For more than twenty centuries, Thessaloniki gave shelter and a new sense of home for the persecuted Jews of Europe. During the Holocaust, more than 80 per cent of this vibrant Jewish community were exported and slaughtered. Insider revives the rich legacy of a forgotten people. As the city of Thessaloniki remembers and mourns...
Read moreAfter the rollercoaster ride of 2020, we could all do with a Hercules-sized helping of good luck in our lives this year. Ancient customs that claim to elevate your Γούρι (Gouri) – your luck - are still widely practised in Greece. We share some trusty Greek tips for courting Lady Luck all year long. Charmed: The Gouri Throug...
Read moreDescribed as the 'sun-drinking poet,' the late Nobel laureate Odysseas Elytis will be honoured with a permanent home dedicated to preserving his poems, photographs and texts on the corner of Dioskourou and Polygnotou streets in Plaka. Considered one of the most acclaimed poets of the 20th century, Elytis was born on Crete in 1911 and passe...
Read moreIn need of fail-safe festive gift ideas? Seek inspiration from the wishlists of one of the fashion industry's insiders. Dimitra Kolotoura, one of the founders of fashion-forward Greek label, Zeus + Δione shares her wishlist from vintage jugs to woven leather baskets, hand-painted ceramic plates, fine jewellery and can't -do-without fashion ...
Read moreLike many of us this awful year, books have been the one constant solace for best-selling author Sofka Zinovieff. From pacy page-turners and feel-good reads, to moving memoirs and engrossing audiobooks to escape to while you cook, the Athens-based writer reveals the titles that have provided her with the best company and inspiration duri...
Read moreIn October 2020, the Athens Comic Library commissioned artist Yorgos Konstantinou, a Greek-Catalan-Berliner, visual engineer artist and activist to create comic illustrations inspired by the wonderful work that Choose Love, an online platform run for and by refugees, does to support the families they work with. The result: a joyous explos...
Read moreBe ready to blurt out Chronia Polla indiscriminately throughout December. Chances are someone is celebrating their name-day! From the Nikolovarvara as the 4,5 and 6th of December is referred to, right upto the manic lead-up to Christmas, there's an excuse to celebrate every single day! Throughout December 1 Dec: Theoklitos, ...
Read moreFor better or for worse, our homes have been both sanctuary and fortress this year - so dont they desrve a festive treat too? There's nothing like wall art to inject instant personality or ramp up your style cred and mood. Eva Theofanidis of PrintSin, an online gallery that showcases Greek and international artists, picks out a dozen spirit...
Read more2020 desperately needs some Christmas cheer. Thankfully, Netflix is handing that feeling out in spades as the days get colder and shorter, and lockdown blues get harder to fight off! Here is your guide to every new Christmas movie on Netflix to make you feel merry and bright this season. Holidate For people who believe all ...
Read moreGlamorous socialite, political powerbroker, commissioner of grandiose palaces, grieving mother and champion of women’s education. The Duchess of Plaisance was no ordinary expat. Discover how this intriguing single female from Philadelphia came to wield such great power and influence over 19th century Athens, and find out where you can stil...
Read moreChristopher King's first experience of hearing an Epiriot lament, by violinist Alexis Zoumbas, on a 78rpm recorded in 1926, sent him into a cathartic trance. Searching for a connection, Grammy-winning producer and curator King spent years researching and archiving music recorded between 1907 and 1960 from the rural hinterlands of mainland...
Read moreEveryone knows bouzouki music: it’s the sound of cliched touristic Greek entertainment, heard on debauched, ouzo-soaked nights in tavernas across the world. Few, however, know about this music’s ancestor. Its name is rebetiko: a hairy, uncouth, underground sound that arose from the hash dens, cabarets, brothels and prisons of fin-de-siècl...
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