Facts about Greece

Greek food

What food is Greece famous for?

Greek food is world famous and delicious. Greeks love their food. They love to eat and love to feed others. Greece is one place you’re guaranteed never to feel hungry.

Greek food uses mainly fresh local ingredients such as vegetables, olive oil, lemon juice, various types of fish and meat, as well as grains, and of course oregano.

Famous Greek dishes include moussaka (layers of fried aubergine, minced meat and potatoes, topped with a creamy béchamel sauce), tzatziki (a sauce made from yoghurt, cucumber and garlic), souvlaki or gyro (grilled meat - usually pork - wrapped in a pita bread along with tzatziki, tomatoes, onion, and fries), dolmathes or dolmades (vine or grape leaves stuffed with herby, lemony rice and ground beef, and folded over to create a small parcel), spanakopita (phyllo pastry layered with feta cheese and spinach and flavoured with dill).

Other popular Greeks foods and desserts include: calamari, feta cheese, greek salad, baklava, pastitsio, tiropita, bougatsa, galaktoboureko, loukoumades and much more.

Greek tourism

Interesting facts about tourism in Greece

Greece has been a major tourist destination and attraction in Europe since antiquity, for its rich culture and history, and in recent times for its amazing weather, its many islands, long coastline and beaches, and fun lifestyle and nightlife. Over 30 million tourists visit Greece each year, almost 3 times the country’s entire population, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world

Santorini is the most-visited Greek island. Other popular destinations include Crete, Corfu, Rhodes, and Mykonos. Greece is one of the safest travel destinations anywhere in the world. Crime is extremely low in most big cities (as compared to anywhere else in the world) and it's virtually non-existent on the Greek islands. Greece is a safe travel destination for families, groups, and also solo travelers (solo female travelers too), any time of the year. Best time to visit Greece is between early May and late June, and then late August to early October, when the weather is still very hot but prices are much lower as compared to the busy months of July and August.

The Greek capital

What is the capital of Greece?

Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the oldest cities in the world. The area on which the city of Athens now stands is said to have been continuously inhabited for over 7,000 years. Athens is also the largest city in Greece with a population of close to 4 million people (Greater Athens).

Athens is one of the most famous and ancient capital cities of Europe and holds a special place in the history of Western civilization as it was the home to the first known democracy. Democracy was established in Athens around 500 B.C.

Another interesting fact about Athens is that it has the most theatrical stages in the world. Athens is home to 148 theater stages, more than the West End and Broadway combined!

Greek shipping industry

Greece, a maritime nation

Greece is a maritime nation by tradition. Greek ships make up around 70% of the European Union’s total merchant fleet and shipping is Greece's most important industry.

It may sound surprising for such a small nation, but as of 2015, the Greek Merchant Navy controlled the world's largest merchant fleet in terms of tonnage. Greece is also ranked highly regarding all types of ships, including first for tankers and bulk carriers.

Many Greek shipping companies have their headquarters located either in Piraeus or London and New York City and are run by Greek traditional shipping families which are notable for their great wealth and influence in the international maritime industry, such as the Onasis, Vardinoyannis, Latsis, Livanos, Angelicoussis, Niarchos, Angelopoulos, Marinakis, Goulandris and others.

Greek language

Greek, the world's oldest recorded living language

Greek has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan Peninsula since around the late 3rd millennium BC.

The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language.