Corfu Carnival

Today is the final Sunday before Lent, which means it's the day of the final Carnival here in Corfu as well as in the rest of Greece. Unfortunately, it's cold and rainy today, which is a bit of a dampener.

The Carnival has its roots in Ancient Greece and in Corfu especially there is a strong Venetian influence from the time of the Venetian occupation. Originally, the carnival developed from the ancient Greek festivals in honour of Dionysios, God of Wine, which took place at the beginning of spring in order to have a good harvest and successful breeding among the animal stock.

Thursday was Tsiknopempti, when everyone eats meat before the forty days of Lent leading up to Easter. In Corfu, we also have what is known as Petegoletsia (The Gossip) which is an old form of street theatre in the Old Town, in which women leaning out of windows overlooking the narrow alleyways exchange gossip about what is going on locally.

In the final carnival (today), King Carnival is 'he who takes on the burden of sins' and is held responsible for whatever bad has happened in the previous year. He is brought to trial and sentenced to death by burning, so that all evil is burnt with him. So, the carnival procession concludes with a bonfire in which King Carnival is burnt, his will is read and music and dancing follow.

Monday is what is called Clean Monday , which is the beginning of Lent. You can find recipes for some traditional dishes that are eaten on Clean Monday here.

Images: Terra Kerkyra

10 Corfu Museums

As part of our series Corfu Lists Of 10, we have here 10 museums on the island.

Archaeological Museum

Built between 1962 - 1965, its initial purpose was to house the archaeological finds from the Temple of Artemis in Corfu. In 1994 it was expanded with the addition of two more exhibit halls that display the more recent finds at the ancient citadel of Corfu.

The Gorgon just before being beheaded by Perseus, as depicted on a pediment from the Artemis Temple.

Image: Wikipedia

Byzantine Art Museum

The Byzantine Museum is housed in the Panagia Antivouniotissa church. The church is dedicated to our Lady Virgin Mary Antivouniotissa (Antivouniotissa = opposite the mountains) and is one of the oldest and richest ecclesiastical monuments of the city.

Image: Wikipedia

Historical and Folkloric Museum

This museum is housed in a traditional house in the village of Sinarades. The first floor is a reconstruction of a typical village house from the 19th century and the upper floor has a collection of Corfiot costumes, musical instruments, agricultural and artisan tools as well as other implements and items.




Kapodistrias Museum

This museum is housed in the summer home of Ioannis Kapodistrias - first Greek prime minister after independence in the early 19th century - in the area of Koukouritsa in his birthplace of Corfu. It has exhibits commemorating his life and accomplishments.

Mon Repos Museum of Palaeopolis

The museum contains fascinating archaeological finds, historical documents, prints and lithographs concerning the use and history of the Mon Repos Mansion as well as a collection of watercolours and botanical samples representing the natural heritage of Corfu.

Museum of Asian Art

The Museum was founded in 1927, when the ambassador Gregory Manos donated his collection comprising some 10,500 works of art. It operated until about 1974 as Sino-Japanese museum. Later the museum was enriched with other collections mainly from mid-Asia and since then has operated as the Museum of Asian Art. The museum often hosts periodic exhibitions.

Museum of Ceramic Art

The Museum houses numerous surviving samples of Corfiot ceramic art, which flourished in earlier times. These samples are valuable works of popular art, distinguished by their simple form, the variety of shapes and their austere painted decoration.


Olive Oil Museum

Located in the traditional village of Kinopiastes, this small museum has a well-maintained traditional olive press as well as authentic items of village life in Corfu.


Serbian War Museum

The Serbian Museum exhibits rare material from the First World War. The Serbian Army, (about 150,000) together with the government, found refuge and compassion in Corfu, after the collapse of the Serbian Front in 1915. The visitor can see photographs from the three years that the Serbians stayed in Corfu, together with other exhibits like, uniforms, arms and ammunition of the Serbian soldiers and officers, Serbian regimental flags, ecclesiastic canonicals and other items of the Serbian priests, surgical tools of the Serbian doctors from the island of Vido in 1916, medals of honor and other decorations of the Kingdom of Serbia and various other items.

Solomos Museum

The National Poet of Greece, Dionysios Solomos, spent the greatest part of his life (1798-1857) in Corfu, where he wrote the greatest and most important part of his work. The house where he lived, worked and died was restored by the Corfiot Studies Society after the Second World War and today functions as a Museum and Centre of Solomos Studies.

Greek Vegetarian Recipes - E-Book

For those of you interested in Greek cooking, I would recommend the new e-book 50 Greek Vegetarian Recipes. Greek cooking is not just roast lamb and souvlaki - there are many delicious dishes that are vegetarian. Follow the link below to download the e-book for just 3 Euros.

Roggia Farm - Corfu

The area of Roggia in North Corfu had been abandoned over the last 30 years until the idea of Roggia Farm eventually came to fruition. Roggia Farm has newly built houses with modern facilities and comfort inside, but which blend into the existing environment. The owners claim - rightly, I believe - that their building intervention did not dramatically change the scenery of Roggia but, on the contrary, added new aura and fresh life to the area.

