMIKOS CONFERENCE CENTRE PROPOSED ACCOMMONDATION OPTIONS AFRODITI VENUS BEACH HOTEL & SPA THE FOUR KEYS GIZIS EXCLUSIVE TOUR AN ACTIVITY OPTIONS SELECTED TOURS & ACTIVITIES SANTOWINES

GREECE IN BRIEF GREECE IN BRIEF For thousands of years Greece was the gate pean Communities (precursor to the European between the East and the West. Located where Union) and has been part of the Eurozone since the three continents worldwide (Europe, Asia, 2001. It is also a member of numerous other Africa) meet, Greece is a country whose history International Institutions, including the Council of and culture is truly unique. The ancient Greek Europe, North Atlantic Treaty Organization classical and Hellenistic eras were without doubt (NATO), Organization for Economic Cooperation the most beautiful times, having lest behind a and Development (OECD), World Trade Organi- myriad of ideas, concepts and the basics of what zation (WTO), Organization for Security and we nowadays “western civilization”. Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organiza- Greece is the birthplace of democracy, western tion International de la Francophonie (OIF). philosophy, the Olympic Games, Western litera- Greece’s unique cultural heritage, subsequently ture, historiography, political science, major large tourism industry, and prominent shipping scientific and mathematical principles, and sector classify it as a middle power. It is the larg- Western drama, including both tragedy and est economy in the Balkans, and it is considered comedy. The rich historical legacy of Greece is an important regional investor. reflected in large by its World Heritage Sites, which is the most famous in Europe and all over the world. Today Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the tenth member to join the Euro-

GREECE IN BRIEF GREECE IN BRIEF THE GREEK LANGUAGE POLITICS The official language of the country is Greek. The politics of Greece takes place in a parlia- The dialects of Ancient Greece have greatly mentary representative democratic republic, influenced both the modern Greek language as whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head well as the vocabularies of many languages of government, and of a multi-party system. spoken worldwide nowadays. The Greek alpha- Legislative power is vested in both the govern- bet and the Greek language have contributed ment and the Hellenic Parliament much to all western languages. English, German, French, Italian and Spanish are among the ECONOMICS languages taught as secondary languages at • Unique geographical location educational institutions throughout the country • Huge domestic market but due to the large amount of tourists from all • Largest economy in the Balkans over the world, other languages are also widely • High standards of living and high Human spoken such as Russian, Turkish, Chinese etc. Development Index • The 7th most visited country in the European RELIGION Union and 16th in the world The Greek Constitution recognizes Eastern • The Hellenic Merchant Marine is the largest in Orthodox as the “prevailing” faith of the country, the world while guaranteeing freedom of religious belief for all. Religious and ethnic minorities are spread across the country and are still contribut- ing to the society in various fields.

TRAVEL INFORMATION TRAVEL INFORMATION Greece is centrally situated and very easily southernmost country of the Balkan Peninsu- accessible both from all European countries la and is referred to as a southern European as well as from overseas. Its location is one country but because of its culture, economy, of the greatest assets. Greece is located at membership in the European Union, Greece is the southeast end of Europe and it is the also part of “Western Europe”. VISA INFORMATION VISA INFORMATION • As an European Union (EU) country and a • In all nationalities cases a Visa is required if Schengen territory Greece is accessible with- the traveler does not hold a valid ID card or a out any constraints to all European countries valid passport. as well as non-European ones. For all coun- • Citizens of all other countries should con- tries requiring visa, the SMAG and the Con- tact the nearest Greek Consulate office or the gress Secretariat will provide all the neces- Greek Embassy in order to be properly sary assistance in order to assure all partici- informed on visa requirements. pants obtain their visa. • For further detailed information, please visit • All E.U. citizens can enter Greece with- the official web site of Hellenic Republic’s out a assport or visa Ministry of Foreign Affairs: • A valid Identity Card (ID) is required http://www.mfa.gr/en/ (Driving licenses are not accepted instead of an ID card.)

SANTORINI AT A GLANCE SANTORINI AT A GLANCE • Santorini is the southernmost island of 10th century B.C. Cyclades and is located between Ios and • The name Santorini was given in 1153 Anafi. by the Venetians and is referred to Arab • It is 128 nautical miles away from the geographer Edrisi. It is a pronunciation of port of Piraeus and 63 nautical miles away both words Santa and Irene (Saint Irene), from Crete. taken aster either from the name of the • Its size is 76 square km and the length church in the valley of Therassia, or from the of its shores is 69 km. The perimeter is name of the early Christian basilica in Peris- approximately 36 nautical miles. sa, which is not preserved. • Thera, Therassia, Aspronisi and the • The main island, Thera, has a shape of volcanoes (Palaia Kameni and Nea Kameni a half moon and is located in the east- where the crater of the volcano exists) form ernmost position of the cluster. The west side the cluster of islands which is called San- consists of the walls of the Caldera which torini. preserve the picture of its geological history • It is included, together with Methana, and illustrate the different phases of the Nisiros and Milos, in the most active of volcanic activity. volcanoes in Greece. • There are 13 villages in Thera and 3 • The three main islands form a"ring" villages in Therassia. around the Caldera, the bay which was creat- • The capital of the island is Fira. The ed when the central part of ancient Stron- name derived from corruption of the word gyli sank to the seabed. Its dimensions are Thera, which is the official one. 8x5 km and its depth is as low as 370 m. • The great crater formed by the volcanic eruption of around 1600 BC, adds to its distinct atmosphere: settlements are built on the edge of the crater's inner walls and not on the sea level, as in other islands. In addition, Santorini is one of the few places worldwide where architectural complexes of underground rock-hewn houses still survive inside the volcanic soil. • The Caldera and the whole cluster of the Santorini islands have been char- acterized as an area of outstanding natural beauty. • The name Thera is taken aster the legendary settler Theras of Sparta, who set- tled in the island and founded the homony- mous town in Mesa Vouno approximately the

SANTORINI TRAVEL INFORMATION SANTORINI TRAVEL INFORMATION Flights to Santorini, Greece There are flights to Santorini (JTR) from the Athens Airport "Elestherios Venizelos" and from the Thessaloniki "Macedonia" Airport. • Olympic Airways Athens: Tel. +30 210 966-666 or 801-11-44444 • Aegean Airways Athens: Tel. +30 210 626-1000 or 801-11-20000 • Thessaloniki 'Macedonia' Airport: Tel. +30 2310 473-700 or +30 2310 473-312 • Aegean Airways Thessaloniki: Tel. +30 2310 280-050 International From May till October many charter airlines fly Germanwings flies from: directly to Santorini airport from many European Cologne / Bonn (CGN), cities. Munich (MUC) and Stuttgart (STR) Air Berlin flies from: Condor flies from: Berlin Tegel (TXL), Dusseldorf (DUS), Dusseldorf (DUS), Stuttgart (STR), Hamburg (HAM), Frankfurt (FRA), Hannover (HAJ), Munich (MUC), Nuremberg (NUE), Hamburg (HAM) Vienna (VIE) Zurich (ZRH) Meridiana flies from: Milan Malpensa (MXP) EasyJet flies from: London Gatwick (LGW) ThomasCook and Jetairfly fly from: Milan Malpensa (MXP) Brussels (BRU) Edelweiss Air flies from: Transavia flies from: Zurich (ZRH) Amsterdam Airport (AMS).