Although most famous for its beaches and islands, 80% of Greece is mountainous, meaning that a wide variety of nutritious and delicious herbs can be found growning in the country's slopes. 

Used all across the country in traditional cooking and get-well home brews, these herbs not only smell and taste great, but also have a number of healing attributes.



Fliskouni


Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Also known as mountain mint, fliskouni has been known as a natural aphrodisiac since the ancient times, while ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Arabs also used it as medicine. Among others, it is believed to stimulate the nervous system and promote the strength of the respiratory system, battling respiratory diseases such as asthma. It can also be used as a flavoring in cooking and confectionery and if you ever catch a cold, it's the perfect frangnat hot drink!

Marjoram


Credit: SKsiddhartthan/Wikimedia Commons

Marjoram has been cultivated in Greece since the ancient times and it's used extensively in Greek cuisine as well, paired with meat, salads, cheese, and bread. It's a natural tranquilizer and has numerous therapeutic properties. It's commonly used for runny nose, cough, common cold, other infections, and various digestion problems, while the steam produced by the hot infusion of this herb is very helpful for the human respiratory system.

Sage


Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Known for its strong aroma and earthy flavor, sage is also packed with a variety of important nutrients and strong antioxidant properties. In ancient Greece is was considered a holy herb and women used to brew it for their husbands as a fertility-tonic. The herb is thought to stimulate brain function, boosting memory and preventing various congitive disorters, while it's also known to reduce blood sugar levels, support oral health, and protect against certain cancers. 

Mountain Tea


Credit: Lemur12/Wikimedia Commons

Mountain tea is the most commonly found Greek herbal tea and, thanks to its mild and sweet aroma, it is deliciously drunk both hot or iced. It's also called Sideritis, a name given to it in ancient times, to describe its capability of healing wounds caused by iron weapons during battles. It has a number of antioxidant, antimicrobial and antifungal properties, while it's used to help cope with stress and various inflammations of the respiratory system. 

Dittany


Credit: Aqua1975/Wikimedia Commons

Originating from the island of Crete, dittany, also known as erontas, meaning "youthful love" is considered an aphrodisiac. It has been widely used for medicinal purpose and even Hippocrated had acknowledged is healthy properties, as he used it to treat stomach aches and facilitate digesting process. Tea made from dittany is used to relieve headaches while its essential oils have antiseptic and anti-fungal properties and can be used to treat burns.

Be the first to see the Hellenic Air Force’s new state-of-the-art Rafale take to the Greek skies, performing gravity-defying manoeuvres! The French Demo Rafale will take off from Tanagra for an amazing display of its flight capabilities, and you’ll be impressed by its unique flexibility and the wonderful paint scheme prepared for this year’s air show by the French Air Force!

Athens Flying Week, the largest air show in Greece, returns on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of September more impressive than ever!!! Watch a “COMBAT EVAC” exercise by the Greek Armed Forces, demonstrations for the aircrafts of the Hellenic Air Force, the Army and the Navy but also the fire extinguishers Canadair CL-415 and PZL!

Don’t miss the unique spectacle organized by the Athens Flying Week team for the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution!

Aegean Airlines with the A320 NEO is also joining the Air Show and of course the 114th Combat Wing together with EAB who provide us with their hospitable facilities!

Get ready for the most impressive static exhibition ever!!! Do not miss the opportunity to take pictures with the French Rafale, the Tornado and the F-15s of the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Italian M-346, the C-130 from Belgium, the Austrian PC-7 and of course the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Tornado from Germany.

Get your ticket on time through viva.gr and its network of partners, from 15 euros for adults and 7.5 euros for minors. Due to COVID measures, the tickets are issued ONLY electronically while as every year there is a bus available to transport the spectators to and from the air base of Tanagra! See the detailed flight schedule with all international and Greek entries for Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of September.

Ready for take off?

