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A sunny country with a rich history and culture that attracts millions of tourists every year. Interesting facts about Greece will help the reader get to know her a little better.

1. More than 17 million foreigners visit Greece annually, and tourism is the leading sector of the local economy and accounts for approximately 16% of the country's GDP.
2. More than 40% of the population lives in the capital of the state.
3. More than 250 days a year in Greece are clear. This natural advantage makes it possible to widely use solar panels for the production of cheap electricity.
4. The Greeks are quite careful about the environment, which is why there are wind farms on almost every island.
5. There is not a single nuclear power plant in the country, but there are several CHP plants. They work on coal, which is quarried in the northern part.
6. The metro exists only in Athens (construction is underway in Thessaloniki). It is small in size and operates from 5 am to midnight. Many metro stations are decorated with ancient finds found during its construction.
   

   

7. Greece produces approximately 7% of the world's marble production.
8. Greece supplies textile and clothing products, agricultural products to European countries.
9. The distance from any point in Greece to the seashore does not exceed 137 km.
10. The territory of the state is washed by five seas: the Aegean, Thracian, Ionian, Mediterranean and Cretan.
11. On the island of Rhodes, there is the famous valley of butterflies, where many species flock in the summer. The water in local waters is so clean that crabs can be seen at the bottom.
12. About one hundred thousand birds from Asia and northern Europe winter in the wetlands of the country.
13. Greeks wake up at 5-6 o'clock in the morning and go to bed after 23 o'clock. They make up for the lack of sleep during the daytime siesta (from two to four in the afternoon).
14. Greece ranks 26th in the world in terms of life expectancy. Its average duration for women is 82 years, and for men - 77.
15. Locals rarely end up in nursing homes. Grandparents usually live with their children's families until their death. Before marriage, most young people live with their parents.
16. In terms of the number of divorces in the European Union, Greece takes the "honorable" last place.
17. All budget professions are considered prestigious. They bring in a stable income and provide a pension. Men are very often employed as teachers, doctors and salespeople.
18. The Department of Education sends young teachers to work in the settlement where such a specialist is needed. If a university graduate does not like the direction, then he expects another proposal.
    

    

19. Two foreign languages ​​are taught in schools. Learning English is compulsory; as a second, students can choose one of the European languages.
20. Locals eat four meals a day. Meals begin with a light breakfast, followed by a small snack. It is usually a sesame-covered bagel. The Greeks consume a hearty change-of-course lunch during siesta. Late in the evening, large Greek families gather for dinner.
21. Family and friendly gatherings in Greece are always accompanied by discussions. The craving for disputes has been inherent in the inhabitants of the peninsula since the time of Socrates, who argued that truth is born in disputes.
22. Greek cuisine is dominated by fatty and spicy dishes. Lamb or veal is the basis of most national dishes.
23. Feta is the traditional Greek cheese made from goat and sheep milk.
24. Metaxa, the most famous Greek alcoholic drink, is a unique blend of nutmeg wine and brandy. They drink it neat or as part of cocktails.
25. "Meze" is a common way of treating in Greece, characterized by the opportunity to taste a wide range of fish and meat dishes with various sauces. It is he who is the prototype of the popular "buffet".
26. Greeks love fast food. Popular here gyro and souvlaki are a kind of shawarma, contain a large amount of meat and are used with fried fries. Greek fast food is of the highest quality in Europe.
27. Among the Greeks, the sound "ne" means "yes", the same meaning is the tilt of the head from bottom to top. Denial is expressed by the word "ohee" or shaking the head from the bottom up.
28. Carnivals are held annually in Greece from mid-January to March. This period is considered the best tourist season, because the country appears before travelers in a completely new look.
29. The favorite festival of the Greeks is Easter, which is preceded by a 40-day fast. The last week of Lent is characterized by a large number of services in churches.
30. The time zone difference between Moscow and Athens is one hour.

Greece facts:

1. Greece is a state located in the south of Europe. Its area is 132 thousand square meters. km and ranks 95th in the list of countries by territory. Almost 1,500 islands (covering 21 percent of the total territory) are part of it. Of these, only 15 percent are inhabited, while the rest are usually empty. The capital is the city of Athens.

