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Katerini, Greece

ATHENS 2004

 

 
 
 

Athens

Athens, the city of intellect, is a part of the Attica basin. Athens is approached by air, by land or by sea with all the possible ways and as the country's center has connections with each area of the country. The city of Athens is the capital of Greece and has a population of five million about. It is the country's heart and the economic and industrial center, as well as the political and cultural center.

Attica is situated in the geographical center of Greece and is washed by the Euboean, Saronic and Corinthian Gulfs. The peninsula ends to the south at Cape Sounion.
The position of Attica in the Eastern Mediterranean basin has made it necessary to built a large harbor there, like the Athenians did at Piraeus since antiquity. Piraeus is still the largest harbor in the country and facilitates communications in the area.

Castle of Platamon

The castle of Platamon is a fortress-town of the middle Byzantine period (10th century A.D.). It lies at the south-east foot of mount Olympos, at a strategic position which controls the route leading from Macedonia to Thessaly and South Greece. Excavations conducted in 1995 brought to light the traces of a Hellenistic fortification, dated to the 4th century B.C. This confirms the suggestion that the site of the castle was occupied by the ancient city of Herakleion, "the first city of Macedonia..." after the Tempe valley, according to an ancient literary source dated to 360 B.C. Habitation on the site continued until the 4th century A.D. The Byzantine wall was restored by the Franks after 1204 and again by the Byzantines in the 14th century. At the end of the 14th century the fortress was captured by the Turks and was again rebuilt but its inhabitants continued to be Christians. In the Second World War (1941) it was bombed by the German army.

Crete

Crete is the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean. It has an area of 8,300 sq. km, a coastline of 1,040 km, and a population of 500,000

3000 BC. The Egyptians where trading all their goods sailing along the Nile river. The main commerce activities at that time where taking place along the banks of the river. When they were coming close to the Delta of the Nile where the river was meeting the Mediterranean they were staring at the big sea and never attempted to sail through.

They were calling it the "Big Blue". By that time the Cretans were sailing all over the Mediterranean Sea trading goods all over the place. They were also doing the commerce for the Egyptians who never tried to explore the "Big Blue".

The "Big Blue" is all our hopes, all our dreams, all the things in life that we shouldn't miss. It might be hard to explore all the Med Sea but we are sure that visiting the island of Crete is a chance that you shouldn't ignore.

Full of tropical beaches, traditional villages, everyone with a different history, a huge variety of gorgeous landscapes, remains from ancient civilizations, you've got people here writing history for the last five thousand years. N. Kazantzakis was inspired and wrote his famous book " Zorba the Greek" in Crete.

Crete is the one for those who want it all.


Corinth Canal

The Korinth Canal joined the Saronic Gulf with the Korinthian Gulf in 1893. However it had been thought of as early as 600 BC by Periander. Since in those days the technology was not yet available, and wouln't be for 2000 years, ships were rolled from one gulf to the other on specially designed 'roller skates.' The Canal has a length of about 6.2 km (about 4 miles), and the width is about 25 meters (about 70 feet). Height from sea level reaches about 80 meters (about 240 feet) at places. Apart from the canal, the other important claim to fame, is the 'Souvlaki' places where a souvlaki on a stick, with a slice of bread, will set you back DRA 170. A great and cheap way to fill an empty stomach.


Delphi

The first museum of Delphi was built in 1903 on the plans of the French architect Tournaire and was later incorporated in a larger edifice, constructed in 1938. The rearrangement of the exhibition was carried out gradually and was finally completed in 1980. In 1974, a new room was added for the exhibition of the gold and ivory finds from the sanctuary. A project for the further enlargement of the museum, which will improve the display of the finds as well as the appearance of the building, has already been approved by the Ministry of Culture. The museum is actually an integral part of the sanctuary and contains exclusively finds from the site of Delphi, mostly offerings and architectural parts.

Dion

The ancient Dion, the sacred city of Macedonians, is sited in a 13 km distance from Katerini and about 7 km one from the national motorway between Thessaloniki and Athens. It was discovered at the northern feet of the Olympus but the time of its establishment has not been precisely estimated yet. It is regarded as a creating of the Macedonian and Peraevian kings, always comprising a crucial crossroad of grea strategic importance....
 

Meteora

Meteora is from the biggest and most important group of monasteries in Greece after those in Mount Athos. We can locate the first traces of their history from 11th c. when the first hermits settled there. The rock monasteries have been characterized by Unesco as a unique phenomenon of cultural heritage and they form one of the most important stations of cultural map of Greece.

Mount Athos

Some 38 kilometres east of Poligiros and after a trip up the slopes of Mt. Holomondas, through forests, vineyards, vegetable patches and flower gardens or along sandy beaches, one comes first to picturesque Arnea, followed by Stagira, Aristotle's birthplace, Ierissos by the sea, and Nea Roda before arriving at Tripiti. Opposite lies the emerald islet of Amou-liani.

