March2017

March 2017, Issue No. 43 www.cretepost.gr

the CHANIA POST Reach thousands of readers every month

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Offering a selection of local interest articles, interviews, news and views from around the region of Chania and Western Crete

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Ryanair launches Chania Winter 2017 schedule DER TOURISTIK: Greece boom as Germans book early.

Heavy demand for Crete

Greece is a clear destination winner this year and demand for Egypt is recovering strongly, German tour operator DER Touristik said in an upbeat overview of current booking trends.

Chania authorities have another go at enforcing smoking ban

The prefectural unit of Chania an-

nounced last week its decision to intensify checks on catering outlets and other public places with the view to ensure that the non smoking regulations are not violated.

Fines of 50 – 500 are planned for smokers while the managers of establishments where smoking is allowed can be penalised with fines between 500 and 10000 euro.

Chania prefecture reminded residents, visitors and businesses of their responsibility to protect the public from the effects of secondary smoking.

Fraport Greece to Take Over 14 Greek Airports on March 15

German Tour Operators See Surge in Bookings to Greece

With only two weeks to go until the opening of this year’s ITB Berlin travel show, leading German tour operators have informed that demand for travel to Greece this year is on the up.

Researchers from Crete, Russia and Kazakhstan Find a Way to Enhance the Effectiveness of Laser Systems

An international group of researchers from Russia, Greece and Kazakhstan made an important discovery for enhancing the effectiveness of lasers, including those used in medicine. The results of their project have been published by Scientific Reports (part of the Nature publishing group).

Canyoning on Crete

German-Greek consortium Fraport Greece will officially take over the management of 14

regional airports in Greece on March 15, an official of the company told Reuters news agency.

The consortium of German transport company Fraport and Slentel (a unit of Greek energy Copelouzos Group) inked a 40-year contract in December 2015 with the Greek state to manage the airports at 14 regions across Greece that include three mainland gateways (Thessaloniki, Aktion, and Kavala) and 11 airports on Greek islands (Chania on Crete, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos).

The Cretan Canyoning Association started operations in the beginning of 2007 with the purpose of mainly educating young people according to the standards of French and Italian canyoning schools.

Greek wine industry needs to recruit specialized professionals

That’s what Angelos Iatridis, winemaker and co-owner of Domaine Alpha Amyntaio Florina told ANA.

The traditional Cretan custom of “Hirosfagia” (The Christmas Hog) revived in the Botanical Park at Fournes, Chania

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is the Best Affordable and Safe Way to Travel to Chania, Rethymno, Heraklion and to all villages of Southwestern Crete

Photo of the month

by Stratos Solanakis

CHANIA POST

Your local free paper by FTP Publications 73, El. Venizelou str., Chania, 73100 Tel. +30 6977 295075 Owner/Publisher: FTP Publlications Web: http://www.chaniapost.eu E-mail: info@chaniapost.eu FB: http://www.facebook.com/chaniapost Twitter: @chaniapost Editors: Pandelis Giaitsis, Elpida “Hope” Katsarakis, Pandelis Spiridakis, Miltiades Markatos, Giannis Venetakis, Giannis Xamonakis, Petros Marinakis, Antonia Tsakirakis., Giorgos Atsalakis, Stavros Tsihlis, Manolis Karpadakis, Katerina Polizou.

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Live @ Love @ Laugh March your world with a bit

p. 2

editorial

of trips, communication and smart well living->Rethymno is starting to put the colours in its landscape. Red Flowers, yellow sunshine, blue sky reminds that the season is getting really close ...

My Spring Roller People ...Live it for Good ! Roll throughout your very special spring...It really works I’m telling you!

Laughter , communication and hanging around Rethymno is the best Life Sharing to Feel!

That’s the trophy. And good brains create it!

That was the characteristic old-

er people invested in neighbours, in the friends gathered together Weather is tickling us to get out of the house , fix the garden , go for new planing ideas Mission CLOSET is also a good thing to do now – Where is your first spring Tshirts ?

Start digging , cause you will suddenly need one…

The fact is that everything this season starts glowing, people smiling more , going out more , flirting more.

