Already several years have passed, without Mikis Theodorakis…

Mikis Theodorakis, the beloved and internationally known Greek composer,
whose music and political life are also well-known abroad, died on September 2nd, 2021. He was 96.

Theodorakis’ career, which started in his early years, produced a hugely varied body of work.
He has not only composed symphonic music, music for operas, ballet, chamber music, but of course a great number of Greek songs.

Apart from his musical career, he is also remembered by Greeks for his stubborn opposition to postwar regimes and dictatorships.

He will be never forgotten.

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March 25th: A Greek National Celebration and Independence Day, and this from antiquity to today. 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. 

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The town of Nafplion is  a beautiful Venetian town with ancient Greek roots and a lot of history.
It is located in the Peloponnese, at 2 hours driving from Athens.


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Accommodation on Syros island; where to stay?

If you only intend to visit Syros for just a night or two, we’d suggest choosing a hotel in Ermoupoli, the island’s beautiful capital. You’d want to spend at least a day in Ermoupoli, doing sightseeing, and exploring this fascinating city. Also, Ano Syros is a great location to spend two days, but far from beaches, and be prepared to walk a lot of steps.

However, since Omilo organizes
1- and 2-week courses on Syros island, in  Azolimnos, (4 km south of Hermoupolis)
we, therefore, suggest mostly accommodation close to the course location in the village of Azolimnos.

  1. Accommodation which is not online

Students usually do not have or rent a car, so we suggest accommodation at about 500 meters from the course location, and easy to walk to from the bus station or course location.
The suggested accommodation below are places where students stay regularly every year, and are at easy walking distance from the course location.

The Galaksi Pension.
When you are registered for a Greek course with Omilo in Syros (village of Azolimnos), we can book a room for you in the Family pension “Galaksi”.


The Galaksi pension is located on a small hill and has a beautiful sea view and a common garden/terrace. The hotel owners are also living there, so you will have a lot of contact. The owners do not speak foreign languages, so you will have the chance to use and practice your Greek!

Since the hotel owners are used to local Greek tourism and do not have a website, we can book the room for you and take care of the reservation. You find the prices on our website, and you can indicate your arrival and departure dates on the registration form. Info
https://www.omilo.com/course-locations/accommodation-in-greece/#syros
However, there are only 6 rooms, so rooms are usually quickly fully booked.

 

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Of course, there are many other options as well, for every taste and budget. See below

2. Accommodation in Azolimnos, which you can book online

If you prefer to book your own accommodation in Syros, you are very welcome to do so.

Here below you will find an easy search tool to see what is available in the village of Azolimnos and go ahead with booking your accommodation
Note:

a.You’ll find that hotels sometimes remove their listings in the off-season.

b.There will be more complete listings of hotels in Syros between April and October.

c. There are more available hotels and airbnb rooms than we mention below. You can search yourself with the form below



Booking.com

Below are some extra links and suggestions for accommodation in the village of Azolimnos, all at walking distance (between 5 and 10 minutes) from the beach and the Echo House, where the course takes place. So for all the options below, you do not need a car. You can walk to the course location, and use public transport to visit Hermoupolis and other villages/beaches.
Many Omilo students have stayed in those places during previous years and were all happy.

Convenient studios or rooms, all close to the beach,
and at easy walking distance to the course location.

(we only mention some hotel below, which our students have stayed often, and from which it is possible to walk without traffic or on small roads to the beach, bus stop and course location. you do not need to walk on the main road)

 

azolimnos hotels

Pension Cohili

studios with separate bedroom – behind a tavern and mini market, 100 meters from sea and bus stop, bus sea view for rooms on 1st floor

Pension Kois

studios with separate bedroom – and exactly next to Cohili, see above

Rooms Oasis

Located next to the Galaksi Pension, on the same hill.
Rooms, in different sizes. Some are with kitchenette and others without. Some rooms have a sea view, others do not…so make sure you know which room you book. Located at 300 meters from the beach and course location, on a hill. Beautiful sea view from the terrace, as well as from several rooms.
Very quite, since the road stops there, so no noise of any traffic.


Aegeo Studios and Rooms

(Note; Do not confuse this name with the other places mentions below; Aegean paradise and Aegean View Studios.  This name is pronounced in Greek ; „aegeo“)

Located next next to the Oasis and Galaksi Pension, on the same hill, but a bit higher than Galaksi, so you need to walk up,
Rooms, in different sizes. Some are with kitchenette and others without. Very quite, since the road stops there, so no noise of  traffic.
Located at 350 meters from the beach and course location, on a hill. Beautiful sea view from the terrace, as well as from several rooms.

