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Introduction of Athens
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| Athens, Greece
Athens is the capital of Greece
The native name of Greece is Ellas or Ellada
Area of Athens : 39 sq km
Population: 3.9 million
Standard time zone : UTC/GMT +2 hours
Time zone abbreviation : EET - Eastern
European Time
Daylight Saving Time
DST started on Sunday, March 30, 2003, at 3:00
AM local standard time
DST ended on Sunday, October 26, 2003, at 4:00 AM local
daylight time
Coordinates
Latitude : 38° 02' North
Longitude : 23° 44' East
Dialing codes
International country code: + 30 (Greece)
Area code for Athens : 210
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USEFULL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
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Police emergency 100
Fire brigade emergency 199
First aid emergency 166
Tourist police 171
Athens radio taxi 210-9217942
Domestic ferry schedules 1440
Tourist information 174
Athens International airport 210-3530000
International telephone operator 161
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ROAD ASSISTANCE
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ELPA automobile and touring club. Tel. 210-6068800.
Tourist information Tel. 174
EMERGENCY SERVICE : Tel. 104
EXPRESS SERVICE : Tel. 154
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HEALTH CARE
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Health care: Your best source of information about
where to find doctors, dentists or to receive medical
care while in Athens is your embassy or consulate
office in Athens.
The Tourist Police, which has a 24-hour-a-day hotline
telephone number (171), can also be of assistance.
Pharmacies are open during normal business hours,
however most of them are closed on the weekends. Each
pharmacy displays a notice giving information about
night and weekend service or consult the local news
media.
SOS Doctors 24 hours, Tel. 1016 or 210 821-1888.
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POST OFFICES
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All post offices are open Monday through Friday
from 7.30 am - 2.00 pm.
EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE
(EMS) of the Greek Postal Service (ELTA) was introduced
as a courier service. An international network spanning
130 countries, with 320 post offices through-out Greece
in all main cities and towns plus the smallest villages,
offers the customer many outlets from which to send
mail abroad - knowing it will reach the destination
speedily.
PORTA-PORTA
(DOOR to DOOR) was introduced as an efficient courier
service and it does just that, accepting parcels up
to 20 in weight for the Greek domestic market. One may
send by PORTA-PORTA courier any-where in Greece and
packages are accepted with a simple telephone call from
7.30 a.m. daily until 20.00 p.m. and collections from
the clients address can be facilitated daily including
Sundays and public holidays.
POST-FAX SERVICE
ELTA has introduced new-age facilities with their POST-FAX
SERVICE to satisfy the needs of the clients who wish
their documents to be sent on the spot, whether a sheet
of paper or many documents, designs or graphs, the new
post-fax service does it all.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE SERVICES.
All post offices provide Foreign Exchange Services.
ATHENS COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNET
Hellas Sat
Greece and Cyprus' first communications satellite arrived
in Earth orbit Tuesday 13 of May 2003 in plenty of time
to help broadcast the 2004 Summer Olympics from Athens.
Known as Hellas Sat, the spacecraft successfully rode
into space atop a Lockheed Martin-built Atlas 5 rocket
launched from complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station.
INTERNET CAFES
The evolution of internet communications result the
blooming of many internet cafes in Athens.
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MONEY
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Most banks will exchange foreign currency and are open
Monday to Tuesday 08:00-14:30hrs and on Friday from
08:00-14:00hrs. In addition to local banks, many major
international banks have branches or representative
offices in Athens.
Negotiating the Greek Language
If you speak English you will have no problems since
most street and vendor signs provide information both
in Greek and English. The highway signs and the street
signs in all major cities provide information in both
Greek and English so you should have no problems finding
your way around Greece if you drive.
Just about every young person in Greece also speaks
English today since it is taught in the public schools,
and if you need assistance you will have no problems
finding someone you can communicate with.
You will also find that the locals appreciate it a great
deal if their guests make an effort to speak their language.
Pick up some phrase books before you go to Greece and
familiarize yourself with some common phrases.
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Events
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The Greek year is a succession of festivals and events,
some of which are religious, some cultural, others an
excuse for a good knees-up, and some a combination of
all three. For three weeks before the beginning of Lent,
Carnival in Athens celebrates with festivities involving
eating, drinking and all-round merrymaking. Easter is
the most significant festival in the Greek Orthodox
calendar. The candlelit procession climbing Lykavittos
Hill to the Chapel of Agios Georgios is a truly impressive
sight.