The truth is that this is the month that starts everything – we throw away swaters

Find CHANIA POST at the following points:

by Pantelis Spiridakis

CHANIA Municipal Market, Airport, Public Bus Central Station, Old Harbour, Municipal Tourist Information Desk

and heavy clothe – we get rid of negative and self centerd face looks PLATANIAS Square Infokiosk, Botanical Park – you watch people paint- Central

ing, yelling , fixing their stores KISSAMOS Gramvousa and Balos boats, Elafonissi, for the summer season Falassarna – you start having your first coffee sitting down at the KANDANOS-SELINO Paleochora Info Desk, Sougia, Kandanos pavement of the old City of SFAKIA Rethymno Hora Sfakion Infokiosk, Loutro, Agia Roumeli, – you remember again ANENDYK boats that you adore walking at the APOKORONAS picturesque, medieval streets Georgioupoli, Kavros, Vamos, Kalyves, Vrysses of the Venetian old Town the Also in Chania taxis, Limnoupolis Water visitor can find the Rimondi Park and in selected cafes, businesses and Fountain (built in 1926), the Ve- shops throughout Chania Prefecture. netian Loggia (today here are works of art), the Venetian Gate sold reproductions of Classical (Porta Guora) – Another thing I photographing the colourful, renovated Venetian buildings and the public spaces in such a romantic atmosphere, a mixture of Venetian, Turkish and Modern Greek architecture Local people : older , middle aged and youngs follow every March the procedure of believing that the Better is coming.

Expecting isn’t their attitude, believing is their LifeStyle So Let It Be Bright...

Since the first tourist groups arrive in Rethymno after 20 March...

Two main hotel groups are filling with our first visitors according to their reservations Enjoy the ‘’more’’ Month , prepare yourself to live it ‘’more’’!

Let the Spring find you ready , happy and cruel for adventure and easy going days Salut guys and ...watch out your best moments , the exact minute they are coming out of your head!

Fraport Greece to Take Over 14 Greek Airports on March 15 What You Have to Know German-Greek consortium

tion equipment (about 1,600 euros per firefighter). In addition, costs for the regular training of firefighters will be borne by the company.

As stipulated in the concession agreement, Fraport Greece is responsible for the provision of fire services at the regional airports, either directly or through a contracted professional fire-fighting organization.

The high level of collaboration between Fraport Greece and the Greek State and, more importantly, the high professional standards of the Hellenic Fire Service (HFS) prompted Fraport Greece to expand cooperation with the State through this new contractual agreement,? the Fraport Greece signs deal for company said in a press release. fire-fighting services in 14 re- The deal was signed by Citigional airports zen Protection Minister Nikos Fraport Greece signed an Toskas and Finance Minister agreement with the Greek State Euclid Tsakalatos on the Greek to provide fire-fighting services side, and CEO Alexander Ziat the 14 regional airports it will nell and COO Ian Matheson for soon control and operate under Fraport Greece. a 40-year concession.

A total of 540 firemen will be de- Obstacles remain in transfer ployed at the 14 airports by the of 14 regional airports’ manHellenic Fire Service (HFS) and agement to Fraport-led conthe Hellenic Air Force (HAF), in sortium accordance with national and A final agreement between international regulations and all three sides involved in the standards including ICAO (In- concession for 14 regional airternational Civil Aviation Orga- ports around Greece — the nization). Fraport Greece will Greek state, the German-Greek pay 10.5 million euros per year consortium that won an interfor staff services, plus an annual national tender, and lenders management fee of 4 percent — remains pending, after three of this amount. consecutive postponements to HFS will provide 502 firemen finalize a deal. who will serve at 13 of the re- An unofficial deadline of March gional airports. Fraport Greece 15 emerged last month for the will also sign a separate con- Fraport-led consortium to astract with the Hellenic Air Force sume the management of the to provide 38 firemen at Aktion 14 airports, with a relevant Airport, the fourteenth loca- government minister stating tion. Fraport Greece will also publicly that a postponement cover transfer costs of 800,000 of the official handover of a few euros for relocating fire-fight- weeks – from late February to ing staff to the various airports, mid March — was requested by as well as some 800,000 euros the consortium. for replacing personal protec- According to reports, Fraport

executives met with privatization fund officials and Alpha Bank representatives in London last month in order to resolve issues revolving around collateral guarantees for necessary financing to conclude the agreement.

