Daily Archives: October 1, 2015

New Greek crepe shop promises to titillate your tastebuds

Next time you get the craving for a crepe like the ones you find in the Greek islands, you don’t have to go too far.

Mykonos Cafe opened its doors to the hungry public early this month and has already attracted a strong following.

Thomas Deliopoulos and Sylvia Gabriel, the couple behind Kalimera Souvlaki Art, came up with the idea last year during one of their visits to the Cycladic island.

“Some close friends of ours own a famous creperie on Matoyianni (Mykonos town main street) and they encouraged us to open a similar shop in Melbourne.

“Most of the young Greek Australians going to Greece visit Mykonos, so why not try bringing a piece of the island to them here?” says Sylvia.

As she explains, the crepe culture has become quite popular around Greece in the last 15 years or so as either the sweet or savoury choice for locals and tourists alike, especially after a long night of clubbing.

The secret formula for the dough lies in a family recipe a French soldier shared with Deliopoulos when he was found in Kosovo during his military service in the Greek army.

“He gave my husband a beret and this very old recipe as a present. He said his grandfather was running one of the most successful crepe shops in Saint-Étienne, a city in south east France,” explains his wife Sylvia.

With a base made slightly thicker than the classic French batter, the Mykonos Cafe crepe can ‘host’ all sorts of hearty fillings.

In fact, Deliopoulos is currently experimenting with introducing a new entry to the menu filled with eggplant, mince and béchamel sauce which translates to nothing less than the ingredients of a traditional moussaka.

Deliopoulos’ signature dish is the ‘bougatsa crepe’ which takes the beloved pastry to a whole new level, featuring a homemade custard cream.

Littlies can enjoy a nutella and Oreo biscuits delight, while adults can choose from a selection of liquors like Malibu, Kahlua or Grand Marnier to incorporate into their crepe.

Sylvia, who has decorated and painted some of the interior herself, is adamant that it has transformed the place into a Cycladic getaway in the heart of Oakleigh.

“People love it, they walk into the shop and they are just amazed by the setting,” she says.

“It reminds them of Mykonos; the decoration, the floor, the ceiling, every little detail is Mykonos.”

source:neos kosmos

Το Μονόγραμμα του Ηφαιστίωνα ξεχώρισε η Κατερίνα Περιστέρη ως σημαντικό εύρημα χαρακτηρίζοντάς το «συμβόλαιο κατασκευής έργου». Παρουσιάζοντας την πορεία των ανασκαφικών εργασιών στο λόφο Καστά της Αμφίπολης η αρχαιολόγος, υπεύθυνη της ανασκαφής, σε εκδήλωση στην αίθουσα τελετών του ΑΠΘ αναφέρθηκε στις λεηλασίες που υπέστη το μνημείο, ενώ για άλλη μια φορά στάθηκε στη σπουδαιότητά του χαρακτηρίζοντάς το «τεράστιο ταφικό συγκρότημα».

Ιδιαίτερη αναφορά έκανε στις «τρεις επιγραφές που αποτελούν συμβόλαια έργου του ταφικού μνημείου». Σε αυτές αναγράφεται η λέξη «παρέλαβον» και φέρουν το μονόγραμμα του Ηφαιστίωνα.

Σύμφωνα με τον αρχιτέκτονα της ανασκαφής στην Αμφίπολη, Μιχάλη Λεφαντζή, ο Μ. Αλέξανδρος έδωσε την παραγγελία για την κατασκευή του μνημείου στον Δεινοκράτη. Όπως «προδίδουν» οι επιγραφές, το ταφικό μνημείο ήταν αφιερωμένο στον αδελφικό φίλο του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου, Ηφαιστίωνα.

Μιλώντας για τον αρχτέκτονα του μνημείου, η κ. Περιστέρη από την πλευρά της είπε ότι οι αρχαιολόγοι εντόπισαν ευρήματα με τη σφραγίδα του αρχιτέκτονα του Μεγάλου Αλεξάνδρου, Δεινοκράτη, ενώ έκανε λόγο για συγκεκριμένα αρχιτεκτονικά χαρακτηριστικά του τάφου.

Πηγαίνοντας προς το εσωτερικό του, ανέφερε ότι λόγω της σύλησης, στάθηκε «δύσκολο να έχουμε την εικόνα του κυρίως θαλάμου». Σημείωσε, ωστόσο, ότι βρέθηκαν θησαυροί, γυάλινα ελάσματα που μπορεί να προέρχονται από ξύλινο φέρετρο και χρυσά πλακίδια που ενδέχεται να αναπαριστούν νίκες.

Αναφερόμενη στο ιστορικό πλαίσιο στο οποίο εντάσσεται η έρευνα, μίλησε για την Αμφίπολη ως μια από τις έξι πόλεις όπου θα χτιζόταν μεγάλος πολυτελής ναός. Προχωρώντας προς τα ρωμαϊκά χρόνια, αναφέρθηκε στη μεγάλη καταστροφή περιβόλου που το ένα μέρος του αποξυλώθηκε με αποτέλεσμα αρκετά μαρμάρινα αρχιτεκτονικά μέλη να μη βρίσκονται στη θέση τους.

Μίλησε, ακόμη, για τα στοιχεία εκείνα του τάφου που ανασύρουν κάτι από μυθολογική εποχή, συγκρίνοντας το κεφάλι Σφίγγας με το κεφάλι του Διονύσου στο Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο της Θάσου.

