Bouzouki

Bouzouki

The bouzouki is the mainstay of modern Greek music as well as other Balkan folk music. It is a
stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and a very long neck. The bouzouki
is a member of the ‘long neck lute’ family and is similar to a mandolin. The
front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl.The
instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound.

Many musicians such as Manolis
Chiotis and Giorgos Zampetas began using specially designed pickups to achieve a
slightly thicker humbucker -like sound in the mid-1960s. These pickups are
widely used by several Greek artists today and came in active and (usually)
passive versions.

There are two main types of bouzouki:

• Trichordo, having three pairs of strings (courses).
• Tetrachordo, having four pairs of strings

Bouzouki of three chords and an old-fashioned lengthy vessel. Figure of a gramophone, oval-shaped hole, chaplets on the side and the headspring, fingerboard and vessel made of black walnut tree and ebony. It can also be made with four chords and another hole.

Giorgos Zampetas: Famous Greek bouzouki player

 

Edited by Christiana

 

Athens

Athens

Athens is a large modern city, extending over a plain and surrounded by three mountains: Mount Parnitha (1413), Mount Penteli (1109) and Mount Hymettos (1026). Athens is a city that is very alive; a city where things are constantly happening.

It is modern, but it is romantic as well, it has busy streets and squares, places where movement never stops, but one can easily find little alleys in quiet, peaceful neighborhoods, such as Plaka and Mets.

One can choose to visit the museums and the archaeological sites or just to taste the vibrant, Greek way of life. In the countless shops, the visitor will find whatever (s)he may need. In the tavernas and restaurants (s)he can enjoy any taste sensation, Greek, international or ethnic cuisine; in the nightclubs, pubs, discos and bars (s)he can drink or dance the night away. Because in Athens, the fun never stops before daylight!

Acropolis

The Acropolis hill, so called the “Sacred Rock”

of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles’ Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground:

• the Parthenon, which is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens
• the Erechtheion, dedicated to the worship of the two principal gods of Attica, Athena and Poseidon the Temple of Athena Nike, and
• the Propylaea, the monumental gateway of the Acropolis

The Acropolis Museum

It is one of the most important museums in the world. It houses masterpieces of the ancient Greek civilization, dedicated to the most important of the Athenian sanctuaries, the “temenos” of Athena Parthenos.

The Acropolis museum contains only the stone sculptures from the monuments of the Acropolis and from the excavations on the site. Since the beginning of the excavations, the vases and the bronzes have been kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, while the inscriptions are housed in the Epigraphical Museum.

Olympieion

According to tradition, the establishment of the sanctuary goes back to the time of mythical Deucalion. The site was inhabited in the
prehistoric period and the cult of Zeus is attested in early historic times. In ca. 515 BC, Peisistratos the Younger, began the construction of a monumental temple which was not finished because of the fall of the tyranny in Athens. Much later, in 174 BC, Antiochos IV Epiphanes, the king of Syria, attempted to continue the erection of the temple, which was finally completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian, in AD 124/125. Inside the temple stood a colossal chryselephantine (gold and ivory) statue of Zeus.

The most important monuments of the site are:

• Temple of Zeus Olympios.
• Temple of Apollo Delphinios.
• The Court at the Delphinion.
• Gates of the city wall of Athens, built by Themistocles in 479/78 BC.
• Roman baths, constructed in AD 124-132.
• Temple of Panhellenic Zeus, built in AD 131-132.
• Temple of Cronos and Rhea.

Entertainment / Cultural events

Whether one wishes to broaden his/her cultural horizon or just to have fun, Athens is the place to be! The days and the nights present the visitor with a dilemma, what to choose: museums, ancient Greek drama or modern theatre, dance, cinema in high tech theatres or in cute little open-air cinemas, listening to music and/or dancing, eating out or clubbing. Musical events range from opera and classical music at the Megaron Mousikis (Athens Concert Hall) to Greek music played at all sorts of different places (tavernas, concert halls, nightclubs), to rock or pop concerts, to Ethnic music events, to Jazz concerts, … everything is there!

Syntagma

Syntagma Square, is the largest and the most important square in Athens. It houses the monument of the Unknown Soldier, the Parliament and the most luxurious hotels of the city.
The Athens Academy and the National Library are impressive buildings on Panepistimiou Street, which connects Syntagma Square with Omonoia Square, the second most important square of the center of Athens.

Old Quarters

Plaka, the oldest neighborhood of Athens, the most characteristic area of the city and the only unchanged by time. The old houses and the nice neoclassic buildings have been preserved and have been restored in recent years. A walk through the quiet narrow streets of Plaka is a walk through the past of Athens, a unique and charming experience under the imposing monuments of the Acropolis.

Monastiraki, where the flea market is, is a fascinating area with anything from souvenirs in all their myriad form, marble chess sets, copper pans, ceramic pots, to junk and antiques. Old coins and stamps, old furniture, baskets and junk, piled haphazardly between office furniture, all go to make this area one of the most fascinating in the city.