A privatization fund (TAIPED or HRADF) official maintained recently that there is no issue of the state acting for more news click on http://cre tepost.gr as an underwriter for loans eyed by the consortium, saying that whatever borrowing sought by Fraport will involve its own backing and guarantees.

A lesser obstacle to emerge on the path to the transfer is a disagreement over who will cover the cost of health services that must operate at the 14 airports. According to reports, the health ministry has demanded that costs be covered by the new management, whereas the consortium insists that the Greek state continue to cover health care services at airports, as it currently does.

The credit line for the consortium’s financing needs is provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Restructuring and Development, the International Finance Corp., a subsidiary of the World Bank, the Black Sea Trade & Development Bank (BST&DB) and Athens-based commercial lender Alpha, a systemic bank. However, the borrowing goal by Fraport Greece of 900 million euros has not yet been reached, according to a report.

The transfer of the management of the 14 regional airports, a landmark privatization in Greece, was mandated by the third bailout agreement with Greece’s creditors. with info from: - news.gtp.gr - naftemporiki.gr - ERT

p. 3

Fraport CEO confident of 14 Greek regional airports’ growth potential Fraport Greece CEO Alexander Zinell expressed confidence in the growth potential of the 14 regional airports around Greece whose management the German-Greek consortium will soon assume. Τhe German executive referred to “tremendous” potential for both the facilities’ growth as well as the destinations they serve, a handful of whom are the country’s best-known tourism attractions.

Speaking during a briefing roughly a month before the Fraport-led consortium takes over the airports — a landmark privatization in the country — Zinell reiterated that the company has committed to investing at least 330 million euros during the first four years of the concession, on top of an up-front payment of 1.2 billion

euros to the Greek state.

Several stakeholders attended and participated in the briefing, including representatives of Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority, state and law enforcement officials, as well as commercial partners.

“With the 14 Greek regional airports, we are launching a new era, in terms of operation and governance, as well as customer service. We want to operate and develop the airports to better serve these destinations and Greece overall, and to grow the airports hand-in-hand with their respective communities and regions …” the Fraport Greece CEO said.

news & articles

Fraport Greece will officially take over the management of 14 regional airports in Greece on March 15, an official of the company told Reuters news agency.

The consortium of German transport company Fraport and Slentel (a unit of Greek energy Copelouzos Group) inked a 40year contract in December 2015 with the Greek state to manage the airports at 14 regions across Greece that include three mainland gateways (Thessaloniki, Aktion, and Kavala) and 11 airports on Greek islands (Chania on Crete, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos). Τhe 14 regional airports were expected to come under Fraport’s management this month. However, the takeover date was changed due to incomplete implementation of technical requirements.

“Greece and Fraport Greece have agreed that the implementation of the concession agreement is planned for March 15”, a Fraport official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The deal, considered a landmark privatization agreement, consists of an upfront payment of 1.234 billion euros and an annual payment of 22.9 million euros in lease payments for as long as the concession runs.

Ryanair launches Chania Winter 2017 schedule Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 air-

line, launched its Chania winter schedule (2017), with 3 routes to Athens, Paphos and Thessaloniki, which will deliver 1m customers p.a. and support 750* jobs at Chania Airport.

Ryanair’s Chania winter 2017 schedule will deliver: • 3 routes: Athens (3 daily), Paphos lick on c s (3 wkly) & Thessaloniki w re ne r for mo retepost.g /c (daily) http:/ • 28 weekly flights • 1m customers p.a.

• 750* “on-site” jobs p.a.

Ryanair will continue to connect Chania with Athens on a three times daily service, and with Thessaloniki on a daily service, on the lowest fares, making Ryanair the ideal choice for Cretan business and leisure customers.

Ryanair’s Chania summer 2017 schedule is attracting record bookings, as more tourists book to the Mediterranean this summer, on lower fares as Ryanair passes on lower fuel costs, and an even better customer experience, as it continues to roll out its “Always Getting Better” im-

provements.