2. The population of Greece is 11 million 300 thousand, data for 2010. Of these, people aged 15-64 years - 67 percent, and over 65 - 19%

3. The Greek language appeared in the 7-8th century. BC. Around the same time, their alphabet developed in which 24 letters. It was he who became the beginning of many other alphabets, which spread to a greater extent throughout Europe.

4. Every year this country is visited by more than 16 million people from different parts of the world and every year, this number is increasing. In general, tourism brings 15-20 percent of GDP annually

5. Greece is a record-breaking country for eating cheese. According to statistics, each inhabitant eats about two kilograms of this product per month, and this is a fact.

6. One of the three largest countries in olive growing

7. Ranks first in the world for the number of archaeological museums

9. In the world only 13 million people speak Greek fluently. Most of them, and this is 12 million, live in their homeland and only 1 million in other countries of the world, mainly in Italy and Cyprus.

10. An interesting fact is that Greece is washed by the following four seas: Mediterranean, Libyan, Ionian and Aegean.

11. The Olympic Games (what has come down to us today from Ancient Greece) were first officially held in the city of Olympus in the 8th century BC. But, with the arrival of the Romans, o.i. were banned. And only after a long time, namely at the end of the 19th century, they were revived again and now every 4 years: summer and winter o.i. pass.

12. They are held in different countries of the world, the venue is selected by a special commission, and applications must be submitted 10 years in advance.

13. The city of Athens is home to about 35 percent of the total population, which is about 3.7 million people.

14. Sirtaki is a Greek national dance.

15. More than 5 thousand plants grow in Greece and the olive is one of the most valuable.

16. Greek cuisine is Mediterranean, very similar to Italian and French. Greeks are fond of: cheese, olives, spices and, of course, olive oil - it is these products that can most often be found on their table.

17. An interesting fact: during the Olympic Games, local residents without fail sacrificed another hundred bulls to Zeus

18. Today, there are about 100 different varieties of olives. Each of them differs not only in taste, but also in size, the largest in length by 4 cm.

19. The city of Loutraki, which is located only 90 km from Athens. - is a unique place. Here flows real pure mineral water, suitable for drinking, which contains many useful substances for the body. Thousands of tourists come here every year to see this beauty and for one to strengthen their health.

Grekoblog has already written about the Greek character once, but the Greeks are too distinctive a nation to fit everything into one post. Therefore, we decided to return to the topic and find interesting facts about the Greeks, which, perhaps, you have not heard or thought about.

They don't wave their fists during a fight.

It will be very lucky if you can spy on a Greek fight. For example, in a banal traffic accident. The sight is literally life-affirming, you can laugh for a long time and heartily - only imperceptibly, so as not to hurt anyone's feelings. What, you ask, is funny about a fight? Elementary: its absence! Emotional Greek men, starting literally from half a turn, begin, like roosters, to jump on each other, pushing forcefully into the shoulders. All this, of course, is accompanied by a selective abusive accompaniment in the native dialect. Rough! Strong! Like a man! And, most importantly, no casualties. As the saying goes, the wolves are fed and the sheep are safe.

Greek women are not spoiled with flowers

Hand washes his hand.

Greeks try to support each other - both morally and economically. How is this expressed? For example, if you have a friend or relative who is a dentist, you will never go to the side to have your teeth treated, even if your dentist is no good. Nothing, will endure - fall in love. If you have, say, a repair shop, then the same dentist simply has no right to resort to other people's services when he himself has problems with the car! And then you will win back on it.

Or, for example, if the owner of a bar often visits the same tavern, then the owner of the tavern, no, no, yes, he will have a glass with his honorary regular. So, each entrepreneur creates a circle of regular customers, and they are firmly tied to each other by ties of kinship or friendship. Therefore, you can be sure that when asking a Greek for advice on the quality services of a lawyer, realtor or barber, you will receive the phone number of his godfather or relative.

Flowers - as a last resort.

