Feb. 24, 2007
About 75% of
Greece
is mountainous and only about 25% of the land is arable. The country falls into four main geographical regions. Northern Greece includes portions of historic Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace. It takes in part of the Pindus Mts. (which continue into central Greece); low-lying plains along the lower Nestos and Struma rivers; and the Khalkidhikí peninsula, on which Thessaloníki, Greece's second largest city, is located. Central Greece, situated N of the Gulf of Corinth, includes the low-lying plains of Thessaly, Attica, and Boeotia; Mt. Olympus (Ólimbos; 9,570 ft/2,917 m), the highest point in Greece; and Athens. Southern Greece is made up of the Peloponnesus. The fourth region of Greece comprises numerous islands (with a total area of c.9,600 sq mi/24,900 sq km), the most notable of which are Crete, in the Mediterranean; Kérkira, Kefallinía, Zákinthos, Lefkás, and Itháki, in the Ionian Sea; and the Cyclades, the Northern Sporades, the Dodecanese (including Rhodes, Évvoia, Lesbos, Khíos, Sámos, Límnos, Samothrace, and Thásos, in the Aegean.
The Greek people are only partly descended from the ancient Greeks, having mingled through the ages with the numerous invaders of the Balkans. Modern vernacular Greek is the official language. There is a small Turkish-speaking minority, and many Greeks also speak English and French. The Greek Orthodox Church is the established church of the country, and it includes the great majority of the population. The Greek primate is the archbishop of Athens, who recognizes the Ecumenical Patriarch of Istanbul. Universities in Greece are located at Athens, Ioánnina, Pátrai, and Thessaloníki.
Greece is a modern European country, with a strong democratic government, and a developing economy.
Much of the population of Greece is concentrated in a few major urban areas, with Athens hosting about one third of the country's population.
The Greek mainland occupies the southern most tip of the Balkan peninsula, and it borders to the East with Turkey, and to the north with Bulgaria, F.Y.R.O.M., and Albania. To the south and the West, Greece is touched by the Lybian sea and the Ionian sea respectively.
The terrain of the mainland of Greece is mostly mountainous while its seas are sprinkled with more than 2000 islands. Historically, such terrain has induced the relative isolation and independence of its various population groups. These groups exhibit unique variations in culture under a homogenous Greek identity rooted in history and Christian religion.
greece History
Indo European
peoples, including the Mycenaeans, began entering Greece about 2000 B.C. and set up sophisticated civilizations. About 1200 B.C., the Dorians, another Indo-European people, invaded Greece, and a dark age followed, known mostly through the Homeric epics. At the end of this time, classical Greece began to emerge (c. 750 B.C.) as a loose composite of city-states with a heavy involvement in maritime trade and a devotion to art, literature, politics, and philosophy. Greece reached the peak of its glory in the 5th century B.C., but the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.) weakened the nation, and it was conquered by Philip II and his son Alexander the Great of Macedonia, who considered themselves Greek. By the middle of the 2nd century B.C., Greece had declined to the status of a Roman province. It remained within the eastern Roman Empire until Constantinople fell to the Crusaders in 1204. In 1453, the Turks took Constantinople and by 1460, Greece was a province in the Ottoman Empire. The Greek war of independence began in 1821, and by 1827 Greece won independence with sovereignty guaranteed by Britain, France, and Russia.
Greece General information :
Capital: Athens
Population: 10.9 million
Population density (per sq km): 80
Population in urban areas: 60%
Area: 131.957 sq km
Coordinates: 39 00 N, 22 00 E
Language: Greek
Major religion: Orthodox Christian
Life expectancy: 76 years for men, and 81 years for women
Healthy Live expectancy: 75.4 for men, and 69.0 for women
Infant mortality rate (per thousand live births): 6.1
Average annual population growth rate (1995-2001): 0.27
Marriages (per 1000 people): 4.3
Divorces (per 1000 people): 0.9
Average household size: 3
Fertility rate (2000): 1.32
Percentage of women in labor force: 40
Percentage of female students: 59
Literacy: 97.5% of the population age over 15 can read and write
Greece
was a charter member of the UN and became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1951. A military junta seized power in April 1967, sending young King Constantine II into exile. Col. George Papadopoulos, a leader of the junta, gradually attempted to modify his hard-line right-wing image. A coup ousted Papadopoulos in Nov. 1973.
Greece city :
Aegina Island , Aghios Nikolaos , Agia Pelagia , Agios Ioannis , Agios Nikolaos , Agistri Island , Alexandropoulis , Amorgos , Analipsis Hersonissos , Ancient Olympia , Andros , Argassi , Argassii , Argostoli , Asprovalta , Athens , Benitses , Carousades , Chalkidiki , Chalkis , Chania , Chios , Corfu , Corfu Island , Crete , Crete Island , Dassia , Delphi , Edipsos , Egina , Egion , Ekali , Elounda , Emones , Eressos , Eretria , Ermioni , Evia , Fira , Florina , Galissas Syros , Gastouri , Georgioupolis , Glyfada , Glyfada Athens , Karlovassi , Kassandra , Naxos , Naxos Island , Nea Anchialos , Halkidiki , Hania , Heraklion , Heraklion Crete , Heronissos , Hersonissos , Hydra , Hydra Island , Ierapetra , Ioannina , Ios Island , Island of Mykonos , Ithaca , Ixia , Jsi , Kalamaki , Kalambaka , Kallithea , Kamari , Kanoni , Kavala , Kavos , Kefalonia , Kefalonia Island , Kifissia , Knossos Palace , Komotini , Kos , Kos Island , Kyllini , Laconia , Laganas , Lasithi , Lassithi , Lefkada , Lefkada Island , Lefkimi , Lerapetra , Levkas , Lindos , Loutraki , Matala , Mati Attikis , Megalohori , Monemvasia , Moraitika , Mykonos , Mykonos Island , Mykonos Town , Mytilini , N Smirni , Nafplio , Nafplion , Nikiti , Nikolaos , Oia , Olympia , Paleokastritsa , Paralia Katerini , Paros , Paros Island , Patmos Island , Patras , Peania , Pelekas , Pelion , Pelloponese , Piraeus , Pireaus , Planos , Platis Yalos , Porto Heli , Proteas , Pyrgos , Pythagorion , Rafina , Rethimno , Rethymno , Rethymnon , Rethymon , Rhodes , Rhodes Island , Samos , Samos Island , Santorina , Santorini , Santorini Island , Sifnos , Sissi , Sivota , Skiathos , Skiathos Island , Skiros , Skitphos , Skopelos Island , Sounio , Sparta , Sparti , Spata , Spetses , St.george , Stalida , Svoronata Kefaloni , Syros Island , Thassos , Thera , Thessalonika , Thessaloniki , Varkiza , Viglia Attica , Volos , Vouliagmeni , Vrahati , Zakinthos , Zakynthos , Zakynthos Island