In Chania, Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said: “We are pleased to launch our 2017 Chania winter schedule, with 3 routes to Athens, Paphos and Thessaloniki, which will deliver 1m customers p.a. and support 750* jobs at Chania Airport. These routes will go on sale on the Ryanair.com website today as we continue to grow Greek traffic, tourism and jobs, underlining our commitment to Greece.

We are also pleased to report record bookings on our Cha-

nia summer 2017 schedule and Greek customers and visitors can look forward to even lower fares so there’s never been a better time to book a low fare flight on Ryanair. We urge all customers who wish to book their holidays to do so now on the Ryanair.com website or mobile app, where they can avail of the lowest fare air travel to and from Chania. *ACI research confirms up to 750 ‘on-site’ jobs are sustained at international airports for every 1m passengers

Welcome back, madam… for the 39th time Would

you take the same holiday twice? Sheila Crook has been going to the same hotel on Crete since 1991 — and she’ll be there this summer, too.

In May this year, Sheila Crook will walk through the main entrance of the Elounda Mare hotel, in Crete, and be welcomed with great fanfare and enthusi-

asm by all the staff.

And she deserves it: this will be her 39th visit. If that’s not a repeat-holiday record, we’d like to know who can beat it.

She first went in 1991. She liked it. In fact, she liked it so much that she’s been back almost every year since — often twice a year.

The Times

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news & articles

US troops allowed carry guns through Shannon to Kuwait via Chania Airport The Minister for Transport,

Tourism and Sport has confirmed that permission was granted for US military personnel to carry guns on a flight through Shannon Airport earlier this month.

Minister Shane Ross has told Dublin North independent TD Clare Daly that an ‘exemption’ was granted to troops on board a civilian airliner that made a refuelling stop at the mid-west airport on February 13th last.

The aircraft, operated by Miami Air International, continued to Kuwait City later in the day via Chania in Crete. The flight arrived in Shannon using a civilian call sign but departed with one used by the US military.

Deputy Daly had asked the minister whether the flight

had “sought and received permission to transport soldiers, weapons or munitions.”

The minister has told Ms Daly: “The airline operating the flight referred to by the Deputy applied for an exemption under the Air Navigation (Carriage of Munitions of War, Weapons and Dangerous Goods) Order 1973.

My Department carried out the standard consultation procedure in relation to the application and an exemption was granted for the flight.

This exemption was for the unloaded personal weapons of the troops on board the aircraft.”

A spokesman for Shannon-

watch, a group that monitors foreign military aircraft movements at Shannon, said: “The fact that contract/civilian aircraft are carrying weapons is making a mockery of the requirement that military aircraft should not carry weapons.”

The Clare Herald

Imagine...

Spring

is around the corner.

And every year around this time people start to go out

by Yannis Xamonakis apokoronasnews.gr more, to the warm bright sunshine to enjoy the stunning views of the snow capped mountains, the light sky and the endless blue of the sea that together make this part of Crete unique.

With the first green shoots of the spring and well before the swallows, the residents who winter in the North begin their return, and in time, contact with old friends and acquaintances from last n o k year are being re-estabr s clic re new cretepost.g o m r / fo lished. http:/ A birthday celebration in a local taverna provided a good opportunity to catch up with those early returners and some of the hardier residents who have endured the Cretan winter unscathed.

Sitting by a log fire with a distant but intense smell of cigarette smoke wafting across from the other end of the restaurant, we discussed and made our observations about what has changed and what

has remained the same, the latest on the ongoing crisis, Grexit, Brexit and the fire exit, and yes the smoking ban is still not enforced despite what you may have read in the papers.

Eating the fine, simple local food and drinking good wine while talking and gossiping we built a picture of who has left, who is not returning and who are the new people who have or are about to arrive.

And some sad losses are unfortunately to be expected at our age group.

“Imagine” said one of our friends, “the smoking ban was enforced. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Our friend had recently returned from the UK where the smoking ban has already saved many hundreds of lives, and where people find it difficult to understand why something as simple as a smoking ban, put there to protect the health of smokers and non smokers (who are now the majority in Greece), meets with such fierce resistance from the locals who are happy to comply with a

number of other oppressive rules, regulations and laws that seem – and are -- to say the least, unreasonable.

