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| A Brief Overview of Greece |
Greece Travel Information, Greek Flag, Economy, Geography & Facts of Greece |
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General Information about Greece
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Official Name: Hellenic Republic
National Anthem:
Hymn to Freedom (Ymnos eis tin Eleftheria)
Poem written by Dionysios Solomos in 1823
Set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros in 1828
Officially became the Greek National Anthem in 1865 (first two stanzas)
National Motto: Freedom or Death (Eleftheria ei Thanatos).First used during the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 1820s.
Location: Southeastern Europe
Area: 131,957 sq. km
Population: 10,964,020 (census 2001), 11,300,000 (estimated 2005)
Capital City: Athens
Government: Presidential Parliamentary Democracy
Parliament Members: 300
Administrative Divisions: 13 peripheries divided into 51 prefectures and 1 autonomous region (Mt. Athos).
Official Language: Greek
Religion: Greek Orthodox (95-98%), Muslim (1.3%), and other religions
Currency: Euro (€)
Time Zone: GMT + 2hrs
GDP: 180.3 billion euro (2005)
Telephone code: +30 (+01130 from the US)
Power voltage: 220V AC (50Hz)
National Holidays:
- March 25 (Anniversary of the commencement of the Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821)
- October 28 ("Ochi" Day (“No” Day) - Anniversary of the refusal to yield to the WWII Axis Powers in 1940)
Major Religious Holidays:
- January 1 (St. Basil's - New Year's Day)
- January 6 (Epiphany)
- Ash Monday (movable - the Monday of the 7th week before Easter Sunday)
- Easter Sunday (movable - First Sunday after the first full moon of the Spring Equinox)
- Easter Monday (the day after Easter Sunday)
- Whit Monday (movable - 50 days after Easter Sunday)
- August 15 (Assumption of the Virgin Mary)
- December 25 & 26 (Christmas)
Other Holidays:
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| Geographical Facts about Greece |
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Location: Southeastern Europe
Area: 131,957 sq. km
Borders by land with: Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, FYROM, and by sea with (major bodies of water): Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Libyan Sea.
Time Zone: GMT + 2hrs
Climate: Mild, fairly wet winters, and warm, sunny and dry summers
Highest Mountain: Mount Olympus (2,918 meters)
Longest River: Aliakmon River (297 km)
Largest Lake: Lake Trichonis (9 8.6 acres)
Coastline: approximately 15,000 km
Natural Resources: marble, petroleum, zinc, lead, salt, iron ore, magnesite, nickel. Solar, wind and hydro-power. |
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| Economy of Greece |
Currency: Euro (€)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 180.3 billion euro (2005)
Projected 2007 GDP Growth: 3.8%
Major Exports: Food and beverage, petroleum products, manufactured goods, textiles, chemicals |
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| Infrastructure of Greece |
Airports: 38 commercial airports in total
Ports & Marinas: 110 in total
Heliports: 8 in total
Railways: Stations throughout Mainland Greece, from the Peloponnese to Thrace
Athens Metro (3 lines): 46 stations and currently expanding
Roadways: Spanning across Greece and the large islands (Major highways include Attiki Odos, Egnatia Highway, Patra - Athens - Thessaloniki Motorway and the Ionian Motorway). |
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