Greece

1. Greece KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY-KNOW YOUR WORLD

2. Speaker:

3. Greece is located in Southeastern Europe in a region known as the Balkans. It borders three different seas: Aegean, Ionian, and Mediterranean. In area, it is slightly smaller than the state of Alabama. Greece has mountainous terrain and lots of island chains. It would take about 15 hours of flying with multiple stops to fly from Akron, Ohio to Athens, Greece.

4. Country Quick Facts Full name: Hellenic Republic Population: 10,775,642 (July 2015) Capital: Athens Largest City: Athens Official language: Greek Major religion: Greek Orthodox (official) Life expectancy: male-77.83, female-83.2 Monetary unit: Euro Main exports: food & beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles GNI per capita: $25,700 (2013)

5. Greek History in Brief Greek civilization began around 3,000 BC with the Minoans, who were followed by the Myceneans, who lasted until 1100 BC After this, Ancient Greece entered a Dark Age that lasted until 800 BC, when Greeks began to explore the sea Around 480 BC, a golden age began that became known as Classic Greece, which is when it earned the name of the birthplace of western civilization In 146 BC the Romans conquered the Greek Empire Around 300 AD Greece became part of the Byzantine Empire Early 16th century- came under Ottoman Turk rule Gained independence from the Turks in 1830 In WWI, Greece fought on the side of the Allies, but communism and fascism

6. Greek History continued Greece was occupied by the Nazis in WWII Communism was defeated in Greece in 1949 and in 1952 Greece joined NATO For a short time after, military dictatorship took over but ended in 1974 with democratic elections creating a parliamentary republic 1981- Greece joined the European Union 2001- Greece joins the euro 2009- Greek financial crisis Nazi Occupation of Greece

7. Language HELLO: /ya GOODBYE: /Yi sas YES: /Nai NO: /Ochi THANK YOU: /Efharist YOURE WELCOME: /Parakal PLEASE: /parakalo I LOVE YOU: /Sagap HOW ARE YOU: /pos ste

8. Government Voting age- 18 (mandatory) Parliamentary republic President: Prokopis Pavlopoulos Prime minister: Alexios Tsipras Pavlopoulos (left) and Tsipras (above) were both elected in early 2015

9. Current Issues Debt crisis (see slide on Greek Debt Crisis) Boundary disputes with Turkey in the Aegean Sea Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia Air and water pollution High unemployment, poverty, human rights crisis? Unstable politics

10. Economy Joined the European Union in 1981 Joined the Eurozone in 2001 Tourism provides 18% of GDP Economy went into recession in 2009 (see Greek Debt Crisis slide) Industries: tourism, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining, petroleum Over 100 archeological museums throughout Greece draw the many tourists that contribute to the economy

11. The Greek Debt Crisis Greece had been spending way more money than it had to spend, wasnt enforcing tax collection Government admitted it had been lying about national deficit for years in 2009 after the Global Financial Crisis hit Financial lending in Greece was cut off and it was heading toward bankruptcy 110 billion euro bailout in 2010 by the EU and International Monetary Fund but with austerity measures like large government spending cuts, tax increases, and wage lowering A second bailout brought the bailout total to 240 billion euros Bailout money mostly goes towards paying back loans instead of into the economy so Greece continues to struggle

12. Debt Crisis Continued Many Greeks argue that the austerity measures are harming the economy Recent referendum on whether austerity measures should be done like Europe wants (cut social spending significantly more) or Greece wants (raising taxes) and the Greeks voted for their own way The future of Greeces economy is still uncertain, but Greece will probably continue to struggle to pay back loans on time

13. Currency Euro (currency of the European Union) 1 US dollar=0.92 euro (July 2015)

14. Traditional Dress and Dance There are more than 4,000 traditional dances in Greece https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcDaJ41IWMs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvM-SwMiurk

15. Traditional Food Moussaka-layered casserole with eggplant, minced meat, potatoes and veggies Pastitsio-pasta and meat filling layered and baked In Greece they eat lots of fresh fish because they are surround by seas Tzatziki- creamy, cucumber yogurt dip Spanakopita- Spinach pie with feta cheese Souvlaki- meat skewer with lamb, pork, chicken, etc. Kebabs- minced meat wrapped in pita bread with various toppings Baklava- flaky pastry with cinnamon-spice nut filling covered in syrup Galaktoboureko- custard-filled pie

16. Moussaka (above), pork Souvlaki on a pita with tzatziki sauce (right), and Galaktoboureko (top right)

17. Fun Facts Greece has 15 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in its borders Greece has about 2,000 islands of various sizes! The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece in 1896, as well as the first ever Olympics during ancient times (776 BC) Greece is the third largest producer of olives in the entire world and Greeks consumer more olive oil per capita than any other group of people Mount Olympus is the highest point in Greece and was thought to be the home of the gods and goddesses in ancient times Greece is the only country in the world that receives double its population in tourists Greeks celebrate name days more than birthdays- a name day is the day of the saint that a person is named after

18. Santorini, one of the many beautiful islands in Greece (top left), the Acropolis in Athens is one of 15 UNESCO sites in Greece (top right), Mount Olympus view from Thessaloniki (left)

19. The first Olympic games in modern times, Athens 1896

20. Links https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/geos/gr.html http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/gr. htm

Greece

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