But anyway, that’s how it started.

And a little while later, the floodgates of imagination opened.

“Imagine having good roads, and a proper national road with a reasonable and appropriate speed limits” said another of the people on the table.

“And good road signs, free of graffiti”, chipped in a third “How hard can it be?” several of our friends wondered and added a list of other simple things that work everywhere else.

And that without even going down the road of wishing for parking restrictions and the establishment of double yellow lines to ease the summer traffic problems.

But seriously, imagine what it would be like to have clean roads and public places, a decent public transport service, proper care for stray animals, a shopping mall and stores with good customer service, film

matinees for cold wet afternoons, fuel at prices comparable to those in the rest of Europe, some ethnic restaurants to complement the excellent local cuisine, lower VAT, all year round low cost flights, a well lit national road, underground power and telephone cables, town planning that develops roads and provides utilities before the villages expand uncontrollably with the building of new properties. rather than wait for roads and utilities to come after the building has finished, an economic development strategy that allows new business activity, job opportunities for young people, an infrastructure for alternative tourism, Sunday opening of large stores.

And now, imagine that you could have all that here in Crete.

You would not thing it would be that hard to imagine and even to make it happen.

But unfortunately, at the moment, is just the stuff for isolated dreamers in a local taverna talking under the influence of alcohol.

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news & articles

DER TOURISTIK: Greece boom as Germans book early. Heavy demand for Crete Greece is a clear destination makers have learned,” Herzog in comparison to weak book- Sundair. Mainstream brands ITS, winner this year and demand for Egypt is recovering strongly, German tour operator DER Touristik said in an upbeat overview of current booking trends.

Germans clearly want to travel this year despite all the events of last year which combined to dampen demand, according to the country’s third-largest tour operator. “The events of 2016 have not put a brake on Germans’ desire to travel,” declared René Herzog, CEO Central Europe.

Like in 2016, Germans are continuing to switch from the Eastern to the Western Mediterranean this year, and are booking early to secure their preferred hotels and travel dates. “Holiday-

explained. “In countries where guests feel safe, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, there were already (capacity) bottlenecks last year. As a result, these destinations are being booked even earlier now.” Moreover, Germans are competing for capacity with other source markets, such as the UK, as well as with domestic holidaymakers, he pointed out.

In terms of individual destinations, demand for Greece holidays is soaring, and DER’s bookings for the country have doubled compared to the same time last year, with heavy demand for Crete, Rhodes and Kos. In contrast to Spain, prices for Greece are stable compared to last year.

In addition, Egypt is seeing a dramatic comeback, although

ings last year. “Incoming bookings are continually higher than last year,” commented Herzog.

Spain, Portugal and Italy are all very popular at present while Cyprus and Bulgaria are also seeing good demand. In contrast, Germans are still “holding back” with bookings for Turkey and Tunisia.

However, Herzog remained optimistic about prospects for Turkey, predicting: “We expect demand for Turkey to improve during the year as other regions fill up and also the more attractive the prices are.”

In response to these trends, DER Touristik has increased capacity for popular destinations by contracting additional flight capacity with various carriers including Eurowings, Norwegian and

Jahn Reisen and Travelix have added more than 250 flight connections to Spain, including 159 to Majorca, Greece, Portugal and Italy as well as to Malta and Croatia.

Long-haul destinations are also selling well, the group said. Winners for summer 2017 include Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Dominican Republic and South Africa along with the USA. “We cannot see any decline (in bookings) after the Trump elections,” Herzog declared. “On the contrary, DER Touristik has strong bookings and we expect a strong summer for North America.” The tour operator has maintained stable prices despite the strong US dollar.

FVW

…where nature embraces the senses

The only one of its kind in Europe

το μοναδικό στο είδος του στην Ευρώπη

H

The area was reborn from its own ashes after the great fire of 2003.

undreds of different types of fruit trees, herbs and flowers in a uniquely landscaped area, offering you the opportunity to experience and get to know the blessed island of Crete in the most ideal way.