Lycabettus

Lycabettus, or Lycavitos hill (909 ft high), sits right in the center of the city and offers an unforgettable view of the city from its peak.
One can reach it with a cable railway and will find there the tiny Chapel of St. George (Ai Yorgis) and a restaurant.
It is one of the most attractive points of Athens, especially by night, when below the large lighted city extends its beauty.

Meteora

Meteora

THE SUMMARIZED HISTORY OF THE ROCKS AND THE HOLY MONASTERIES OF THE METEORA

In central Greece and particularly in the North Western part of Thessaly, between North East of Hasia and West of Pindos, where the plain of Thessaly ends, gigantic rocks raise, that create a spectacle which might be unique worldwide.

No reference concerning these rocks exists, neither in mythology nor by some Greek or foreign historians.

Historians and geologists started to be interested in the creation of these rocks about 1000 years ago, expressing several theories.

The prevailing theory is that one of the German geologist Philipson, who came to Greece in the late 19th century. According to his theory, a large river had his estuary in this area which for million of years was covered by a narrow and deep part of the sea .The river waters place matter, stones and generally several materials that were transferred by its waters at the estuary from Northern parts of primordial central Europe. From the accumulation of these materials deltaic cones were formed.

25-30 million years ago, after some geological changes took place during the centuries, the central part of today’s Europe was lifted. That’s how the opening of Tempi was created ,having as a result the pouring of the waters in today’s Aegean sea.

During the tertiary period ,at the time of the alpine orogenies, the solid volumes of the “rocks” were cut off from the mountain chain of Pindos that was created and as the centuries went by, the plain of Pinios river was formed between them.

With the continuous corrosion by the wind and the rain as well as by other geological changes, these rocks took their present form through the passing of million of years.

At the cavities, fissures and peaks of the rocks, the people of that place found protection from the raids of several conquerors and of those who passed from the area.

Also, several bold hermits and anchorites found shelter at these rocks, seeking for mental calmness, tranquility and while praying they saught for Christian perfection.

In the beginning, the hermits were isolated and were praying in small chapels called “prosefhadia”(in Greek means places for pray) not only for their salvation but also for the salvation of all people. Their life was simple and the work painful.

The exact time that the rocks were inhabited is not known, but according to the existing scripts the monkhood is presented when already organized.

According to the Byzantinologists the first hermits must have taken refuge in the rocks at the end of the first millennium.

According to some information, Barnabas is mentioned as the first hermit at around 950-970 AD, who established the cloister of the Holy Ghost followed by the establishment of the cloister of the Transfiguration of Jesus by the monk Andronikos from Crete in the early 1000 AD. Later, at around 1150-1160 AD the Cloister of Stagi or Doupiani is established.

Except the aforementioned cloisters others also existed in several cavities around the rock of Doupiani, of Holy Ghost and the rock of “Sourloti”.

At the beginning of the 12th century, in the area of the Meteora a small ascetic state was formed which had as centre of worship the church of Mother of God, that was forming the “Kyriako” (church or temple) or the “Protato” (the first place) which is extant until today and is at the north part of the rock of Doupiani.

They were flowing to this small church from their hermitages in order to perform their common worship towards God, to discuss the several problems that concerned them and to ask for the help of other hermits in order to carry out the hard work.

The leading man of the cloister of Doupiani or cloister of Stagi had the title of the “first” and the one under the guidance of the Monastery of the Mother of God of Doupiani.

Almost 200 years later, in the middle of the 14th century (1340-1350 AD) the Holy Monastery of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount was established by Holy Athanasios, who gave to the big rock “Wide Stone” the name Meteoro and since then all the rocks have this name.

Later on, we have the creation of many Holy Monasteries in a period of 2 centuries (14th-15th), a time of great prosperity for the monkhood in the Meteora. Their number reaches 24.

In the middle of the 14th century monk Nilos, who is the founder and proprietor of the Holy Monastery of Ascension (the Holy Monastery of Ipapanti-Candle Mass- today) with very important Frescos, takes great action.

The first hermits climbed up the rocks by using scaffolds that they proped up to joists which where wedged in holes of the rock.

Later, they used rope ladders and net, until the first ladders were carved in the early 20th century.

As years went by and being under several difficulties of the times such as several conquerors of the area, thieves’ raids and other factors, many of the flourishing Holy Monasteries were driven to abandonment and destruction (the period of decline after the 17th century).

Today, the tradition of orthodoxy is continued uninterrupted for over 600 years by the Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoro or (the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount), the Varlaam Monastery, the Saint Stephen Monastery, the Holy Trinity Monastery, the Saint Nicolas Anapafsas Monastery and the Roussano Monastery.

Furthermore, with the generous efforts of the monks, of the Bishop Serafim and the contribution of the state, of the European Union and of several citizens, many of the Holy Monasteries have been maintained and restored.

Also restored are: 1) the Saint Nicolas Badovas monastery (dependency of the Holy Trinity monastery) and 2) of Ipapanti-Candle Mass (dependency of the monastery of the Transfiguration or Great Meteoro).

For more details you can see:

www.kalampaka.com

edited by Dermitzaki