Lovers of beautiful courtship in Greece will have a hard time at first. There has never been a bouquet-candy period in the literal sense of the word ... What can you do if the Greeks do not give flowers to girls! You cannot find here a frozen guy at the entrance to the metro with a rose in his hands ... First, the metro was honored to see only Athens. Secondly, not a single normal Greek youth would dream of hanging out there and freezing, clutching a thorny flower with numb fingers. If someone from your acquaintances sees you, they will laugh! So the Greeks wear flowers only to the hospital and to the funeral. In this logical chain, the defense of the diploma, which is also customarily spiced with flowers, has been inserted in an incomprehensible way. But it is not customary to come to a wedding with your ikebana. The organizers choose the bouquet for the bride and for decorating the church themselves. Much more desirable gift for a wedding is money ...

Exemplary fathers.

Maybe Greek men do not pamper their chosen ones with flowers, but, having become fathers, they do not disdain diapers. They participate in childcare and upbringing on an equal basis with mothers. Very often you can see a touching picture of a dad with a "kangaroo" bag and with a baby in each hand, walking in the park on Saturday morning, while mom and her girlfriends hang out in a beauty salon. Local popes accept such duties without complaint, and as if even with pleasure!

Greek dads spend a LOT of time with their children.

To the church - with all the parade.

Caution: censorship!

This curious feature has become relevant precisely in Greece and precisely in the last crisis years. For several months now, all the media have been actively chewing on the fact that Hellas owes its crisis to the expenditure that falls on the maintenance of the horde of state workers. A few years ago, no one imagined that this word - a government employee - could become obscene language! However, when I witnessed a curious scene between the Thessaloniki controller and a woman without a ticket on the bus, I heard her, blazing with indignation, blurted out: "Yes you ... yes you are just ... a civil servant!" Killing him on the spot with this exclamation, she left the bus, and the controller, not immediately finding the power of speech after the insult inflicted on him, shouted into the already closing doors: “Who, me ?! You yourself are ... a civil servant !! "

Greece is an amazing country. Maybe you, dear readers, will learn something new and interesting about Greece and the Greeks.

