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Geographical area
131,940 sq km (slightly larger than Alabama, U.S.A). Located in Southern Europe, Greece borders the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas and is situated between Albania and Turkey. Greece comprises a peninsular and about 1400 islands, of which 169 are inhabited. Sitting in Greek territorial waters of some 400,000 sq km, the chains of islands are divided into six groups: the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, the islands of the northeastern Aegean, the Sporades, the Ionian and the Saronic Gulf islands. Greece’s two largest islands, Crete and Evia, belong to no group. The coastline of Greece is some 15,020 km long and no area is more than 100km from the sea. Most of Greece is very mountainous and much of the country is more than 1500m above sea level. The Pindos Mountains run north to south through the peninsular, and are known simply as the backbone of Greece. The highest mountain in Greece is Mt Olympus (2917m).
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Capital
Athens (approx. 3.6 million inhabitants).
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Population
Approximately 10.9 million people.
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People
Greek 98%, other 2%. Contemporary Greeks are descended from a mixture of all the invaders who have occupied Greece since ancient times. With such a small minority of other peoples, Greece probably qualifi es as the least multicultural country in Europe or the EU. The small minority comprises Turks (mainly in Western Thrace), Albanians (many of which are refugees), Jews, Roma (Gypsies) and Asians (mostly Bangladeshi and Pakistani and who reside mostly in Athens). Note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece.
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Language
Greek 99% (offi cial). English, French.
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System of Government
Parliamentary Republic. The monarchy was rejected by referendum in 1974.
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Currency
Euro. EURO 1 consists of 100 cents
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Religion
98% Greek Orthodox. The remainder is Roman Catholic, Jewish or Muslim.
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Exchange rate (September 2007)
1 GBP = EURO 1.48 / 1 USD = EURO 0.74 (subject to fluctuation)
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Time Zones
Greece is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Daylight saving time (+3 hours) is observed from the last Sunday in March to the Saturday before the last Sunday in October.
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Trading hours
Shops (with exceptions from region to region)
0800 – 1430hrs Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. and 0800 – 1330hrs and 1730 – 2030hrs Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Full closure usually on Sunday.
Department stores & supermarkets
0800 – 2000hrs Monday – Friday and 0800 – 1500hrs Saturday, with full closure on Sunday.
Periptera (kiosks)
From early in the morning ‘til late at night.
Restaurants & cafes
Opening hours vary enormously. Lunch is normally from 1100 – 1400hrs and dinner is usually 1900 – 0000hrs. However, restaurants in tourist areas can remain open all day. Cafes tend to open around 1000hrs and close around midnight.
Bars & nightclubs
Bars generally open from around 2000hrs ‘til late, whilst nightclubs rarely open prior to 2200hrs.
Banks
0800 – 1400hrs Monday – Thursday, and from 0800hrs – 1330hrs on Friday.
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Voltage
Standard voltage is 220V; 50Hz AC. Sockets require a Continental or European plug with a small diameter prong (two round pins). |