Πηγή:in.gr

Since 1974, three generations of Cypriots have lived with the Cyprus problem as a result of their inability to reconcile their demands and formulate a common vision for Cyprus independently of the foreign interests involved in the island.

In the decades that have passed since Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, Turkish Cypriots have succeeded in improving their political position through their relocation in the occupied northern part of the island and the creation of statehood within distinct geographical boundaries delimited by the 1974 ceasefire. However, Turkey’s and Turkish Cypriots’ expectations of international legalization of the spoils of war have not materialized, inasmuch as such a development would have upset the fundamental principles on which the current international order and international law are based. Forty-one years later, Turkish Cypriots have been living in international isolation, and in danger of permanent loss of their identity, whilst their fabricated statehood has not turned them into masters of “their” land. But things could not have been different. That piece of land does not belong only to them, and, in any case, Turkey has made it clear that the real master of that territory is the one who pays. In other words, Ankara is the master of the occupied northern part of Cyprus.

On the opposite side of the Green Line, since 1974 Greek Cypriots have managed to maintain the Cyprus Republic as an internationally recognized state, a member of the United Nations and the European Union. However, this does not tell us the whole story. For instance, the Republic of Cyprus has never promoted either the principles of equality of its citizens nor the reformation of its democratic institutions for the enhancement of its functioning. The deficiencies contributed, inter alia, to its economic collapse.

The prolongation of the Cyprus problem has served the political elites on both sides of the Green Line as the perfect alibi to cover wrongdoings. At the same time, the existence of the Cyprus problem has drained our societies of their creativity and dynamism. After 41 years of living with the Cyprus problem, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have reached their limits.

Under these conditions, the current status quo is not an option on the negotiating table, in the absence of a better solution. In other words, the current status quo, which implies the protraction of the Cyprus problem remaining unresolved and the de facto division of the island, has become the worst-case scenario. Therefore, the time has come for a compromise between the two communities and the pursuit of either an agreed de jure division of the island, or its reunification under a viable solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, and in accordance with the European acquis communautaire.

Those who understand the complexities, risks and uncertainties of a bizonal, bicommunal federal system of governance would probably prefer the option of an agreed permanent de jure division, one that would respond to the necessary territorial adjustments and security concerns of both sides. However, such a solution will finalize and consolidate an artificial division of the island, depriving future generations of Cypriots of the prospect of an environment of creative coexistence. An agreed division of the island into two sovereign ethnic-states could come up as a clean solution; however, the concept of ethnic purity does not fit in with the ideas of a postmodern state.

Therefore, Greek and Turkish Cypriots could either choose reunification and coexistence under a viable, Europeanized state, or a de jure division of the island. The final choice depends on their readiness to realize and formulate their real common vision and interests.

* Melanie Antoniou is a political correspondent for Kathimerini’s Cyprus edition.

source:ekathimerini.com

Greece ranks 81st among 140 states in the global competitiveness chart drafted annually by the World Economic Forum, remaining in the same spot as last year – although in 2014 it was 81st out of 144 states.

The structural problems of the Greek economy combined with the prolonged recession do not allow for the utilization of its assets, such as its highly skilled human resources.

Problems such as the chronic obstacles of the Greek public administration, from bureaucracy to delays in justice, and the adverse international climate have kept Greece at the bottom of the list of European Union countries, trailing even the newest EU member-states.

Greece’s negative fiscal state has predictably led to a loss of competitiveness, as the country ranks 139th – i.e. second to last – according to the criterion of “general government debt,” and 134th according to “access to funding.”

It also ranks 128th in good use of public expenditure and 132nd in the efficiency of justice in resolving differences.

Taxation is another counterincentive for investment in Greece, taking the country to fifth from bottom (136th).

source:ekathimerini.com

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday indicated that Greece’s appeal for debt relief had been received far better in New York than in Brussels, continuing his US visit which included talks with Secretary of State John Kerry.

“The Greek government has found far more open ears [here] than in Brussels for the need for there to be a fair resolution of the crisis and a necessary reduction of the unbearable and unsustainable public debt that has accumulated all those years,” Tsipras told reporters.

He was speaking on the fifth day of an official visit to the US and following meetings with representatives of the Greek-American community in New York who he described as “the best ambassadors for Hellenism in the US, a country which plays the most significant role globally in all the crucial decisions that relate to our country’s future.”

Tsipras said Greeks have been “the victim of choices that led to the gradual erosion of the country’s national sovereignty and to the need for borrowing which resulted in the enforcement of measures which have… weakened the production base and the economy.”

The comments came just a few days before representatives of Greece’s international creditors are to return to Athens for negotiations on the prior actions that Greek authorities must legislate to secure crucial rescue loans.

In preparation for what promises to be a difficult period ahead, Tsipras has made some changes to his team of aides. State Minister Nikos Pappas, a close associate and friend who is with Tsipras in New York, is to oversee the government’s push to draw sorely needed investments while retaining his position as the premier’s chief of staff and monitoring the General Secretariat for Information and Communication.

Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis is to remain in his role coordinating economic and social policy but will no longer be involved in negotiations regarding debt, a task that will fall squarely in the hands of Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos.

source:ekathimerini.com