Cultural events rapidly roll in come summertime. Greek
folk dances are performed from mid-May to September,
and a nightly sound & light runs from April to October.
But the city's biggest event is the Athen's Festival,
from mid-June to the end of August. Ancient Greek drama
is performed at the Theatre of Herodes Atticus - a superb
setting backed by the floodlit Acropolis. Plays run
at other venues as well, and there are various classical
music concerts and dance performances during the fest.
In winter, most classical music performances are held
at Megaro Mousikis, the Athens concert hall, and at
the Greek National Opera's Olympia hall.
Public holidays
1 January - New Year's Day
6 January - Epiphany
February - First Sunday in Lent
25 March - Greek Independence Day
March/April - Good Friday
March/April - (Orthodox) Easter Sunday
1 May - Spring Festival/Labor Day
May/June - Holy Spirit day
15 August - Feast of the Assumption
28 October - National holiday
25 December - Christmas Day
26 December - St Stephen's Day
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PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
Public holidays in Greece are as follows:
| January |
01
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New Year's Day |
| 06
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Epiphany |
| March |
10
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Clean Monday
Greek |
| 25
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Independence
Day |
| April |
25
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Good Friday |
| 27
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Sunday Easter |
| 28 |
Easter Monday |
| May |
| 01 |
May Day- Labor
day |
| June |
| 16
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Holy Spirit day |
| August |
| 15 |
Friday
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
| October |
28
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Tuesday Ochi
Day-National holiday |
| December |
25
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Christmas Day |
| 26 |
2nd Day of Christmas |
TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREECE
AND THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:
ALBANIA(-1)
ALGERIA (-1)
ARGENTINA (-5)
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne (+8)
Sydney (+6)
AUSTRIA (-1)
BAHRAIN (+1)
BELGIUM (-1)
BRAZIL
Brazil (-6)
Rio De Janeiro (-5)
Sao Paulo (-5)
BULGARIA (0)
CAMEROON (-1)
CANADA (-7)
CHILE (-6)
CHINA (+6)
CROATIA (-1)
CYPRUS (0)
CZECH (-1)
DENMARK (-1)
EGYPT (0)
FINLAND (+1)
FRANCE (-1)
F.Y.R.O.M. (0)
GERMANY (-1)
HONG KONG (+6)
HUNGARY (-1)
INDIA (+3 ½)
INDONESIE (+5)
IRAN (+1 ½)
IRAQ (+1)
IRELAND (-2)
ISRAEL (0)
ITALY (-1) IVORY COAST (-2)
JAPAN (-7)
JORDAN (0)
KENYA (+1)
KUWAIT (+1)
LEBANON (0)
LIBYA (-1)
LUXEMBOURG (-1)
MALAISE (+6)
MALTA (-1)
MEXICO (-8)
MOROCCO (-2)
NETHERLANDS (-1)
NEW ZELAND (+10)
NIGERIA (-1)
NORWAY (-1)
PAKISTAN (-1)
PANAMA (+3)
PEROU (-7)
PHILIPPINES (-7)
POLAND (+6)
PORTUGAL (-1)
QATAR (+2)
ROMANIA (0)
RUSSIA
St. Petersburg (+1)
Moscow (+1)
Odessa (0)
S.AFRICA (0)
S.KOREA (+7)
SAUDI ARABIA (+1)
SENEGAL (-2)
SINGAPORE (+6)
SLOVENIA (-1)
SPAIN (-1)
SUDAN (0) SWEDEN (-1)
SWITZERLAND (-1)
SYRIA (0)
TAIWAN (+6)
TANZANIE (+1)
THAILAND (+5)
TUNISIA (-1)
TURKEY (0)
UNITED ARABIAN EMIRATES (+2)
UNITED KINGDOM (-2)
U.S.A
Atlanta (-7)
Boston (-7)
Chicago (-8)
Los Angeles (-10)
Miami (-7)
New York (-7)
Philadelphia (-7)
Pittsburgh, PA (-7)
San Francisco (-10)
Washington D.C. (-7)
VENEZUELA (-6)
YUGOSLAVIA (-1) |
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