W

e are waiting for you in an area of approximately 200,000 m² to discover trees from all over the world, bearing edible fruit, as well as herbs, medicinal and ornamental plants.

www.botanical-park.com

A

n entertaining, educational park, ideal for walks.

Crete… a small continent

T

he area of the Botanical Park of Crete, 18 km from the city of Chania, at the foot of the White Mountains with its terrain and microclimate becomes a unique paradise for thousands of cold- and warm-climate plants!

T

he restaurant of the Botanical Park of Crete combines the revival of traditional recipes with cooking methods such a s t he he a rt h, wo o d burning oven, baking plate, etc, and flavours and products from the rich ground of the park such as vegetables, fruits, greens, garden produce, pulses, cheeses and bread... all flavoured with herbs from the park.

18th km of the National Road Chania-Omalos, Chania, Crete, Greece tel. +30 6976 860573

Erysichthon

It requires no

p. 8

news & articles

great effort for someone to act like his ancestors, for

by Panagiotis Terpandros Zachariou it comes to him/her naturally. Many Greeks have been accused of being obsessed with their ancestors in that their pride rests solely in their regurgitation of the deeds and creations of their forebears without creating much themselves. ck on li c r s Of course there are the .g re new epost for mo ttp://cret h exceptions of those who convert this pride creatively, perpetuating the merits of the glorious past. However, there are more than a few who, due to a deeply rooted complex, polemically dismiss the idea of having anything to do with the ancients fearing the effort one must apply to prove worthy of a Socrates or a Leonidas. Nonetheless, one can easily strip them of the arguments they produce to excuse their developmental inertia. The favourite quibble of these modern Greeks is the attribution of all the plights that form their catastasis to the Turkish yoke of old.

“Those Turks are to blame for everything…” reverberates the commonly heard anathema. It is as enervating as the relentless moaning of those in the Middle East over their persecutions in times past to justify their violence towards their neighbours.

Every nation has had its dark moments of history while its members can boast of a voluminous list of historical figures to choose from if it is identity they seek (for better or for worse). In the case of the Greeks, one simply needs to understand that in the midst of men like Leonidas (the Spartan King who stood to the death against an overwhelming Persian force at Thermopylae) there has always lurked an Ephialtes (traitor who revealed to the Persians the trail to outflank Leonidas and his men); for every Socrates there have always been crowds who would unjustly condemn him for his convictions and for every Diogenes (cynic philosopher who decried consumption and materialism) there have always been innumerable Erysichthons.

Therefore, if someone feels he must attribute his ‘cretinism’ or cultural inadequacies to those foreign ‘others’, let him at least feel some national pride in that there is a surplus of local refer-

ences for one to relate to. In the case of many modern Greeks, what good are imported eastern models when the range within their ‘ancestry’ caters for every taste?

Keeping all this in mind, it seems that Erysichthon would be the most likely model for an ever increasing number of people in the developed countries of the West, many modern Greeks being no exception. In order to understand the connection, it is worth giving a brief account of Erysichthon’s story since his fate is intimately connected with the one unraveling for us.

Erysichthon, son of Triopas, was king of Pelion in Thessaly. He liked consumption so much, that he overindulged to the point of ignoring all else; including the respect he ought to have shown towards the gods.

His oblivion was filled with the banquets his subjects held for him.

However, he considered his palace inadequate in size to accommodate his symposiums, and so decided to extend it by building a huge dining hall.

In the vicinity there was a thicket of trees dedicated to the goddess Demeter, which had been planted in her honour by the Pelasgians. Erysichthon did not hesitate to take twenty servants with him to this shrine to acquire the timber required for his project. In vain did Demeter appear before him in the form of a priestess to remind him that the trees were sacred. But in fact, he threatened to kill her with the axe he wielded if she attempted to obstruct him.

In the end, the gluttonous monarch had his dining hall built, but the cost was tragic.

Demeter cursed him to always have an insatiable appetite. The more he ate, the more ravenous he became. The cooks could no longer keep up with his demands, nor could the wine bearers pour him enough wine to quench his thirst. He led his kingdom to ruin having fed on all the domesticated herds and ended up devouring his own hands.

Hasn’t modern man perhaps fallen into the same state of oblivion regarding the true values in life? Is it perhaps that we too are trying to fulfill this void with unbridled consumption?

