Every decent taverna in Greece has a category on their menu called alifes or spreads in English. It usually includes popular choices such as tzatziki, skordalia, taramosalata, tyrokafteri, melitzanosalata, and more. These dishes serve either as mezes, to be paired with a variety of other small plates for the main meal, or as dips, which we normally order as an appetizer to start the meal.

Here's an easy-to-make and really versatile recipe for melitzanosalata that pairs great with a variety of dishes, from fish to pasta and even more!

5 medium eggplants 

3 spring onions, finely chopped 

1 garlic clove, minced 

60 ml lemon juice 

2 tbsp chopped celery stalk 

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint 

2 tbsp chopped parsley 

1 tbsp Greek yogurt 

1 tbsp red bell pepper, diced 

1 tbsp green bell pepper, diced 

2 tbsp chopped green olives 

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra to serve 

1 tsp ground cumin 

Salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions

• Wash the eggplants and pat dry. Pierce them with a fork all over and place them on a baking tray on the top shelf. Broil for 30 minutes, then flip them and broil them for another 20 minutes, until they go very soft and the skin turns wrinkly and charred.

• Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for 15-30 minutes. Once cooled down and easy to hold, carefully scoop out the softened eggplant from the charred skin using a spoon and discard most of the seeds.

• Place on a colander, add salt, and allow the insides to strain for at least 10-15 minutes. Gently press them with your hands to remove any excess water and finely chop them or pulse them using a food processor.

• Place the eggplant into a bowl and add in the chopped scallions and garlic, the peppers, the olives, the yogurt, and the herbs. Mix well. Gradually add in the olive oil, and then add the lemon juice, cumin, some pepper and adjust the salt if necessary. Mix well with a spoon. Transfer into a bowl, drizzle with some extra olive oil and serve.

Tip 1: Roast the eggplant until its skin is charred, in order to give the dip its smoky flavor.

Tip 2: Let the eggplant strain well before you blitz it.

For more tips and details, please visit: culinarybackstreets.com

Sculptures, from small figurines to larger-than-life statues, have been a continuous hallmark of Greek art from antiquity to modern times—most famously the friezes from the Temple of Zeus and the Parthenon. These imposing artworks honored benefactors, commemorated events, and told stories. Others were decorative, created for the sheer joy of their beauty. Today, the ancient masterpieces are to be found in museums, but the streets of modern Athens resemble public art galleries, offering a dynamic display of the conventional and the quirky for anyone who seeks them out.

Photo Credit: Thomas Gravanis 

The sculpture’s monumental size reflects the international star power of its creator, Chryssa—one of a handful of contemporary Greek artists to have shown at the Guggenheim, Philadelphia’s Institute of Contemporary Art, the Paris’s Musee d’Arte Moderne, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Featuring a trademark mix of neon, stainless steel, and plexiglass, this figure-eight sculpture is as hard to decipher as much of Chryssa’s work, forcing the viewer to pause and ponder. The twisted figure depicts the agony of the mythical queen, who murdered husband Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia—or perhaps in a fit of jealousy over Cassandra. Of course, you don’t need to get into knots over what the sculpture means to enjoy its clean lines and flowing form.

Location: Athens Concert Hall grounds, Vas. Sofias and Kokkali streets

Work on the long-anticipated renovation of the lower part of Syntagma Square has finally begun, 17 years since the original plan.

The project foresees the widening of the sidewalks near the start of the pedestrian Ermou Street and the creation of a new public space that will serve as an entrance point to the capital’s commercial and historical core. Approximately 1,000 square meters of space will be freed up for pedestrians. 

The plan also stipulates the planting of 28 tall trees, visible pedestrian crossings, pergolas for shade as well as modern lighting systems. Interventions facilitating the disabled will also be included.

A Led Zeppelin concert celebration under the Acropolis!  Their greatest hits performed live with a rock band, symphony orchestra and three other astonishing singers from London’s West End! 

As part of their world tour and directly from London’s West End, with sold-out shows at the world-famous Palladium, "Led Zeppelin Symphonic" comes to Athens for two incomparable nights at the Herodium Theater, on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 September, at 9:00 p.m!

Three dynamic rock singers come together on stage with an unbeatable rock band accompanied by symphonic orchestration all under the direction of the famous conductor Richard Sidwell - the man behind "Queen Symphonic", the amazing global success that enchanted the Greek public, in 2 sold out performances at the Herodium Theater!

With all the regulations and measures in place to protect the health of spectators, it's time to revel again at an amazing concert under the Parthenon!!!

For more than 9 years, Plisskën Festival has consistently proved itself to be one of Greece’s leading Festivals and proudly returns to Technopolis this year on September 11 & 12! 

Exceptional programming has seen some of the world’s most iconic artists, alongside the best alternative and up and coming talent including legendary headliners Giorgio Moroder, Floating Points, Quantic, Jungle, The Black Madonna, Hunee, Peter Bjorn and John, Tinariwen, Mogwai, Mulatu Astatke, Death in Vegas, La Femme, Mac deMarco, Forest Swords, David August, Liars, Fuck Buttons, Nicola Cruz, Sama’, Afrodeutsche, Ellen Allien, Optimo, Tuxedomoon, Son Lux, Swans, Andy Stott, Debonair and many more.

Aside from a line-up celebrating a broad mix of styles and quality, Plisskën also continues to push the boundaries of their environmental and social ethos.

