Greece
Chloe kurkjian - Period 6 - April 27th, 2015
Climate/ Weather
Its temperatures in January through March range around 50-60 degrees fahrenheit . The average temperature is 70 degrees fahrenheit in April and it rises about 10 degrees fahrenheit each following month until June. While in July and August average around 90 degrees fahrenheit. September is around 80 degrees fahrenheit and drops about 10 degrees fahrenheit each following month until December.
Rainfall in Greece is around 2-2.5 inches in the winter and fall, but throughout spring and summer it stays below .5 an inch.
Culture
The main religion is Greek Orthodox which is a type of Christianity, but there are other religions such as Jewish, Muslims, and Christians of other denominations.
Since Greece has a Christian religion it also celebrates Easter, but since Greece uses the Julian Calendar unlike the U.S. which uses the Gregorian calendar they fall on different days. For example Greek Easter this year was one week after Easter in the U.S. Greek Easter is the most important holiday in Greece. During Greek Easter many people eat a special lunch containing turkey or chicken stuffed with nuts and served with rice. Most of the afternoon is spent with friends and family. For dinner they enjoy roasted lamb, which is the most traditional Greek Easter food They eat lamb in honor of Jesus Christ. They also have an abundance of red wine. A game they play around the table called tsougrisma everyone chooses a red egg, there are no other colors. The red is to represent the blood of christ. The oldest person would go first, they would line their egg up with the second oldest tip to tip and try to crack the other persons egg. Before taping the eggs the one person would say "Chistos Anesti" and the other person would reply " Alithos Anesti" If their egg broke they were out. Everyone would get a chance to crack each others egg until their was one winner. If you won meaning your egg didn't crack you had good luck for a year. They also celebrate New Year's Day, Epiphany, The Three Holy Hierarchs, Clean/ Ash monday, March equinox, The 25th of March (independence day) , Annunciation of the Lord (when Mary was told she was to become the mother of Jesus Christ), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labor day, Holy spirt Monday (celebrate the belief of the holy spirts descendants), June Solstice, The Restoration of Democracy, Dormition of the Holy Virgin (celebration of Mary) , September equinox, The Ochi day, Polytechneio, December Solstice, Christmas Day, and Synaxis of the Mother of God.
3 activities/Sights
If you want to relax, you should head down to Rhodes an island east of the mainland. In Rhodes you will find more than 4km of the Afandou beach. It's warm sand and cool water will make you never want to leave. if you would want to be spontaneous wind surfing, kite surfing, and boating can be found around the Island.
If you are in to more food and culture the Athens food tour is perfect for you! Walk throughout the historic streets of Athens and indulge in delicious treats along the way. You will explore numerous open air markets and traditional greek restaurants. Accompanied with a food specialist guide you will find all types of traditional food. Also, you will learn a few facts on the streets and life of Athens.
Current Information
They have a parliamentary government, with a president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos and a prime minister, Alexis Tsipras.
Greece's economy is strong, with about 80 percent of its GDP as industries. It was once depended on agriculture, but now is only about 12 percent of the labor force. Its exports include food such as corn, wheat, olives, and raisins. It also exports manufactured items and raw materials such as textiles, chemicals, metal products, and petroleum.
Food
- 250g butter (8.8 oz.)
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2.5g powdered baking ammonia (1 and a half tea spoons)
- 1/2 cup lukewarm milk
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- zest of 2 oranges
- 1kg all-purpose flour (35 oz.)
- 2 egg yolks and 1 tbsp water for glazing the koulourakia
- To prepare this traditional koulourakia recipe, start by mixing the butter and sugar. In a mixer’s bowl add the sugar and butter (chopped) and mix for about 10-15 minutes, until the butter is creamy and fluffy. (Once starting to prepare this koulourakia recipe, make sure that the butter is at room temperature).
- In the meantime warm the milk until lukewarm and remove the pot from the heat. Add the ammonia and blend until dissolved. Set aside.
- Add the eggs (in the butter-sugar) mixture one at a time, whilst mixing, allowing time for each one to be absorbed, before adding another. Pour in the the vanilla extract, the orange zest and milk (with the ammonia) and mix to combine. Add the flour, a little bit at a time, whilst mixing, until the ingredients are combined and the dough is soft and not too sticky.
- Cover the dough for the koulourakia with some plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
- Place the dough for the koulourakia on a clean working surface, take a small piece of dough and form long cords. Shape the koulourakia with your hands, giving them any shape you like. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and place the koulourakia, leaving some distance between them as they will rise a lot when baked. (For this koulourakia recipe, you will need approx. 4-5 large baking trays, depending on the size of the cookies)
- In a small bowl add the egg yolks and 1 tbsp water and whisk with a fork. Brush the top of the koulourakia and bake in preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes, until nicely coloured.
- Let the koulourakia cool down completely and store in airtight containers for up to three weeks.
Transportation and lodging
Throughout the journey in Greece you will travel and explore Athens on the Athens Half-Day Sightseeing tour where you will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, Panathenaic Stadium, the Roman Temple of Olympia Zeus, the Acropolis of Athens, and the Pantheon temple. This activity is 62 dollars. You will also be a part of the Athens food tour. In this tour which is 55 dollars you will learn about the Greeks cuisine and enjoy all the foods Greece has to offer. You will also visit and hike Mt. Olympus and relax on the Limanaki Agios Pavlos Beach located in Rhodes. Both are free! Then you will travel to the Ancient Olympia Museum which is about 7 dollars and the Delos Day trip where you will go to the Island of Delos, explore sacred ruins and archeological finds at Delos' main excavation site, see Delos' Scared lake, Terrace of the Lions, House of Dionysus, Temple of Isis, and visit the Archeological Museum of Delos. This trip will cost you about 56 dollars. Then you will head back to Athens to visit the National Archaeological museum where you can explore ancient greek findings and history. This will cost about 8 dollars. All the activities and the roundtrip flight will cost 1,460 dollars.
Best Western Hotel Europa
Andromeda Suites
Electra Palce Hotel Thessaloniki
Citations
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"Country of the Week: Greece." NewsCurrents Read to Know. 14 Nov. 2011: n.p. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.
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The Weather Channel. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/l/GRXX0004:1:GR>.