It is an organic farm with a range of local trees, plants and animals with the aim of applying biodynamic farming in the future. Since 2008 visitors have been able to come and stay at the farm and have the choice of helping with the animals and land or just watching; helping with the cooking or just eating!

The farm consists of a main building plus 3 maisonettes / studios for guests. For those who wish it, daily activities include feeding and cleaning the animals and cultivating, collecting, watering and pruning the vegetables and crops. Other activities, on request, include cycling, walking, horse-riding, yoga and massage and aromatherapy.

On my recent visit to the farm, I was much impressed by the whole environment and the enthusiasm of Nikos and his mother Lina who run it and for whom it is indeed a labour of love. For more information, visit their site here.

Greek Cookery Lessons - Corfu 2010

As those of you who read my blog Authentic Greek Recipes may already know, we are offering Greek Cookery lessons in Corfu next year. You can now get full details of the programmes at the blog Greek Cookery Lessons - Corfu 2010, which will be regularly updated with the latest information.

Early Bird Registration
There is 100 Euros discount for those who book before
31 December!

These are going to be small, friendly groups of 6 people at the most, so we may not be able to accommodate everyone - get your booking in!

Looking forward to seeing you in Corfu next year!

Greek Students Win UN Video Prize

Mariangelina Evilati and Stella Karavazaki - students at the University of Athens - won first prize recently for their short video for the Global Model United Nations contest.

Students participating in the first Global Model United Nations in Geneva were invited to submit a short video highlighting the progress being made in their country, or globally, on one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Students were asked to identify an MDG; outline the steps that have already been taken to meet the 2015 target; identify what more needs to be done; and outline their own plan of action to make sure the target is reached.

Mariangelina and Stella chose "Achieve Universal Primary Education" as their video theme.



Global Model UN 2009 Geneva

United Nations Millennium Development Goals

Lost City Discovered In Greece

The ruins of a submerged town covering an area of 30,000 square metres off the southern Peloponnese in Greece has now been surveyed by marine archaeologists. Although it was discovered by an oceanographer 40 years ago, it is only now that it can be properly surveyed, thanks to digital technology.

Known as Pavlopetri, the sunken settlement dates back some 5,000 years to the time of Homer's heroes and in terms of size and wealth of detail is unprecedented, experts say. It is believed to have been consumed by the sea around 1000 BC. Some are even linking it with the lost city of Atlantis.

"There is now no doubt that this is the oldest submerged town in the world," said Dr Jon Henderson, associate professor of underwater archaeology at the University of Nottingham. "It has remains dating from 2800 to 1200 BC, long before the glory days of classical Greece. There are older sunken sites in the world but none can be considered to be planned towns such as this, which is why it is unique."

Thanks to the fact that the settlement is located in a protected bay and to shifting sands, the explorers were able to discover a world of buildings, courtyards, main streets, rock-cut tombs and religious structures. Thousands of shards of pottery were also discovered in the seabed.

"We found ceramics dating back to the end of the stone age, which suggested that the settlement was occupied some 5,000 years ago, at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought," said Henderson, who co-directed the underwater survey.

"Our investigations also revealed over 9,000 square meters of new buildings. But what really took us by surprise was the discovery of a possible megaron, a monumental structure with a large rectangular hall, which also suggests that the town had been used by an elite, and automatically raised the status of the settlement."

More than any other underwater site so far, the find offers potential insights into the workings of Mycenaean society.

It has yet to be understood why the settlement sank. Theories include sea level changes, ground subsidence as the result of earthquakes, or a tsunami. It is, however, the first time a sunken city has been found in Greece that predates the time that Plato wrote his tale of the sunken continent of Atlantis.

Via: Guardian

George Papandreou - The Right Person At The Right Time?

Now I don't normally get involved in politics - I haven't seen much there to really inspire me, but I do get the feeling that George Papandreou, the new Greek prime minister (seen above arriving at the first ministerial meeting yesterday), is sincerely trying to turn things in Greece. Normally I wouldn't use the words 'sincere' and 'politician' in the same sentence, but here I think the optimist in me is getting the better of the cynic.

He seems intent on changing the understanding of the purpose of a government - that it should be there just to serve, support and respect the people. At the first meeting of the new ministers he invited the head of the Citizens Counsel organisation (an NGO which looks after the interests of the citizens) to come and address the new ministers for 30 minutes, telling them of people's concerns - mainly with the public administration. This, to me, was a bold and innovative move which helped underline that the essence of what they were doing was to serve the people.

He went on to ask the ministers to disband the innumerable committees which have been set up and which seem to have no purpose other than to be a 'nice little earner' for some people and a way to do and return favours. This will save the state about 150 million Euros a year - not a huge amount in the general scheme of things, but good housekeeping nonetheless.

The minister for the newly formed ministry of Environment, Energy & Climate Change, Tina Birbila is highly experienced in the field and an author. It was refreshing to see this young lady relatively casually dressed with her backpack slung over her shoulder at the swearing in of the ministers.

Papandreou is not (comparatively) a party animal (political party). He is open to working with anyone who can help provide solutions. He is also consulting with international experts to help kick-start the dire economy here.