Dias Studios

Convenient studios, exactly opposite to the beach, above a tavern, and opposite to a bar. Nice rooms, but you are at the corner of a street, where also busses pass.
If you are sensitive to traffic noice, or tavern noice, then this is maybe not the best option for July and August.
However, many students have stayed here, and they were all satisfied. Some rooms have sea-view, others not.

Aegean View Studio 1 and Studio 2

Convenient studios, exactly opposite to the bus stop, beach, and above the mini-market. Balcony overlooking the sea and seaside road. During summer it could be noisy, since it is in the heart of the village, and the bus stops in front, but convenient since you have everything you need within 100 meters, with a beautiful view.
Many students have stayed here and were very happy.


Aegean Paradiso

In case you prefer a bigger and more luxurious hotel, with a swimming pool , reception desk and breakfast buffet, then this is a good option. They are located about 150 meters from the beach and behind a minimarket and some houses. It is about 500 meters away from Echo House (where the lessons take place). Rooms are all different, with garden view, or swimming pool view and some with sea views.
(Note from our students; Very nice hotel, very good breakfast, but during July and August, the swimming pool is also often visited by guests and children not staying in the hotel, so it can get sometimes crowded and noisy.)

 

Vivianna’s view

Recently renovated hotels, with luxurious studios, at a quiet location in front of the sea. 500 meters walking distance to the Omilo school,  along the sea-side road.

 

Villa Anemona

4 studios with separate bedroom and kitchenette – quiet, at the end of the road, so no traffic and in front of the sea. The Greek owners are also living there, so you can practice your Greek.
(if you do not find them on booking, then more info on their website at https://www.anemonavillas.gr/ Let them know you are an Omilo student, and you probably will get a reduction (for booking at least 1 or 2 weeks)

 

Below a map with some more info about the locations of the hotels, although you can also find it on booking.com of course

 

 

map of Azolimnos

azolimnos map

azolimnos map

Hermoupolis

Hermoupolis is a great location to stay some days before or after your Greek course.
The beautiful town of Ermoupoli is not only the capital of Syros, but also the administrative capital of all the Cycladic islands.
Founded during the Greek Revolution in the 1820s, it was for a time the main industrial and commercial center of the fledgling Greek state.

As Greece developed, Ermoupoli’s importance declined, but not before numerous neoclassical buildings were designed and built.

Today, visitors marvel at the town’s buildings and aesthetics as they walk the streets. It has a very different look and feel to other towns in the Cyclades. Take your time wandering around the main square and streets, you’ll enjoy it!

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT HERMOUPOLIS, CLICK HERE



Booking.com

Ready to travel to Syros island, and book your Greek course?

Then you might also be interested to read;

ferries from Syros to other islands – CLICK HERE

Syros island, its culture and music – CLICK HERE

Visiting Mykonos and Delos for a day trip – CLICK HERE

 

What does modern Greek history look like?

It’s easy to get caught up with the exciting and dramatic times of Ancient Greece, but the history of the Greek state and nation ever since the Greek Revolution in 1821 (2021 was the 200th anniversary of Greece’s War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire), can be equally fascinating – and stormy!

Click below to read the article in Greek

 

 

The book Ζευγάρια που έγραψαν την ιστορία της Ελλάδας (= Couples who wrote the history of Greece) by Lena Divani is a crossroads between history and fiction. In this book, the author sheds light at the relationships between famous and powerful figures of Greek history, examining their personal lives against the context of the social, political and economic circumstances of their times.

Needless to say, since most of these couples lived in the 19th and 20th centuries, their lives were marked by the Greco-Ottoman war, the creation of the Greek state, World Wars I and II, a civil war, and the Balkan Wars.

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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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Which is the most important meal of the day? Of course, it‘s the breakfast 😉
Although most Greeks do not really eat a big Greek breakfast or any breakfast at all, slowly slowly things are changing. More and more hotels in Greece now understand the value of breakfast and more and more Greeks also start discovering how many products they actually have to enjoy the most delicious breakfast.

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There are animals that survive on the planet for millions of years. One of these species is the sea turtle. Sea turtles live on earth for more than 100 million years. They spend their lives in the sea and they come ashore to lay their eggs on sandy beaches during the appropriate season.
There are 7 species of sea turtles: caretta-caretta, the green sea turtle, the leatherback sea turtle and others.

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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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If you are not able to travel to Greece at the moment but would like to get that feeling again, then why not reading some travel diaries?
And even better…If you are at the advanced level in Greek, then you can also improve your Greek reading and listening skills at the same time.

Below more information about the eBook,
Travel Diaries About Greece, by 19th-century British Writers – Athens, Sparta & Mani.

Adapted and translated by Eleni Maria Georgiou.
Accompanied by the Greek Audio-Book, narrated by Eva Christodoulou (omilo teacher)

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