From here the road descends to Ouranoupoli. Men wishing to visit Mt. Athos can board a caique either at Ouranoupoli or Tripiti for Dafni, and from there proceed by road to Karies, the capital of Athos. This is the site of the peninsula's oldest church, the Protatos (10th century), which is decorated with frescoes by Manouil Panselinos, the last great painter of the Macedonian School of Byzantine art.

Mycenae

Mycenae, the legendary home of the Atreides, is situated upon a small hill-top on the lower slopes of Euboea Mountain, between two of its peaks, on the road leading from the Argolic Gulf to the north (Corinth, Athens, etc.).

T
he site was inhabited since Neolithic times (about 4000 BC) but reached its peak during the Late Bronze Age (1350-1200 BC), giving its name to a civilization which spread throughout the Greek world. During that period, the acropolis was surrounded by massive
"cyclopean" walls which were built in three stages (ca.1350, 1250 and 1225 BC) except on its SE flank where a steep ravine provided natural defense.

In 1950, the Restoration Service undertook works on the tomb of Clytemnestra, under the direction of An. Orlandos and E. Stikas. In 1954, E. Stikas consolidated and restored the megaron, the area south of the "Lion Gate", and the "Grave Circle B" and in 1955, the walls north of the "Lion Gate" as well as the courtyard of the palace.

Olympus Mountain

From the sea level to the east and towering from the 700 m plateau in the west, the peaks of Mt. Olympus reach a height of almost 3000 meters.

This sudden change in altitude has concentrated on the mountain an amazingly large variety of plants, from typical Mediterranean species to rare plants of the alpic zone. There have been observed and recorder over 1700 plant species, 25 per cent of the Greek flora. In the naked alpic zone there are more than 150 plant species. Of Peninsula, and 23 alone on Mt. Olympus.

The wildlife of Mt. Olympus includes a significant variety of species. 32 species of mammals and 108 species of bird, among which many birds of prey have been recorded. In ancient times there were lions, as is described by Pausanias, and up until the 16th century, bears

 



Skiathos

Skiathos is one of the first unknown paradise which was discovered.


Until then, Skiathos was only known from Papadiamantis.In the beautiful beaches, hotels started to build and the traffic began to increase.
The small boat of Pashalis, which departed from Pefki of Evia, was replaced by ferries and the Flying Dolphins (Hydrofoils) made the trip more pleasant and comfortable.

So, Skiathos became one of the most famous islands in Greece.



Thessaloniki

The capital of Macedonia and second largest city of Greece.

It was first established in 316 B.C. by Kassandros and named after his wife, Thessaloniki, sister of Alexander the Great.
It is here that Paul, the Apostle of Nations, first brought the message of Christianity (50 A.D.) and that Demetrius, a Roman officer died in martyrdom, thus becoming the holy patron of the city for ever (303 A.D.).

Thessaloniki becomes the second important city of the Byzantine Empire, next to Konstantinople, ornamented with numerous majestic and glamorous architectural works that display all forms of Byzantine art.

After this illustrious era, the enemies take over.
But each time, after every catastrophe, Thessaloniki reexalts her splendour, dressed in her eternal garment of ancient and Byzantine glory
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Vergina

On the discovery of the Royal Tombs of Vergina (Aigai) in 1977, an immediate programme was launched to preserve the magnificent murals which adorned them. At the same time a conservation laboratory was set up on the spot to save and restore the extremely important portable objects they contained. For the preservation of the Royal Tombs themselves a subterranean structure was built in 1993 to encase and protect the ancient monuments by maintaining a constant temperature and humidity, both indispensable for the preservation of the wall paintings.

Waterland

The kingdom of adventure, join our world for a super time and splash into the fun with or without getting wet. Feel the thrill and the speed of the waterslides. Enjoy the view floating down the river rock your self on the waves. Build your body with aerobics and aqua-aerobics, catch the ball and earn points for your team on the beach volley participate in games and become the winner of the day. Enjoy your meal at one of our innumerous places, relax on the hydro massage lie on the deck chair and get tanned. Get excited and surprised with much more…

Visit Waterland's Web site

Athens
Castle of Platamon
Crete
Corinth Canal
Delphi
Dion
Meteora
Mount Athos
Mycenae
Olympus Mountain
Skiathos
Thessaloniki
Vergina
Waterland

 

General Travel Agency

General Travel Agency.  11 Ag. Paraskevis str., 60 100, Paralia Katerinis, Pieria, Greece
Tel.: ++3 0351/064027, 062744, Fax: ++3 0351/062593, 045559, E-mail:
info@mayak-travel.gr