What about going to a Hammam in Athens? You will combine elements from classical antiquity, the Ottoman past and a modern city. Since it was under Ottoman occupation between 1458 and 1833, it also had public baths called hammams. When you come to Athens today, you can visit the Bath of the Winds or experience spa services at one of the modern hammams of the city.
March 25th: A Greek National Celebration and Independence Day. Greece has lived through major historical events and the country was involved in many wars: Persian wars, the wars of Alexander the Great, etc. In modern Greek history, from 1821 till of today, two major wars Greece was involved in, were the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire and the 2nd World War. Every year, Greeks remember these historical events with the celebration of two national anniversaries on October 28th and March 25th.
Listen to the Greek text, improve your listening skills, while learning more about Saffron.
Saffron is a delicious spice coming from the Krokos (crocus) flower, is growing in Greece and known since ancient times! Saffron is being used in many different ways: for its flavor in the kitchen, for its color in cosmetics and paint, for its healing properties in the pharmaceutical sector. Cleopatra saw the value of using saffron in cosmetics, in the Old Testament, it was mentioned because of its essence and Aeschylus described it as a way to dye fabric.
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It may be that nowadays the electric car makes quite the impression and is funded by big industrial firms, but in Greece, it was already constructed for the first time 45 years ago! During the summer months, many Omilo students have the opportunity to admire the first Greek electric car, which was built in Syros island.
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Greek Herbs And Spices are natural products, and have been used since Ancient times in Greece. The variety of herbs and spices in the Greek countryside gave the Ancient Greeks the ingredients to flavor their food, as well as the possibility to cure people. This reflected in the famous quote of Hippocrates (c. 460 – c. 370 BC), physician and the father of medicine: “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food”.
Watching TV can be a relaxing as well as fun way to practise your listening skills and learn new vocabulary. This is why we would like to introduce you to a popular Greek comedy series called Στο Παρά 5 (Sto Para Pente; =at five minutes to… which in Greek also means “in the nick of […]
Who could imagine in March 2020, that the whole world would go to “lockdown” due to the Corona Covid-19 virus, and when traveling many times a “quarantine” is requested? All this belonged to history, most of us thought… or the younger generation probably never heard of the word “quarantine” before. S0 let’s see how the quarantine was organized on the Greek island of Syros, in the previous century.
Since 2005, during the summer months, Omilo is organizing its Greek Language and Culture courses on the island of Syros. The Omilo students usually fly to Athens or Mykonos, and from there travel by boat to Hermoupolis, the harbor of Syros island, and the capital of all Cycladic islands.
When you are about to arrive and face the harbor, you have a magnificent view over the hills of Hermoupolis and Ano Syros. When you look to the left, on the southern extremity of the port, you also see a stone building, which once was the island’s quarantine, the “Lazaretto”. Nowadays, the building is beautifully lit at night, so it is easy to spot.
Eugene Trivizas is one of Greece’s leading writers for children. Although he studied law and specialises in criminology, he has published more than 120 children’s books and has become the most well-known and beloved Greek storyteller (or as we’d say in Greek, “paramithas”).
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