 

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XpatAthens is proud to be a Media Sponsor of Athens Flying Week 

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Care for an ouzaki? Like so many words in Greek, ouzo is often referred to affectionately in the diminutive, which makes it even more seductive and appealing. Just a ‘little’ drink, nothing pretentious or serious about it, an ouzaki can be an excuse to pause in the middle or end of a busy day for a chat with friends or a cardinal feature of a summer holiday on an Greek island. Whatever you call it, sharing a carafe or miniature bottle of ouzo is an essential Greek experience.

Around Athens you will find dozens of eateries known as mezedopolia - places that specialise in these little dishes - whose menus run to several pages. Instead of ordering a three-course meal, you can set your imagination free and make a meal of as many dishes as you can manage. Don’t forget though. They are meant to be shared, not gobbled by one person. The sharing adds to the camaraderie.

Here are some of our favourite mezedopolia (also known as ouzeris) in the Athens area.

Athinaikon


Photo Credit: Eleni Veziri 

One of the oldest mezedopolia in Athens, this is a place to come for its décor alone. Although it’s only been in its present location since the mid 1980s, it has the atmosphere of the original establishment which opened in 1932. Wonderful tiled floors, period photographs, a splendid painting of Athinas Street with no cars, shiny marble tables and gleaming wooden chairs create the perfect setting for browsing through its six-page, leather-bound menu. Justly famous for its seafood meze—shrimp croquettes, home-made lakerda (cured tuna), skate with garlic sauce—it also features tempting treats from Anatolia such as pita (pie) with pastourma (spicy cured beef) or saganaki (fried cheese and sausage) Constantinople-style and intriguing items like "Drunkard’s delicacy". Surround yourselves with as many dishes as the table will hold and work your way through them slowly while you sip your ouzo of choice. Don’t under any circumstances come here on your own.

Address: 2 Themistokleous, Omonia, Historic Centre
Telephone: 210 383 8485

To Ouzeri tou Laki

Photo Credit: Eleni Veziri 

To many Greeks and foreigners, ouzo and a table of mezedes are best enjoyed by the sea, watching boats come and go. In Athens, Lakis’ ouzeri is about as close as you can get to having that experience, though the surroundings are landlocked. A kaiki (fishing boat) rudder stands by the entrance, a ship’s wheel hangs on one wall, nautical motifs decorate others, and the ceiling lights resemble seashells. An open refrigerator displays an exciting array of fresh fish and seafood, brought in daily from Kymi and Skyros. You can choose your own fish to complement unusual dishes such as chickpea fritters, mackerel with caramelized onions and sardine moussaka. Many customers are regulars, sipping from 16 different brands of ouzo and toasting the sign opposite the entrance: “All the world is a madhouse, but this is the headquarters.”

Address: 16 Elpidos, Victoria Square
Telephone: 210 8213776

Hohlidaki


Photo Credit: Eleni Veziri

Most mezedopolia have a generous selection of ouzo brands, but Hohlidaki probably holds the record with 130 in their collection. The bottles are arranged on and above the counter that separates the cosy, funky dining area, with its vintage posters, photos and ancient (functioning) jukebox, from the kitchen. It might take a while to taste them all, but the menu offers so many appetisers, you’ll find it hard to choose. Not only does this 30-year-old ouzeri serve scores of standard delicacies, it also changes its menu at least twice a year to focus on a specific region of Greece. Last time we were there, it featured dishes from the Ionian islands—lentils and eel from Lefkada, baked eggplant from Zakynthos, Corfiot sofrito, and Cephalonian meat pie. Eating here is always a gastronomic adventure, a way of exploring foods you would ordinarily have to travel extensively to savour.

Address: 31 Adrianiou, Neo Psychiko
Telephone: 210 674 6661

To read this article in full, please visit: thisisathens.org

 

Back-to-school anxiety is normal and understandable. Many kids may feel anxious about going back to school after a long summer break. Others may feel nervous about starting school for the first time.

Regardless of what the case may be, parents can help ease the transition back to school by being able to recognize the symptoms of stress and anxiety and implementing some creative strategies.

Reasons Kids Might Be Stressed or Anxious

COVID-Related Concerns

For students who spent months out of traditional in-person classrooms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going back to school may feel extra intimidating or even scary. 

 

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!!!