In Greece we use the prefix “anti” in order to express opposition and refer to what is on the opposite side and is somehow special, unique. The same prefix is also used in terms of places. Therefore, opposite of Paros is Antiparos and opposite Rio lies Antirrio. We thought to begin with 3 ANTI while waiting for your ideas…
Don’t forget to check our ANTI-contest on Facebook!
Antiparos
A narrow ribbon of land is what separates Antiparos from Paros, however its micro world is totally different. Those who own a boat or any other vessel, find there a hospitable shelter for a single or more nights and never miss their chance to taste fresh fish in the exceptional seaside restaurants. Quite a few make their way towars Kastro, the island’s only settlement. Those who really know the place usually search for the famous cave with the small church dedicated to St. John as well as the ancient findings in the small island, Despotiko.
Antipaxoi
A small paradise of only 3 square kilometres, south of Paxoi. The dense flora composed of hollies, lentisks, pines, cypresses and myrtles, the light green-coloured waters and the fine, white sand on the beaches Vrika and Voutoumi, add to this tiny island an exotic essence.
Antirrio
In the old times, the castles in Rio and Antirrio were the real stars. Nowadays, the highlight of the area is the huge bridge with a length of 3 kilometres which joins the two cities, bringing people together in a fast and secure way. According to its technical specifications, it can resist the collision with a tanker of 180.000 tonnes, winds with a speed of 250 km/h and an earthquake bigger than 7 Richter!
Στην Ελλάδα το πρόθεμα «αντί» το χρησιμοποιούμε για να δηλώσουμε αντίθεση, να μιλήσουμε για αυτό που βλέπουμε απέναντι και είναι διαφορετικό, ξεχωριστό. Το ίδιο πρόθεμα ΑΝΤΙ χρησιμοποιούμε και για τους τόπους… Απέναντι λοιπόν από την Πάρο είναι η Αντίπαρος και απέναντι από το Ρίο είναι το Αντίρριο. Προς το παρόν ξεκινάμε με 3 ANTI και περιμένουμε και τα δικά σας…
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Αντίπαρος
Μια στενή λωρίδα γης τη χωρίζει από την Πάρο, αλλά ο μικρόκοσμος της Αντίπαρου είναι πολύ διαφορετικός. Οι έχοντες πλωτό μέσον βρίσκουν καταφύγιο για μία η περισσότερες νύχτες και δεν χάνουν ευκαιρία να φάνε ψάρι στις εξαιρετικές παραλιακές ταβέρνες, ενώ οι υπόλοιποι ανεβαίνουν ως Κάστρο τον μοναδικό οικισμό του νησιού. Οι πιό ψαγμένοι θα αναζητήσουν το περίφημο σπήλαιο με το εκκλησάκι του Αϊ Γιάννη σε βάθος 100 μέτρων, αλλά και την αρχαιολογική ανασκαφή στο ακατοίκητο νησί Δεσποτικό.
Αντίπαξοι
Ένας μικρός παράδεισος μόλις 3 τετραγωνικών χιλιομέτρων, στα νότια των Παξών. Η αδιαπέραστη βλάστηση από πουρνάρια, σκίνα, κουκουναριές, πεύκα, μυρτιές και κυπαρίσσια, η ανοιχτοπράσινη θάλασσα και η λεπτή λευκή άμμος στις παραλίες Βρίκα και Βουτούμι δίνουν στο νησάκι μια εξωτική όψη.
Αντίρριο
Παλιότερα τα κάστρα του Ρίου και του Αντίρριου έκλεβαν την παράσταση…σήμερα είναι η καλωδιακή γέφυρα μήκους 3 χιλιομέτρων το Νο1 αξιοθέατο. Σύμφωνα με τις τεχνικές προδιαγραφές της αντέχει σε πρόσκρουση δεξαμενόπλοιου 180 χιλιάδων τόνων, σε άνεμο 250 χιλιομέτρων την ώρα και σε σεισμό μεγαλύτερο των 7 Ρίχτερ!
(Source: xprgr.com)
O φάρος και οι φαροφύλακες
Μια video καταγραφή του φωτογράφου μας, Περικλή Μεράκου, στον περίφημο φάρο του Κάβο Μαλιά. Ο τελευταίος φαροφύλακας και οι σύγχρονοι συνεχιστές μια παράδοσης αιώνων. Το σωτήριο «φως» του φάρου, απέναντι στα πιο αφιλόξενα νερά της Πελοποννήσου!
