World on my postcards

 The most famous island group in the Aegean Sea comprises some of the most beautiful islands in the world! The name “Cyclades” refers to the islands forming a circle (the name in English means: “circular islands”) around the sacred island of Delos. According to the Greek mythology, Poseidon, God of the sea, furious at the Cyclades nymphs turned them into islands.

 For thousands of years now the Greeks have been known for their hospitality. Evidence for this can be seen in the language; the word for 'foreigner' is 'Xenos' and 'hospitality' is 'filoxenia' which translates into English as 'friend to the foreigner'. Being a seafaring nation the Greek people do not suffer from 'xenophobia' which, ironically although a Greek word, doesn't apply to them! they are always friendly and will go out of their way to help you - so don't hesitate to ask for their assistance if you need to. The majority of Greeks speak English or another European language such as Italian, French or German and, indeed, many speak several of these! Being of a Mediterranean temperament, the Greeks like to talk loud, using extravagant body language. Many times in cafes or restaurants the non-Greek may misunderstand this and think they are fighting. No way! It's just Gr...

Interesting Facts about Greece With an area of 50,949 square miles (131,958 square kilometers), Greece is roughly the size of Alabama. The population of Greece is more than 10 million people.—comparatively, the population of Alabama is around 4.5 million. Approximately 16.5 million tourists visit Greece each year, more than the country’s entire population. Tourism constitutes nearly 16% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). c No one in Greece can choose to not vote. Voting is required by law for every citizen who is 18 or older. About 7% of all the marble produced in the world comes from Greece. Greece has more international airports than most countries because so many foreign tourists want to visit. The world’s third leading producer of olives, the Greeks have cultivated olive trees since ancient times. Some olive trees planted in the thirteenth century are still producing olives. i According to Greek mythology, Athena and Po...