Wanting to be more environmentally conscious,they have been awarded the ‘Commended’ rating from the Greener Festival Awards global governing body for 2 consecutive years.

And The Lab, an annual series of workshops organised by Plisskën, takes place in Athens prior to the festival.  Through a number of theoretical and practical seminars hosted by professionals in their respective fields, The Lab participants get the chance to learn about all of the elements that comprise putting on a festival.

Plisskën is considered as the most innovative and exciting multi-genre festival of the Summer. Our Ethos is about providing a meaningful and enjoyable music experience with respect to all its counterparts whether they be of human or environmental nature!

On the occasion of this year’s August Full Moon, the Acropolis Museum will offer to its visitors the opportunity to enjoy the Museum exhibits as follows:
 
On Saturday 21 August 2021, the Museum exhibition areas will remain open from 8am to 8pm with free entry to all visitors, on the occasion of the Museum’s participation in the "Greece 2021" initiative.

The Museum second floor restaurant will be open until 12 midnight and visitors will be able to enjoy the moon from the terrace for dinner/drinks (telephone reservations on +30 210 9000915).
 
On Sunday 22 August 2021, the Museum exhibition areas will remain open from 8am to 10pm. The second floor restaurant will be open during the same hours.

• English: 6 p.m. (2 simultaneous talks)
• Greek: 8 p.m. (2 simultaneous talks)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Participation: Limited to 10 visitors per session. For registration, please refer to the Information Desk at the Museum entrance on the same day. First-in first-served.
• Health protection measures: It is necessary to wear a mask (not provided by the Museum) and to use the whisper guide system headsets (provided by the Museum).
• Cost: The general admission fee to the Museum is required (10 euro).

Morning Saturday and Sunday gallery talks, "Marathon - Salamis. In traces of myth and history" and "Walking in the ancient neighbourhood of the Acropolis Museum" will be held as usual.

As one of Greece's most beloved instruments, you may listen to the bouzouki sound everywhere you go in the country from koutoukia, Greece's underground taverns, to live music performances by Greek rebetiko artists. Would you think though, that bouzouki can even be heard in a hospital's corridors? If you answered no, think again because that's exactly what happened in AHEPA hospital. 

37-year-old Dimitris Kyrtsos, had a tumor removed from his head a few months ago all while playing his favorite musical instrument, the bouzouki, right there in the operating room! As the man explains, he saw videos on YouTube with other people playing instruments during their surgery and he liked the idea. He was under partial anesthesia, which means he remained conscious during the procedure, and he totally nailed the Greek song "Mavromata Mou", which he dedicated to his wife! 

The World Tourism Association for Culture and Heritage (WTACH) has commenced a study into the tourism carrying capacity of Athens in a new partnership with the Athens Development and Destination Management Agency (ADDMA).

WTACH will set the parameters and guide the research, which is being carried out in cooperation with the University of Piraeus' Department of Tourism Studies.

The objective is to raise awareness of the tourism carrying capacity of greater Athens, especially in peak season, with the view to easing pressure on the city’s urban infrastructure and better spreading the benefits of tourism, both geographically and throughout the year.

Pre-Covid, multiple cruise ships often arrived on the same day in peak season. Localized spikes in tourism numbers, not just from cruise passengers, have the potential to compromise the ability of Athens to provide sustainable, safe, and accessible tourism experiences, throughout the city, which is known for world-famous attractions such as the Acropolis, National Archeology Museum, the Roman Agora, and the Plaka and Anafiotika neighborhoods.

The research will canvas the opinions of local residents groups, local tourism-related associations, relevant business leaders, and civil servants.

Depending on the outcomes, the findings may be useful as a tool to lobby political leaders to secure improved tourism management policies.

Mr. Vangelis Vlachos, CEO of ADDMA, said that the study will provide vital empirical data showing the impact of the visitor economy on the Greek capital. The research would also give the city an “important new destination management tool”.

For more information, please visit: wtach.org

A Greek-Australian researcher is one of the scientists penning a new article describing just how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere affects the formation of glaciers and its crucial role in climate change.

The research was undertaken by Vera Korasidis, a palynologist, or scientist who studies pollen and pollen fossils, and her colleague Peter Buck, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, who co-authored the paper.

They believe that a drop in greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, caused a great global cooling event some 34 million years ago.

This unfortunately means that, conversely, a rise in such gases would inevitably mean an equal-sized global warming event, as has long been thought by climate scientists.

The ultimate manifestations of global warming are disputed by some, who see them as the normal fluctuations in climate as we have seen throughout the history of the planet.

But there is no disputing that the more carbon dioxide in the planet’s atmosphere, the warmer that atmosphere will become.

This is the first time that researchers have shown in a study that global cooling, as a result of less available carbon dioxide, created the massive glaciers that formed 34 million years ago.

Korasidis notes that “Before then, vast regions of the world, including Antarctica, were covered in lush rainforests. There were no permanent ice sheets” on Earth.

During these many years, known as the “Eocene Oligocene transition,” the average average temperature across the entire globe decreased by more than 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) in approximately 300,000 years.

Vittoria Lauretano, the lead author of the paper, works as an organic geochemist in the realm of the paleoclimate at the University of Bristol’s Organic Geochemistry Unit. She states “This geologically quick change shows how atmospheric carbon dioxide drives major shifts in climate.”

Evidence from marine sediments shows unequivocally that the globe indeed was a very temperate place prior to that era, with not even a glacier anywhere on Earth.

To read this article in full, please visit: greekreporter.com