Ένας φάρος σύμβολο με ύψος πύργου σχεδόν 15 μέτρα σηματοδοτεί ένα όριο το οποίο από την αρχαιότητα ως σήμερα χαρακτηρίζεται επικίνδυνο. Ακόμα και με μπουνάτσα ο φάρος του 1883 σου προκαλεί δέος και το ακρωτήρι του Μαλέα, του Αγίου Αγγέλου ή του Ξυλοχάφτη -πείτε το όπως θέλετε- βρίσκεται λίγο πιο κάτω.
The lighthouse and the lighthouse keepers
A documentary video produced by our photographer, Perikles Merakos, for the famous lighthouse of Cavo Maleas. The last lighthouse keeper and the modern holdovers of a tradition that lasts for centuries talk about the meaning of the lighthouse. The salutary light of the lighthouse confronts the hostile Peloponnesian waters.
A lighthouse-symbol with a height of about 15 meters highlights the limits towards a place which causes fear from the ancient times until today. Even when the sea is calm, the 1883-built tower causes awe; Cape Maleas, Akra Maleas or Kavo Malias (locals call it also the Cape of Saint Angelos and Cape of Xylohafti) is a few yards away…
(Source: youtube.com)
Times are changing. A few years ago, the term “online booking” was associated with a computer user being in front of a monitor, typing his credit card number. Nowadays though online booking can be done in a rather more casual way like via a small gadget such as the iPad while relaxing in a comfortable couch.
Setting the trends
We are no longer in the time when the user had to be seated on an uncomfortable chair, typing on a keyboard and holding constantly a mouse in front of a computer. Not anymore! Tablets and Smart TVs are doing their best to change an “old habit”: the set comprised of a central unit, a keyboard and a display.
Being in a good mood makes the dream of booking the vacation of your dreams, a game. You will hold your partner in your arms and together you will book the room you both like, in a hotel you both fancy, in a price you both can afford. This particular trend began rising since 2011 and was successfully highlighted a bit ago in a feature produced by Reuters and based on a survey of Orbitz.
With air fares remaining stubbornly high, more people are taking to the road for summer getaways, making them more likely to need on-the-go travel resources.Travel giant Orbitz has launched an app which is billed as the only online travel company iPad app to enable GPS-powered mobile research and hotel bookings. Orbitz CEO Barney Harford said the new app was designed “from the ground up to take advantage of iPad’s format and interface.” He added that it will allow customers to search for, compare and book hotels effortlessly. In developing the app Orbitz noted its survey results which showed that more than half of the 1,000 people questioned said their mobile device was the most helpful for researching and planning activities once they arrived at their destination, compared to one-third who find it most helpful before they leave.
Only 30 percent said their mobile device was most helpful for booking vacations. And interestingly, more than one-quarter of men said they had booked travel with a mobile device, compared to only eight percent of women.
Mobile device users are also many times more likely to be booking same-day accommodations than people using the original website…
Changing. Fast.
Those who were using and still use tablets such as the iPad to book their hotel rooms, had two main disadvantages:
All these were changed by the companies themselves since they began using advanced booking systems such as the one that booking.com has incorporated. More than 8 million people use the company’s iOS application, people who will not turn on their computers to book a room but will do it using only their fingers on their iPad’s display!
The example of booking.com was quickly followed by other companies such as hotel.com which offers substantial sales through its application. The well-known company, ebookers created an application which lets the user to book a room in only three easy steps. The press release describes a new era:
Weary travellers looking for a good night’s kip have another aid in their quest for the perfect hotel room. Online room booking experts eBookers have today announced the launch of the eBookers Hotels app for iPad. Plenty of clever features built in here to make nabbing a quality room a breeze; GPS functionality locates nearby hotels automatically, while you can also search by postcode or specific address; thousands of hotels are listed, rated, and photographed with high quality pictures, while the grid-like interface is perfect for quick browsing on the iPad, retaining eBookers knack for tracking down the best value-for-money rooms in town.
“The launch of our Hotels iPad app is another exciting step as we look to strengthen our mobile offering, and continue to help travellers to ‘book easier and travel happier’ with us,” said Tamer Tamar, President of ebookers.
Designed from the ground up to take advantage of the iPad’s format and interface, the ebookers Hotels app for iPad is fast, fun to use and streamlined, allowing customers to book a hotel in just three simple taps. With an extensive choice of hotels from around the world, travellers will always be able to find somewhere to stay with ebookers, wherever they are in the world.
The cherry on the cake was Expedia’s statement during the launch of its own iOS booking application: “Expedia is rolling out the new app after seeing consumers make more transactions and bookings via mobile”. It should be mentioned that Expedia is about to offer a new service which depending on the customer’s booking, will inform him about close attractions, restaurants, points of interest and extra services.
