Unlike today’s perception of beaches as relaxing vacation spots, the ancient Greeks viewed them as spiritually significant, albeit unsettling, dangerous places linked to death, sterility, and hardship.
Tag: greece
👋 Alò!* Welcome to Friday, where the EU imposes new sanctions on Russia, Donald Trump struggles to tamp down the Jeffrey Epstein uproar, and a famed Austrian daredevil dies in a paragliding accident. We also feature an article on the rise of the “Instagram Sheikhs” — a diverse group of digital-savvy Muslims who fuse Islamic […]
As climate threats increase, thousands of communities become at risk of floods and other natural disasters. Americans have witnessed deadly flooding this month in Texas, New Jersey and New York. Here, we look at those communities around the world that have been relocated after a disaster, or are thinking of changing location to avoid further risks.
Facing protests over the arrest of Istanbul’s opposition mayor, the Turkish government has found its culprits: Greece and Israel, two obstacles to its ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean.
A nation gaining independence, the passing of a key Chinese leader, and a book that sparked a feminist revolution.
An assassination attempt, the founding of a political party, and the death of a disco King.
After an eventful weekend, the author finds himself in need of reconnecting with the most important things in life — with a little help from an Argentine rock ‘n’ roll musician.
Life is a constant transition — and so is parenthood. How do we find balance and meaning in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, asks journalist Ignacio Pereyra in the latest iteration of his “Recalculating” newsletter on parenthood.
Santorini and Paros are among the most visited places in the Mediterranean, a phenomenon that brought to the islands investments from around the world. Now disfigured by the unbridled development of tourism, many of Greece’s most famous islands are under suffocating pressure and concerns are growing among locals.
Updated August 22, 2024 at 11:50 a.m. The Alan Kurdi photograph was taken on this day in 2015. What is the Alan Kurdi picture by Nilüfer Demir? The Alan Kurdi picture is a photograph taken by Turkish photojournalist Nilüfer Demir. It depicts the lifeless body of two-year-old Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi lying face down on […]
Updated Aug. 27, 2024 at 12:20 pm Twenty years ago, Argentina beat the star-studded U.S. basketball team at the Athens Olympics in a major upset. Who were the key players for Argentina in the game against the United States? Several key players contributed to Argentina’s victory against the United States, including Manu Ginóbili, Andrés Nocioni, […]
The death of a 27-year-old hotel worker on the island of Kos, and the subsequent arrest of a suspect from Bangladesh, had set off a firestorm back in Poland that mixes anti-immigrant contempt with victim blaming. One year later, the storm hasn’t quieted down, as the investigation remains open.
Europe’s fate is also being played out in countries outside the EU, where East and West are battling for influence. In Georgia on Tuesday, the government bowed to pressure from Moscow, and passed a law on “foreign influence” modeled on a Russia law.
Updated April 6, 2024 at 10:10 a.m. The first modern Olympic Games took place on this day 1896, in Athens, Greece. Why were the first modern Olympic Games held? The first modern Olympic Games were held to revive the ancient Greek tradition of athletic competition and promote international understanding and goodwill. How many countries participated […]
As Poland considers lowering the voting age to 16, what can other countries’ experiences with reducing the voting age teach us about political trends and ralling young constituents?
For more than 20 years, the Greek NGO Archipelagos has been monitoring the unique ecosystems and desertified areas of the Aegean Sea, the arm of the Mediterranean between Greece and Turkey. A ride along on the association’s main ship, the Aegean Explorer, reveals the effects of climate change, plastic pollution and industrial fishing.
Wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, famines … The news gives us every right to despair – but as the author puts it: “Anyone can be cynical, the challenge is to be an optimist.”
Updated Nov. 20, 2023 at 12:10 p.m. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip tied the knot in a royal wedding in 1947 that sealed the couple together for more than 70 years, including Queen Elizabeth’s record-setting reign. When did Elizabeth and Phillip marry? On Nov. 20, 1947, the bells of Westminster Abbey could be heard ringing […]
Spanish, Italian, Greek, Provençal: in the land of butter and cream, olive oil is all the rage! Buoyed by the wave of the Mediterranean diet, demand has soared in recent years. But production is threatened by drought in Spain, the world’s leading producer.