Demeter may have already put her curse on us as well for the forests we have laid to waste whether by axe or fire to build country homes or erect shopping malls.

As Greek Mythology is full of references that instill sensitivity and awareness in people, it should be included in all school curriculums and taught philosophically.

The accompanying poem was inspired on my visit to an area where there were once majestic cypresses, now a wasted landscape after a forest fire was set to turn the area into grazing ground for goats.

and reeves, to God encomiums sent among the fluttering of leaves, now deadly silence dominates where once your flora grew.

How horridly unwelcoming your barren, ashen hue!

If you have any memory left, the forests bring to mind!

I shudder at your nudity, your emptiness and blight, as I no longer harbour mirth at your depressing sight, for just as poor I find myself in memory of my past and search for forested terrain lest I recall the myths.

Your pure beginnings I invoke – a reference wreathed in green, to wet my lips and quench my thirst beside a mountain spring.

How can I the sacred elms of Demeter replant, so that my wish to lift her curse of hunger she may grant.

ERYSICHTHON Reduced to ashes mountainside, lets contemplate our plight: As desolate you lie of trees, so desolate is my soul, and just as poor my lungs subsist in their sustaining role.

If you have any memory left, the roots bring back to mind!

The roots of elms and cypresses, the roots of fragrant pine.

Are there any dormant seeds survived below your ash?

And if they lie in lethargy may Helios give them life, so that your slopes and gorges bloom anon to host your joy.

May vowels of birds be heard again amid the leafy boughs and such chaotic harmony of nature’s orgy thrive to reinstate what’s beautiful and inspiration drive.

Oh, cremated to ashes mountainside, oh how you look forlorn!

Where once the chirps and songs of birds, like mating ruffs

If memory serves you, mountains, the roots bring back to mind!

Give alms to Erysichthon’s breed, Demeter’s curse unbind.

Greek Airports Report 9% Rise in Passenger Traffic in January Heraklion and Chania in top-5 Airports in Greece saw a Greek airports saw a 9 percent

data, the airports with the highsignificant rise in passenger rise in traffic compared to the est rate of passenger traffic growth compared to the same traffic in January 2017, han- same period in 2016. dling 1.92 million passengers The largest passenger traffic month last year were those in travelling through their gates was recorded in the airports of Kasos (121 in January 2016/305 compared with 1.76 million in Athens (1.2 million passengers), in January 2017), Paros (1,336 in Thessaloniki (365,290), Herak- January 2016/2,650 in January the same month last year.

According to data released on lion (77,387), Chania (67,570) 2017) and Zakynthos (1,548 in January 2016/2,915 in January Tuesday by the Hellenic Civil and Rhodes (55,228).

Aviation Authority, last month Also, according to January 2017 2017).

The total number of flights at Greek airports amounted to 20,199 (of which 12,174 were domestic and 8.025 were international, recording an increase of 1.2 percent (-2 percent in domestic flights and +6.6% percent in international flights) compared to the same period in 2016 (19,958 flights).

German Tour Operators See Surge in Bookings to Greece With only two weeks to

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news & articles

go until the opening of this year’s ITB Berlin n click o st.gr s w e travel show, leading re n epo for mo ttp://cret h German tour operators have informed that demand for travel to Greece this year is on the up.

According to a report by the German Press Agency (DPA) and published in Deutsche Welle, German tour operators are recording another year of increased bookings, as 2016 events have not discouraged German holidaymakers from making plans to travel abroad.

Greece is among the most popular destinations for travel this season, while Tunisia and Egypt seem to be recovering slowly but steadily from the crisis of recent years. According to German tourism professionals, only bookings for Turkey remain limited.

Bookings to Greece have doubled compared to 2016, ac-

cording to tour operator DER Touristik, while a rise in demand is noticed for the Western Mediterranean countries of Italy, France and Spain. DER Touristik also sees Egypt making a comeback as a tourism destination this year.

Tour operator Alltours is also satisfied with the travel market ahead of summer, DPA underlined.

The company has recorded a great demand for trips to Greece and a good interest for holidays in Spain.