Such a service though already exists in Greece and is offered by Danai Beach Resort in Chalkidiki, an application designed by Experience Greece team. Have a look in our gallery here.
Let us show you how easy it is to book a hotel room using a portable device:
(Source: ydreno)
Experience Greece is happy to announce the launch of experience-santorini.com. The new site will be up and running in June and will offer a complete travelling experience of one of the most beautiful islands of the Aegean Sea with plenty of breathtaking photos, news from the island, selected hotels, virtual tours, restaurants etc.
Along with the site, the Experience Santorini applications for both the iPad and the iPhone will be updated with new entries, fresh features and proposals, interactive activities and selected companies (restaurants, bars, hotels, wine factories etc) based on the island. The update will be available in June.
(Source: xprgr.com)
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Ο προϊστορικός οικισμός στο Ακρωτήρι είναι ένας από τους λόγους να νιώθουμε περήφανοι σαν Έλληνες. Ο τεράστιος χώρος είναι εντυπωσιακός και συγκινητικός -ειδικά αν έρθεις μόνος σου και τον πετύχεις χωρίς πολυκοσμία και γκρουπ τουριστών.
Κάτω από το τεράστιο στέγαστρο έχουν στηθεί ξύλινοι διάδρομοι που διατρέχουν το χώρο και περνάς δίπλα από όλα τα ανεσκαμμένα κομμάτια, έτσι ώστε για πρώτη φορά βλέπουμε από κοντά τα κτίσματα του προϊστορικού οικισμού και ευρήματα (πιθάρια, σκεύη κ.α). Σίγουρα χρειάζεται πολλά ακόμη (σήμανση, καλύτερη φύλαξη, πιο εκπαιδευμένο προσωπικό κ.α.) αλλά ήδη είναι πολύ σημαντικό ότι μετά από τόσα χρόνια τον αντικρίζουμε ξανά. Είναι πραγματικά απίστευτο το θέαμα και δικαίως θεωρείται εντυπωσιακούς αρχαιολογικούς χώρους στην Ελλάδα.
Για περισσότερες φωτογραφίες, ρίξτε μια ματιά στη γκαλερί μας στο Flickr.
The prehistoric settlement of Akrotiri is one of the reasons we are proud to be Greeks. The huge area is impressive and touching, especially if you happen to visit it by yourself without the presence and the noise of many other tourists and groupies.
Wooden passageways have been set up under the large shed so that visitors are able to pass around every excavated piece; it is the first time that prehistoric findings such as jars, pots, irons etc are exposed to the public. There is definitely space for further improvement; however it is very important that after so many years we are able to visit Akrotiri again. The view is magnificent and proves that Akrotiri is fairly thought as one of the most exciting archaeological sites in Greece.
The most prominent archaeological site in Santorini -and one of the most important archaeological sites in the Aegean– is Akrotiri and the findings of the excavations that began in 1967. Akrotiri (Promontory) is located at the southwestern tip of the island, 15 km from Fira. It is a real promontory, with sheer cliff shores stretching three miles west of the southernmost part of Santorini. After several years, the archaeological site re-opened for the visitors since April 2012, after the new roof was in place.
THE BIG EXCAVATION
The first signs of habitation in Akrotiri date back to the Late Neolithic Period (at least from the 4th millennium BC). By the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC), there was a settlement in Akrotiri that was expanded in the Middle and Late Bronze Age (20th-17th centuries BC) becoming one of the main urban centres of the Aegean.
Covering about 50 acres, the settlement had a very well-planed infrastructure and an elaborate sewage system. Imported products found inside the buildings prove that Akrotiri was well developed, held strong ties with Minoan Crete and conducted business with the Greek mainland, the Dodecanese, Cyprus, Syria and Egypt.
The growth of the town ended abruptly at the end of the 17th century BC, when its inhabitants left due to powerful seismic foreshocks. Then, the volcano erupted, and volcanic material covered the town and the rest of the island, preserving the buildings and their contents to this day.
For extra pics have a look in our gallery on Flickr.
(Source: xprgr.com)
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Santorini, Easter 2012
A postcard picturing the volcano of Santorini.
The best ship operating in the Cyclades line is definitely Blue Star Delos. Modern design, splendid service, gentle crew, decks equipped with Plasma TV and cosy couches, superb coffee and plenty of snacks… The investment was worthy after all. The same company is about to add to the Cyclades line a second ship, Blue Star Patmos.
Good news nevertheless during shady times…
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