Since the Syriza Party electoral victory in January 2015 the country has gone through political, social and finial upheavals not seen in recent history. Strikes, protests, public demonstrations and financial brinksmanship have unsettled the usually staid culture in that ancient country where democracy was first invented. What does all this portend for the LGBT community
Male homosexuality and female prostitution were decriminalized in 1951 by the new Criminal Code adopted in 1950 and male prostitution has been legal since May 2006. Anti-discrimination laws have been extended to other spheres of culture including gender identity. Hate speech and hate crime legislation is one of the most rigid and comprehensive in Europe. In 2015, civil unions were legalized for same-sex couples, making households headed by same-sex couples eligible for many protections available to married opposite-sex couples. Legislation against discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of sexual orientation was adopted in early 2005 in accordance with the European Union Directive. Although there is no official recognition of same-sex couples, a 1982 law that legalized civil marriage between “persons”, without specifying gender, allows in theory for same sex marriages; this issue is very contested within the government. Athens has a number of LGBT associations and a developing gay village in the Gazi, Athens neighborhood. A gay pride event, the ‘Athens Pride’ and an international Gay and Lesbian film festival, the ‘Outview’, are held annually. The gay scene in the island of Mykonos and the lesbian scene in Eressos, Lesbos are famous internationally.
Name: Greece
Population: 11216800
Capital: Athens - Pop. 750000
Area: 131990 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Greek
Religion: Greek Orthodox
Status of Homosexuality: Legal
Telephone Country Code: 30
Piraeus and Athens Photo Gallery 2016
Piraeus is the port city adjacent to Athens from which hundreds of cruise and commercial and cargo ships arrive and depart weekly. It was the location for many of the Olympic Games 2004. A new subway was built for the Games and is now used by thousands of passengers a day between Athens and Piraeus.
Mykonos and Delos Islands 2016
These two small islands 120 miles (190 kms) off the coast of mainland Greece are famous for being famous. Mykonos has about 11,000 year-round residents, most of whom live in and around the main town of Chora. The tiny neighboring island of Delos has no permanent inhabitants; it is an outdoor museum of antiquities.
Piraeus and The New Athens Museum
Ancient Athens draws more visitors than modern Athens. The antiquities have a magical draw for people; here the distant past civilization is tangible and visible. It was opened in 2009, five years (late) after the 2004 Athens Olympics. Read about the drama behind the construction: http://www.parthenon.newmentor.net/museum.htm
Greece, Mount Athos Photo Gallery
This World Heritage Site is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Greece, Corfu Island, Achilleion Palace
Corfu is a resort island in the northwest of Greece where Greek mythology once flourished, where European royalty secluded and sunbathed and modern tourists swamp the beaches and hills in the summer season. On a hill overlooking the Ionian Sea is the beautiful Achilieion Palace built in 1890 by Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Bavaria
Greece – Islands
Greece is essentially divided into two halves – the mainland and the islands. This photo gallery is of the islands. (See the mainland gallery here) The Greek Islands are a collection of over 6,000 islands and islets that belong to Greece. Only 227 of the islands are inhabited, and only 78 of those have more
Greece – Mainland
Greece is essentially divided into two hakves – the mainland and the islands. This photo gallery is of the mainland. (See the islands gallery here) Greece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia and Africa. It is heir to the heritages of ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, and nearly four centuries of