COMENIUS PROJECT GREEK PRESENTATION

Athens is one of the oldest named cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for at least 7000 years. Situated in southern Europe, Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece in the first millennium BC and its cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of western civilization.

During the early Middle Ages, the city experienced a decline, then recovered under the later Byzantine Empire and was relatively prosperous during the period of the Crusades (12th and 13th centuries), benefiting from Italian trade. Following a period of sharp decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent Greek state.

The link between Athens and the sea is its harbour, Piraeus. Piraeus is the chief port in Greece, the largest passenger port in Europe and the third largest in the world, servicing about 20 million passengers annually. Piraeus is placed among the first 10 in container traffic in Europe and the top container port in Eastern Mediterranean.

Piraeus has a long history which dates back to ancient Greece. The effect of its natural space and geographical place have been critical factors for the configuration of the historical fate of Piraeus.It was largely developed in the 5 th century BC when it was selected to serve as the port city of classical Athens and was transformed into a prototype harbour, concentrating all the import and transit trade of Athens.

Piraeus consists of two harbours, Pasalimani and Mikrolimano. Pasalimani is one of the largest marinas in the Mediterranean. Mikrolimano or Tourkolimano is a pretty little harbour with yachts and fishing-boats and ringed with fish tavernas. Above Mikrolimano is the hill of Kastella- much mentioned in popular songs-with its traditional houses which offer a panoramic view of the city and the port.

In modern era Piraeus is a big city bustling with life and an integral part of Athens, having the biggest harbour in the country and all the typical characteristics of a huge marine and commercial-industrial centre.

Piraeus also hosted events in both 1896 and 2004 summer Olympics held in Athens.

A popular tourist attraction in Piraeus is the Marine Museum which contains model ships, maps, a section of the Long Walls, an old lighthouse, objects from Aristotle Onassis's yacht 'Argo', models of ships carved from bone by French prisoners at the time of the Napoleonic Wars, and objects from the period of the War of independence of 1821 down to the time of the Balkan Wars.

A very popular activity among both the locals and tourists is fishing.There are a number of fishing associations in Piraeus for those who wish to fish in and around the harbour. There is also a great number of shops selling fishing equipment.

Sailing, too, is a popular sport. Greece has a coastline of around 15,000 Km and there are approximately 220 inhabited islands. Many of these islands are near Piraeus and are popular sailing destinations.

PHOTO GALLERY ENJOY!!!

THE END S. Avgoulea-Linardatou School