Grenada

Grenada, and its sister islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique, are the most southerly islands of the Eastern Caribbean and are located approximately 90 miles north of Trinidad. Grenada is volcanic in origin with tropical rainforests and mangrove swamps contributing to its rich and diverse natural vegetation. It enjoys a tropical climate with a rainy season from June to December and a drier, less humid climate, from January to May.

Grenada was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1498 and named Concepcion. Grenada was later colonised by the French and, in 1763, ceded to Great Britain in the Treaty of Versailles. Grenada became a self-governing Associated State in 1967 and gained independence on 7 February 1974. In 1979 the then elected government was overthrown by the New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop, who formed a People's Revolutionary Government (PRG). Disagreements within the PRG resulted in the arrest and subsequent assassination of Bishop in October 1983. The PRG was replaced briefly by a Revolutionary Military Council. These events led to an intervention by US and Caribbean forces in late 1983 and a return to democracy. The current Prime Minister, the Hon Tillman Thomas, was elected in July 2008.

Grenada's population is mainly of African descent. A few East Indians and a small community of the descendants of early European settlers reside in Grenada. About 50% of Grenada's population is under the age of 30. The official language is English with a few people speaking French patois. A more significant reminder of Grenada's historical link with France is the strength of the Roman Catholic Church, to which about 50% of Grenadians belong. The Anglican Church is the largest Protestant denomination.

The main sources of employment in Grenada are agriculture, construction and tourism. Tourism is Grenada's main foreign exchange earner. The global economic crisis weakened tourism demand.. Remittances slowed down in 2009.. Inflation did rise significantly to 8.2% in 2008 however it has since dropped back to 1.4% in 2009 (EIU)The banking sector is expected to remain resilient, notwithstanding the international financial turmoil, and based on the performance to date of their primarily Canadian parent banks. Some service industries show growth potential, including offshore medical schools, which already play an important economic role in Grenada.

Hurricane Ivan - the worst for 49 years - hit Grenada in September 2004, causing massive damage and destruction. In addition to the dead and injured, 50% of the population were estimated to have lost their homes with 90% of housing stock damaged.

The main export and principal crop is nutmeg but banana, cocoa and fish exports also contribute to the economy. The importance of agriculture has been reduced over the last decade with natural disasters, declining international prices and disease affecting this sector. The Ministry of Agriculture has developed a National Strategy to address the decline in people working in the agriculture sector. Banana growers have benefited by a growing niche market for Fair Trade crops within the UK market, so the sector is expected to survive in the medium term, although this is partly dependent upon the outcome of a challenge within the WTO by Ecuador on the EU import regime. However, overall agriculture is likely to remain weak for the foreseeable future.

Area: 340 sq km; (133 sq miles)

Population: 106,500 (207 EIU est.)


Capital City: St George's (population: 33,734)


Religions: Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%




Currency: Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD) which is pegged at XCD 2.70 to US$1.00

Greece

Located in southern Europe, Greece forms an irregular-shaped peninsula in the Mediterranean with two additional large peninsulas projecting from it: the Chalcidice and the Peloponnese. The Greek islands are generally subdivided into two groups, according to location: the Ionian islands (including Corfu, Cephalonia, and Leucas) west of the mainland and the Aegean islands (including Euboea, Samos, Chios, Lesbos, and Crete) to the east and south. North-central Greece, Epirus, and western Macedonia are all mountainous. The main chain of the Pindus Mountains extends from northwest Greece to the Peloponnese. Mount Olympus, rising to 9,570 ft (2,909 m), is the highest point in the country.

Athens at Night

Church in Siana Village-Rhodes

Indo-European peoples, including the Mycenaeans, began entering Greece about 2000 B.C. and set up sophisticated civilizations. About 1200 B.C. , the Dorians, another Indo-European people, invaded Greece, and a dark age followed, known mostly through the Homeric epics. At the end of this time, classical Greece began to emerge (c. 750 B.C. ) as a loose composite of city-states with a heavy involvement in maritime trade and a devotion to art, literature, politics, and philosophy. Greece reached the peak of its glory in the 5th century B.C. , but the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C. ) weakened the nation, and it was conquered by Philip II and his son Alexander the Great of Macedonia, who considered themselves Greek. By the middle of the 2nd century B.C. , Greece had declined to the status of a Roman province. It remained within the eastern Roman Empire until Constantinople fell to the Crusaders in 1204. In 1453, the Turks took Constantinople and by 1460, Greece was a province in the Ottoman Empire. The Greek war of independence began in 1821, and by 1827 Greece won independence with sovereignty guaranteed by Britain, France, and Russia.

Kokkarisamos

Lindos by night - Rhodes

Rhodes

The protecting powers chose Prince Otto of Bavaria as the first king of modern Greece in 1832 to reign over an area only slightly larger than the Peloponnese peninsula. Chiefly under the next king, George I, chosen by the protecting powers in 1863, Greece acquired much of its present territory. During his 57-year reign, a period in which he encouraged parliamentary democracy, Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, Crete, and most of the Aegean islands were added from the disintegrating Turkish empire. Unfavorable economic conditions forced about one-sixth of the entire Greek population to emigrate (mostly to the U.S.) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An unsuccessful war against Turkey after World War I brought down the monarchy, which was replaced by a republic in 1923

Rhodes city

Area: 131,990 sq km

Population: 10.94 million (2001 census estimate), 11.24 million (2008 estimate)

Capital City: Athens (population approximately 3.7 million)

People: 98% Greek with Muslim minority comprising Turkic people, Pomaks and Muslim Roma. NB: The Greek government states there are no other ethnic minorities in Greece.

Languages: Greek 99% (official)

Religions: Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%

Currency: euro (EUR)

Rhodes Harbour

Rhodes Palace

Samos

Samos 2

Samos 4

Samos 5

Samos 6

Suleiman mosque - Rhodes

Piraeus

Piraeus harbour

Piraeus_Mikrolimano

Thessaloniki-Greece

Salonica-2nd largest city

Ancient Agora

Patras Bridge

Patras Bridge 2

Cathedral of Cathedral of St. Andrew-Patras

Academy

Acropolis-parthenon temple

Amphitheatre_in_Epidavros

Ancient theatre in Athens

Elias_Beach_on_Mykonos

Brainsik-Ermoupoli

Evzones

Evzones 2

Changing of the guards Evzones in front of the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier

Parliament

Zappion

Adana kebab on pide

Souvlaki-plate

The Erectheum

The National Library

The Temple of Olympian Zeus