As I said above, I do not like the world of politics but I have so far been impressed. I know it will take a lot for a change in mentality and attitude to filter through all the levels of public administration, especially, but there is a strong feeling that the first steps have been taken. To me it seems that this may be the beginning of a turning-point in this country and that indeed George Papandreou is the right man at the right time.

Image: www.papandreou.gr

European Mobility Week - Greek Immobility Week!

16 - 22 September is European Mobility Week. Hundreds of towns and cities from countries across Europe are participating, except for - Greece! Well, actually, one town is participating (in a half-hearted way) - Lamia. But apart from that, the traffic in Athens will most likely be like the photo below - immobile! 358 towns from Spain, 375 from Austria, 155 from France....and Greece?? Perhaps their minds are all on getting votes at the upcoming national election!

During European Mobility Week people are invited to participate in a wide range of activities promoting sustainable mobility. The campaign theme this year is "Improving City Climates", underlining the importance of local level efforts to tackle climate change and improve quality of life through the promotion of alternative transport modes to the car such as cycling, walking, and public transport as well as clever car use schemes such car-sharing and car-pooling.

By adopting "Improving City Climates" as the 2009 focal theme, European Mobility Week wants to establish a link with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2009 in Copenhagen by demonstrating that citizens and local authorities have a key role to play in the fight against global warming by fostering a radical change away from private car use and towards more sustainable travel. By doing so, they also help to improve the quality of life at the local level.

Stavros Dimas (ironically, a Greek!), Commissioner for the Environment, stated:
"Private cars are large emitters of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. They also seriously affect the quality of urban life. It is therefore important for public authorities and citizens throughout the European Union to adopt more sustainable modes of transport. Doing so would help reduce the impact of climate change and improve the living conditions in our towns and cities."

Last year, Budapest received the top award for its activities in European Mobility Week 2008. You can see a short video about it here.

Socrates Would Definitely Be Turning In His Grave

I previously posted about education in Greece here, but some recent reading has made me want to post again. The reference to Socrates is because 2.500 years ago he was teaching people by asking them questions and encouraging them to think and find the answers for themselves. Something which, ironically, is the opposite of what is happening in Greece today. I say ironically, because we are so proud (rightly so) of him and the other great Greek thinkers of the time and yet are doing completely the opposite. As I said, Socrates would be turning in his grave or, as we say in Greek, 'his bones would be creaking'.

The great Greeks from ancient times really were great minds and thought 'out of the box'. Their legacy can still be seen in so many areas in our life today - medicine, physics, mathematics, education etc. And yet that 'thinking' is the very last thing that children are encouraged to do nowadays.

I was reading an article in a British newspaper which was putting forward the claim that children in English schools are not being taught to think. Now this may or may not be true (I'm sure it probably is), I am not familiar with the English school system, but I thought to myself - if this writer saw the educational system in Greece, what would he say!

Learning as a child to question and to think will help us when we are older to have a society where common sense and intelligence prevail. At the moment, children just learn things parrot-fashion and with a view to just doing what it takes to pass exams. This cultivates a society of people who have learnt either how to just work in the system or how to beat or cheat the system.

The second piece of reading I was doing was from the latest report from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) on Doing Better For Children, including the data Comparative Child Well-Being across the OECD. This shows Greek 15-year-olds third from bottom (above Mexico and Turkey) in literacy and mathematics. They are also third from bottom in the percentage of 15-year-olds who have at least 4 of the basic educational tools (a desk to study, a quiet place to work, a computer for schoolwork, educational software, an internet connection, a calculator, a dictionary, and school textbooks). Greece is bottom in the state financial support of families with one person working and two school-age children.

The education - or rather 'non-education' - system needs a bomb under it. In order to qualify for university or college, nearly all schoolchildren have to go to evening classes or frontistiria. Not only is this wrong because they should be taught what is needed in the school, but also because it means children have hardly any free time and have ridiculous pressure to do homework. It also means that most families in Greece have to spend large amounts of money (which they don't have) every month for something which should be needless.

I cannot believe that people are not out on the streets every day demanding the abolishment of these frontistiria! In a time of such financial difficulty, to have to spend so much money every month for something that shouldn't exist is not only ridiculous but obscene! But people don't do anything - they just accept that it is necessary.

Schools are told by the state what books they should use - nothing is done to develop the creation of a variety of materials for the schools to choose from for themselves. Exams encourage pupils to just learn specific sections by heart and then regurgitate them. You may as well just answer like this - Q1. - Answer: page 34, para 5; Q2 - Answer: page 46, para 2 etc. You can get full marks (20 out of 20 in Greece) for composition/essay and history. How can this be? Is you essay so good it cannot possibly be improved on?

Facts, now more than ever with the internet, can easily be found - it's learning to use them that is not so easy. This is what needs to be encouraged - thinking. This is what made great thinkers in the past great. They took themselves beyond the barriers, they thought 'out of the box' as I said above. If we are so proud of the ancient Greek thinkers, then the best way to express this is by trying to do the same and encouraging young people to do the same.