1. Greece in Greek is Hellas, and the Greeks are Hellenes and Hellenids (as they call themselves).
2. There is really a lot of sun in Greece. If you look at the cities from above, the rooftops are lined with solar panels and silvery tanks. Good energy saving. With such a flow of ultraviolet radiation, the Greeks do not wear hats.
3. The sea in Greece is very clean and transparent. And impudent little fish strive to pinch the leg.
4. Residential and public buildings are decorated with marble inside: entrances, stairs, floors - everything is marble.
5. Fireplaces are provided in 3 and more room apartments. On holidays, the Greeks use them for barbecuing.
6. The streets are narrow. In the mountains, however, this is justified.
7. More than half of the population is employed in the tourism business: there are few industrial enterprises.
8. Even in the most remote village there is an advertisement: "Teaching English." Many of the middle-aged people speak English at different levels. In schools, two foreign languages ​​are studied (English and one of the European ones to choose from).
9. Children read a prayer every morning before school starts. On the first day of the school year, instead of the director, the priest greets the children, wishing them success in their studies.
10. It is not customary to reuse textbooks here: at the end of the year, good books go up in flames. Such a tradition.
11. In Greece, young people WANT to work as teachers. But the young specialist himself does not choose the place of work: the department of education, located in Athens, directs him to this or that city or village. The teacher can only agree or disagree, or wait for other proposals.
12. In schools, half of the teachers are men. The profession of a teacher is budgetary, therefore, paid. And the teacher earns "no worse than other" state employees. There are also men in the hospitals behind the reception desk. And the shop assistants are men. Of course, women also work, it's just unusual to see men in a pastry shop packing cakes.
13. In Greece, it is profitable to work in budgetary organizations - this is a guaranteed social services. package and pension. And the state cannot fire an employee without very good reason. Find a "warm place" by pull.
14. Now about the Greeks themselves. Greek names are not particularly diverse. Grandfather, son and grandson have the same name. When you meet a Greek, you can be sure - this is Yrgos, Yannis, Costas or Dimitris. The names Panayot, Maria, Vasiliki are popular among women. Women themselves can forget their full name - they are called diminutives all their lives. In recent years, the fashion has come to be called in the English manner: Yorgos - George, Yannis - John.
15. Greeks love to communicate on a cell phone. Thanks to the various offers of companies, they have the opportunity to speak for free for a long time. What they enjoy with pleasure.
16. Basically, Greeks are friendly and hospitable people, polite in communication: they will show the way, explain the incomprehensible.
17. Greeks are not aggressive. There are almost no fights in the bars. Maximum, they will shout and wave their hands, after a while they will calm down and will communicate as if nothing had happened.
18. Greeks love coffee. With ice. And without. They sit in a cafe for a long time, discuss the news and do not rush home.
19. The Greeks are rarely in a hurry. This is their philosophy - to enjoy life.
20. Greeks smoke a lot. More than a year ago, when I first arrived, the law banning smoking in public places had not yet been passed (this happened three months later). And I happened to visit taverns and cafes, where almost all visitors smoked, despite the presence of children. Sometimes their own. They will eat, smoke without leaving the table, eat and smoke again. After the adoption of the law, the Greeks are in no hurry to comply with it.
21. The laws are ambiguous: they do not steal from neighbors, but from the state, if the opportunity presents itself, willingly.
22. In cities, police are rarely seen. Appears only on call. Sometimes they issue fines for parking in the wrong place or wait for violators on highways.
23. Greece is a rather calm country in terms of crime. I'm not talking about Athens now, tourists should be careful there. This is a problem for all big cities. But in the provinces, you can forget things in a cafe: they will be returned to you. On the beach, it's not scary to leave your cell phone on the shore and go swimming.
24. Greek motorcyclists often ride without helmets. The police are tolerant of such violations.
25. Another passion is football. Of course, only Greek. Fans of a particular team are like members of the same family. All acquaintances begin with the phrase: "Who are you?" This translates to "are you sick of Olympiacos or Panafinaikos?"
26. Greeks adore folk music, which they listen to in bouzoukia. Usually musicians are invited to this party, they drink wine and dance folk dances.
27. Favorite dance - no, not sirtaki, but zeibekiko, similar to the dance of a drunken sailor. Performed, as a rule, by one man. Spectators sit in a circle and applaud. Tired one, the next entered the circle.
28. The favorite food of the Greeks is souvlaki (like shawarma) with fried fries. Both children and adults eat it, often in large quantities. This is Greek fast food. Wash down with Coca-Cola.
29. Favorite Greek saying: "When other peoples were still climbing trees and eating bananas, the Greeks were already suffering from cholesterol."
30. About cholesterol. It seems that the Greeks really get sick only because of high cholesterol. The doctor first of all prescribes an appropriate analysis, no matter what you complain about. And prescribes the pills. Injections are rarely prescribed.
31. Many Greeks regularly exercise themselves such as going to gyms, doing water sports, cycling or jogging.
32. They drink a little. Get drunk quickly. But they behave themselves decently. They don't sleep in a salad, they don't roll on the streets.
33. Greek men know how to appreciate female beauty: when they see a beautiful woman, they will definitely demonstrate their admiration in some way. Flirting is called kamaki in Greek. The Greeks "do kamaki" (flirt) with pleasure and often.
34. In order to say "no", the Greek, clicking, shakes his head up.
35. In written Greek, the question mark is not the usual “?” Sign, but the semicolon “;”.

Now you know more :)

Traveling provides an opportunity to look into the heart of every country, learn the secret and be convinced of the obvious with your own eyes. Greece is the place in the world that attracts tourists. They want to know about him. Numerous facts open up a lot of new things to the knower. What is Greece like? Let's consider everything in order.

1. Greece, with a population of over 10 million, is located on an area of ​​50,949 square miles, covering almost 132,000 square kilometers. For comparison, Alabama, which has almost the same territory, has a population almost 2 times less (4.5 million). But to go around the whole country is not a problem, today many people use the service: a transfer in Greece, for example, Hellenic Taxi provides a range of services from the first minutes of arrival in this wonderful country, in addition, Hellenic Taxi organizes excursions for guests of the country, rent of villas and yachts and much more.



