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Background: Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.

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By JEdge10
August 18th 2008

Greece

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Patmos

My contiki tour of Greece 6/08. Overall I had a really wonderful time in Greece & Turkey. Definitely the highlight of the trip was visiting Oia, in Santorini. Unfortunately I had only 1 hr to see it, so I took as many pictures as I could. I am by no means a pro photographer, but it is definitely one of my passions. Hope you enjoy the pictures and feel free to ask any questions. [View Full Entry]

By Tamara n Alex
August 18th 2008

Livin' it up in Rhodes

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Rhodes

Alex Driving the Smart Car
BTW people drive like crazy-faces in Greece

Yasu!! We hope everyone is doing well back home. We really miss everyone! We left Crete and arrived in the Island of Rhodes last night. We're staying at a big hotel by the beach. Today we went to see the Rhodes Acropolis, and although it is less impressive than the one in Athens, we liked it because you could walk around wherever you wanted and it had a really well preserved stadium. We walked around the "old town" and we're really impressed by the castle-like walls that surrounded it. We're (mostly me, not Alex) hoping to take in the beaches because [View Full Entry]

By Mat and Rach
August 16th 2008

last day in paradise!

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Cant believe its our last day here already. The pace is slow but hectic at the same time. We have managed to take a trip to the black beach for a day yesterday which was fantastic but the black volcanic sand and the hoardes of Italian tourists proved to be a bit of a challenge! Mat has gone black in this weather, as you can probably imagine. I'm a little tanned but I've never felt so white in comparison to everyone else. Millie I owe you $50 as I've lost our little bet and have managed to get some colour in [View Full Entry]

By Mat and Rach
August 14th 2008

Santorini - Day 2

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Athens 1

Second attempt at uploading our photos..... seems to be working this time... Clearly didn't think Greece through very well, here I was wondering if I would be able to eat anything other than souvlaki and tzaksiki dip. Well i have certainly changed my mind... we are here in a country where the following key elements apply: 1. lots of beautiful weather 2. everyone drinks and smokes 3. everything is covered in cheese.... I think we have found our true calling and will forever now consider Santorini - if not Greece - our second home.. that is if we ever had the [View Full Entry]

By Tamara n Alex
August 13th 2008

Leaving Santorini

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Hey Everyone We're leaving Santorini today and headed to Crete, one of the biggest Greek Islands. We're sad to leave this beautiful place, but I think we've seen most of what there is to see. Yesterday we rented an ATV (typical mode of transport here) and drove down a beautiful road along the coast to Oia, which is rumored to be the most beautiful town in Santorini. It was. We ate a fishy dinner down at a port while we watched the sunset over the sea!! Gotta go, Love you all! [View Full Entry]

By Tamara n Alex
August 11th 2008

More churches than houses, donkeys than people, and wine than water!

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Highest point of Santorini

Hello friends and family! Let us start by saying "CONGRATS AMANDA AND KRAEMER!!!!!" For anyone who doesn't know, two of our closest friends just got engaged! (one is "the naked guy"). As for us the last few days on Santorini have been spectacular. Yesterday we attended an island and wine tour. All the local wines were pretty good, but Tamara and I weren't too keen on the Vincento. We watched the beautiful sunset from a public bench, while enjoying a gyro and beer (Tamara also enjoyed a couple bird poops... no wonder no one was sitting there!). Today we took an [View Full Entry]

By Fozz man
August 5th 2008

Mystique

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

We have made it to our final resort in Santorini! This area is called Oia you pronounce it E ahhh! It is at the very tip of the Island! A lot slower of a pace than the middle of the city Thira! We had to walk down a ton of steps just to make it to the reception! The bell men here have the toughest job carrying all of the luggage down to the rooms! The hotel is carved into the cliffs/hillside! We had to park our car at the top and work our way down! I told Clay that I [View Full Entry]

By Ericaabuzo
August 4th 2008

Spectacular Santorini

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Lobster lunch
Beachtop restaurant on Thirasia across the caldera from Santorini.

Day 37 It is so hard to keep track of time and dates. Today is Monday, I think, and we are off to Crete this evening. About three hours by boat. We have just spent the final two nights of our island hopping package on the famed Santorini. It truly is quite spectacularly amazing, with the towns perched precariously on the cliff tops. Today there are six cruise ships anchored in the bay below. One gets the impression if another shipped arrived and off-loaded say another 500 passengers into another 10 huge buses the whole show might overbalance and topple into [View Full Entry]

By Xeaman
August 4th 2008

Aug 4. Rhodes to Kastellorizo in Meyelty I, GR

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Rhodes

400 steps to the top Rhodes to Castellorizo, Gr

After some time at anchor we continued our path to Kastellorizo, Gr named after the medieval casttle at the entrance to the villa. [View Full Entry]

Camera works UW Rhodes to Castellorizo, Gr

By Fozz man
August 3rd 2008

We made it to Santorini

Europe » Greece » South Aegean » Santorini

Our car
Okay stop laughing it is the size of my big toe nail!

So we made it here with almost no problems! We decided to take the hydro foil from Crete to Santorini! The total boating time was about 1 hour and 45 minutes but we had to wait and dock at the port for a little while! Not nearly as bad as our J.F.K experience! We sat up in business class which was nice because there was no smoking! We had a small table that we shared with two young Greek guys from N.Y.C! Their family is from Crete and they have been coming here for their entire life! I was trying to [View Full Entry]

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