GENERAL INFORMATION

Official name: Hellenic Republic

Geographical position: Greece is a peninsular country located in southeastern Europe on the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is mostly a mountainous country with a major chunk of its landmass perched at over 1,500 m above sea level. The mainland coastline is 4,000 km long, while 9841 islands, 114 of which are inhabited, add another 11,000 km of coastline. The majority of the islands are scattered in the Aegean Sea between the Greek and Turkish coasts.

Area: 131,957 km2

Population: Greece has 10,668,354 million of habitants. 98% are Greeks, others are Turkish, Albanian and Macedonian minorities

Capital: Athens (population: Greater Athens 3,566,060, municipality of Athens 772,072)

Climate: Greece has a Mediterranean climate - long, dry and hot summers and mild, wet winters. It has 300 days of sunshine per year. In the summer the temperature sometimes rises to 40 °C (77 F).

Languages: Modern Greek 98% (official); Turkish, others. Albanian is spoken by approximately 700,000 Albanian immigrants. English is the predominant second language.

Religion: The Greek population is composed of 97% of Greek Orthodox. The rest of the population is 1,3% Muslim, 0,4% Roman Catholic, 0,7% other, including Jews.

Political system: Parliamentary republic (from 1974.). Three hundred elected members with elections held every four years. Greece is a member state of EU since 1981. Principal Government Officials: President - Karolos Papoulias, Prime Minister - Konstantinos Karamanlis.

Economy: GDP: $225 billion

Per capita GDP: $20,521

Unemployment rate: 10%

The Greek economy adopts the principles of free enterprise and is bound by the regulations of international organisations such as ECOFIN and WTO, of which it is a member.

Local time: Greek time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, an hour ahead of Central European Time.

Electric current: The standard in Greece is 220V AC (50Hz)

Telephone: The cheapest way to make intercity or international calls is by prepaid phone cards. Local and international calls can be made from public card phone using these prepaid calling cards or from kiosks (periptera) equipped with meters. Prepaid calling cards can be purchased from kiosks and OTE offices. Tip: Use Vivodi Telecom Prepaid Calling Card as the cheapest way.

Country code: Greece +30

Capital Code: Athens +1

Postal service: Post Offices are opened Monday-Saturday from 07.30 till 14.00, Sunday from 09.00 till 18.00. If you need to send a letter there are stamp vending machines and post-boxes outside all central post offices. Parcels sent abroad must be inspected, so do not wrap and seal them beforehand.

Tourism police: Offers tourists information and help, in case of any problems and solve minor differences between tourists and entreprises. You can recognize them by their uniforms with the shoulder flash Tourism Police. 171 is an emergency telephone line on a 24 hour basis from all over Greece.

Currency: Euro is the currency of Greece since 1 January 2001. One euro is subdivided into 100 euro cent. Foreign currency can be changed in the Banks, Exchange Offices, Post Offices, Tourist agencies and Hotels, according to the current exchange rate. Most of the banks are opened Monday-Thursday from 07.45 till 14.00, and Friday from 07.45 till 13.30. Some of the banks are opened also on Saturday morning.

Credit cards: Most of hotels, shops, travel agencies, car rental offices and restaurants accept all major Credit Cards; if in doubt ask your bank or credit card company if your card will be acceptable in Greece. Stickers in the front doors will advise you about the acceptable credit cards. Remember, Greek ATMs usually allow only a four-digit password; you must get advice from your bank on what to do in case your password has more than four. Also note that the punch keys on the Greek ATMs do not use letters, so you must convert your password to numbers.

Traveller's cheques: Traveller's cheques issued by all the major companies are widely recognized. You can cash your traveler's cheques in all Greek and foreign banks, exchange bureaus and big hotels. Identification is necessary for the transaction, so do not forget to have your passport with you.

Working hours: The Public services are open from 08.00 to 14.00 from Monday to Friday. The private companies are open from 09.00 till 17.00. The shops are open Monday-Wednesday-Saturday from 09.00 to 15.00 and Tuesday-Thursday-Friday from 09.00 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 20.00. In the touristic areas some shops are open all day long and even late at night. Pharmacies are open every day from 08.00 to 14.30, while on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays there is always some pharmacy open on a rotating shifts.

National holidays:

• New Year's Day, January 1,
• Epiphany (Baptism of Christ), January 6,
• Clean Monday (Kathari Deftera),
• 41 days before Easter,
• Independence Day, March 25
• Good Friday to- Easter, including Monday,
• Labor Day, May 1,
• Whitmonday (Holy Spirit Monday),
• day after Whitsunday (Pentecost),
• the 7th Sunday after Easter,
• Assumption of the Virgin, August 15,
• Ochi Day, October 28,
• Christmas, December 25 and 26.

Visiting churches and monasteries: When visiting churches and monasteries, turists are expected to dress in a respectable manner: long trousers for men, sleeved dresses and no miniskirts for women.

Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List:Acropolis, Athens (1987), Archaeological Site of Delphi (1987), Archaeological Site of Epidaurus (1988), Archaeological Site of Olympia (1989), Archaeological Site of Vergina (1996), Archaeological Sites of Mycenae and Tiryns (1999), Delos (1990), Historic Centre (Chorá) with the Monastery of Saint John "the Theologian" and the Cave of the Apocalypse on the Island of Pátmos (1999), Medieval City of Rhodes (1988), Monasteries of Daphni, Hossios Luckas and Nea Moni of Chios (1990), Mystras (1989), Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika (1988), Pythagoreion and Heraion of Samos (1992), Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae (1986), Meteora (1988), Mount Athos (1988).

Cultural events: Greece is a country of a rich cultural tradition and folklore. During their stay in Greece, tourists have an opportunity to enrich their travels by attending some of the cultural or sports events or by participating in the festivities of Greek folklore heritage. The major Greece cultural events are:

• The Hellenic Festival (Athens, from June 2 to September 28)
• The International Jazz and Blues Festival (Athens, June)
• The Epidaurus Festival (Athens, July and August)
• The Film festival of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki, November)
• The International Festival of Patra (Patra, from July to September)
• The Samothraki Island World music festival (Samothraki Island, 21-24 July)
• The Sani Festival (Sani Resort, from July to September)

 

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