2. Every year, almost 16.5 million tourists seek to visit Greece. In this country, tourism accounts for about 16% of the country's GDP.

3. Every citizen, upon reaching the age of majority, has the legal right to vote.

4. There are many international airports due to the development of tourism.

5. Greece is in third place in the world production of olives. They have been growing olive trees for a long time. Even trees planted in the 13th century bear fruit.

6. In Greek mythology, it is said that the gods to determine the guardian of the city told Athena and Poseidon to choose a gift. Poseidon gave water, Athena an olive tree. It was this, in the opinion of the gods, that was the most valuable.

7. Greece is 80% rocky, many mountains.

8. The English language is filled with many words that come from Greek. Common words are academy, apology, marathon, siren, alphabet, typhoon.

9. In an ancient legend about the creation of the world, it is said that Greece appeared when God sifted the earth, threw the remaining stones in a sieve over his shoulder. They became the basis of this country.

10. Greece has more than 2 thousand islands of which almost 200 are inhabited by people. The island of Crete is the most famous for tourists, it is the largest.

11. The capital of Greece is Athens. Almost half of the population lives in it. Many tourists come here, considering Athens a tourist center.

12. Athens is not only a nice looking city. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, the birthplace of democracy, philosophy, science of history, political science.

13. The Greek government allocates annually 6% of GDP for the needs of the army. Men must serve in it from 1 to 1.5 years, being in the department of the armed forces.

14. The country's prehistory states that it was formed from one and a half thousand small city-states or policies. Each had its own laws, they constantly quarreled. Athens was the largest among them.

15. For a long time, until the end of the nineties of the 20th century, Turkey and Greece divided Cyprus. Relations between countries have improved since the 1999 earthquake.

16. Among the merchant ships of the European Union, Greece has 70%, and according to the country's legislation, 75% of the crew are Greeks.

17. For fans of archaeological museums, Greece is a plethora of places to visit. There is no country that can compare with it in this. The tourist should prepare for rich excursion programs.

18. Birthdays are not celebrated in this country. It is customary to celebrate the "name day" of the saint whose name the owner bears.

19. The well-known expression "to take the bull by the horns" has Greek roots (the myth of Hercules).

20. The city of Rhodes, which is the center of the island of the same name, is the most popular among tourists visiting Greece. If this city is not included in the program of visiting outstanding places, consider that a lot has been missed. Here you can see the Colossus of Rhodes. This is a statue of the god Helios 303 meters high. It was destroyed by an earthquake.

21. It was in Greece that the first Olympic Games took place back in 776 BC, when the Greek nationality Cook became the first champion.

22. Controversial is the issue of rights to the marble sculptures of the Parthenon, standing in the museum in London. Greece claims to be illegally sold to the UK, which claims the opposite.

23. In Greece, the Orthodox Church prohibited cremation. Therefore, the dead were buried, after 5 years they were exhumed, the bones, after washing in wine, were placed in the crypt. On the one hand, the reason is quite logical - the lack of land.

24. It is the Greek language that is one of the oldest, since it appeared more than three thousand years ago.

25. Mathematics was created on the basis of the knowledge and teachings of the famous Pythagoras, Archimedes, Apolonius.

26. The famous word "barbarian" has Greek roots. This is what the Greeks called people who could not speak Greek. Over time, everything has changed, now Greece is peaceful, its doors are open to visitors.

27. Sacrifices were common in this country. The richer people could afford to sacrifice animals, the poor - sweets.

28. The very name "Greece" refers to the appearance of Homer and the Roman conquests of Egypt by Ptolemy (750 BC 30 BC).

29. An interesting fact: the ancestors of the Greeks - Indo-Europeans. They lived near the Minoans for centuries. After the period of the dark ages, Greece became the progenitor of one of the most influential civilizations, which later became Classical Greece.

30. Hellas is the official name of the Hellenic Republic.

31. Greeks and the sea are inseparable. This country has one of the largest fleets in the world. The sea is striking in its beauty. The beaches on the Greek islands are a favorite vacation spot for many tourists.