The Moria refugee camp, located on the Greek island of Lesbos, burned down on this day in 2020. The cause of the fire remains disputed, but it was reported to have started within the camp and quickly spread, resulting in significant destruction What was the Moria refugee camp? The Moria refugee camp was an overcrowded […]
The Greek islands have always been the dream destination of many, with their crystalline waters and wild flora. But there is one attraction that captures the attention of the masses, who clamber on top of one another for the chance of capturing it: the sunset. In the economy of attention and social media, how does sunset tourism affect the enjoyment of our vacation?
Moscow relies on international shipping companies to ship its oil, especially tankers flying the Greek flag. To protect its lucrative business, Athens is resisting tougher sanctions — and thus playing right into Vladimir Putin’s hands.
July 10 – July 16, 2023
Hundreds of people died when a boat carrying migrants capsized on its way to Europe. Eyewitnesses raise serious accusations: were Greek officials to blame for the disaster? And what role does the “smuggling mafia” play? Die Welt reconstructs the events of the tragedy.
Once neglected, this small port in Thrace, northeastern Greece, has become a strategic hub for transporting men and arms to the shores of the Black Sea. Propelled by ambitious infrastructure and gas projects, the region dreams of becoming an alternative to the Bosphorus strait.
Visiting family in Argentina for the first time since the pandemic, Greece-based Argentine journalist Ignacio Pereyra sends some thoughts, from across the ocean, on raising children far from a family and community support network.
Many migrants want to enter the EU via the Greece-Turkey border. Time and again, it is the scene of violence, and the EU border guard Frontex is also said to be involved. Die Welt managed to visit a place that is off-limits for journalists and usually remains hidden from the public.
Staying in a theocracy whose rulers subjugate women was not an option, but trying to get to destinations in Europe and beyond comes with unthinkable perils of its own.
? Ndeewo!* Welcome to Thursday, where drug overdose deaths top 100,000 in the U.S. for the first time, doubts and worries grow about Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, and Apple finally lets users fiddle with their iPhones. Meanwhile, we also focus on 6 female athletes that have joined male teams. [*Igbo – Nigeria] 7 […]
Countries are rolling out increasingly aggressive campaigns in an international effort to vaccinate the world out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two weeks ago, Italy became the first European country to make COVID-19 health passes mandatory for all workers, while others, including the U.S, France and Hungary, have mandated vaccination for federal workers or healthcare staff. […]
In mid-September, fires destroyed Greece’s largest migrant camp, the vastly overcrowded Moria facility on the island of Lesbos. The disaster left some 13,000 already desperate people with no shelter at all, and raises new questions about Europe’s collective responsibilities toward migrants five years after German Chancellor Angela Merkel famously opened her nation’s doors to fleeing […]
The easternmost island of the Dodecanese archipelago is just a stone’s throw from the coast of Turkey, where the president’s neo-Ottoman rhetoric is cause for concern.
Testimony from Afghan and Somali migrants, as well as locals on Greek island of Lesbos, where Europe’s largest migrant camp has burned to the ground, leaving 13,000 migrants without shelter.
The word krisis was coined by the Greeks three millennia ago, meaning “turning point in a disease.” The meaning of course has evolved and expanded since, even if our pandemic has brought the word full circle to its ancient ramifications. In Greece’s more recent history, turning points have come in different forms, at rapid-fire pace […]
Last year 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded globally. In 2020, with borders closed and airplanes grounded, the tourism industry has been decimated and its recovery could take years. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development anticipates a 45% to 70% decline in the tourism economy — amounting to losses between $295-$430 billion for […]
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Ruinous Parking
This shot dates back from the very first of my 11 trips to Greece. My wife (whom you can see in the car) and I had driven our Simca Aronde from France through Italy, then onto a ferry, and up the Epirus mountains — to finally park smack in the middle of the ruins of […]
A Colombian-American deals with different misconceptions in different parts of the world. Ask him who he is before you ask him where he’s from.
Three Colombians ended up in Atena Lucana, Italy, instead of Atenas, Greece.
Categories
A License Plate My Mother Could Love
Over the years, I took pictures of license plates — they’d help me remember where I went without having to write things down in a notebook. But there was a different, more personal reason for photographing this motorbike plate on the Greek island of Corfu: “Ety,” short for Etienne, was what my mother called me […]
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Unexpectedly Lush
You’d expect the mountainous Epirus region, in northwestern Greece, to be somewhat dry. But the shores of the beautiful lake Pamvotis bring some welcome greenery to the inland.