Moreover, TUI sees a four percent increase in bookings for the coming summer season compared to last year.

Meanwhile, Thomas Cook — owner of brands Neckermann Reisen and Last Minute — also

sees a strong demand in the travel market that is expected to offset and surpass the losses from the drop in bookings to Turkey.

travel this year.

In general, tourism professionals this year expect solid demand for the 2017 summer season, unlike last year, when terrorist attacks and political According to DPA, the good crises in popular tourism destistate of Germany’s labor mar- nations caused great uncertainket and low inflation (below 3 ty among German tourists. percent) have given a boost to the intention of the Germans to news.gtp.gr

Extreme Weather

by David Capon

I have recently written about

‘climate change’ and how the initial scientific papers of the Working Group 1 of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) had to be changed to satisfy Governments after the drafts were circulated.

Last month I wrote about the exceptionally cold weekend we had in early January and the possible effects on certain types of animal and insect.

In February we were hit by a storm that has been described by some as of biblical proportion. I expect many readers will have read about or seen much of the devastation that we suffered. Personally, I am extremely grateful to the Apokorona Dimos who managed to repair the track to houses so that we could get out to the main road, albeit with a

lot of care.

And there was a bulldozer here on the Saturday afternoon. The track is not as good as it was but it is passable.

The photo shows what I saw at the bottom of the garden early on the Saturday. There will be weeks of dealing with problems in Western Crete but within a week a lot had been achieved by the Authorities.

The scientific models indicated that for Crete, on average, there would be slightly less rainfall over the short-term but that some of that rainfall could be extreme.

If we consider this winter and last winter the models may be indicating the reality that we will encounter.

In case you are thinking of the heat of summer the models indicated that for many areas of Europe (including parts of the UK) there would be a large increase in average summer tem-

peratures and for many areas there would be severe heatwaves.

Despite being closer to the Equator the predicted average temperature increase for Crete is minimal.

Crete is a small island and in comparison to other islands in the Mediterranean is not close

to a mainland area. We are surrounded by a large amount of water and as the temperature of the water is not great (relatively) the seas will help curtail temperatures.

But again the model indicates averages and there is a possibility that we may encounter a heatwave occasionally.

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Will Smart Phones Be the Death of Society As We Know It?

by Hobson Tarrant

Well before we start, I will

p. 14

news & articles

admit to being old enough to remember doing business in a time when there were only land line telephones.

What a wonderful era that was, you could leave the office for a meeting, confident in the knowledge that you wouldn’t be disturbed from your thoughts before finally returning back to base.

Then later arrived the on for more news click fixed car phones, but r http://cretepost.g they were alright, you then had the convenience to make calls out, but still retained the benefit of a phone off button, which inferred to callers at the other end that you were not actually in the car at that time.

But those good times of using a communication device to suit your personal needs sadly had to change and along came the first hand held mobiles.

These bulky and somewhat cumbersome creations did however achieve their design purpose by ensuring that the travelling man, or woman, could be contacted at any hour of the working day.

The principle was intrusive, yet luckily in that period of polite society and telephonic advancement, the taboo never allowed for calls to be made outside of office hours and never,

on any pretext whatever, on a Sunday.

But since then, modern technology, by stages, has slithered its way past our defences and into our daily lives. Yes that dratted coloured plastic gadget can now bleep at any time, day or night without invite or apology. Plus to add insult to injury, that devils toy can now also receive emails, texts, images and all manner of added nonsense such that no excuse for a lack of information can even vaguely be brokered as a valid reason to cut communications short.

Gone are the times when after a hard days graft a citizen could pop out to a local Taverna for a bleep-less chat and a meal.

Those traditional pleasures of carefree conversation are now washed away by the falsetto tones, the zing and fizz, of battery powered electrons that whisk unseen to offend the ear and catch the eye with corporately embellished zeal.

What is worse is that the human receiver of those close by disturbances, actually appear pleased to have been the chosen target for the PCB board generated electrical attacks.

On the small plexi-glass screen they will view a digitally created image of a face to which they will beam a smile and gush with gratitude for the inconvenient intrusion, despite the inflicted grief on those in-

nocents surrounding.

How many times in recent years have you spied a face at a dinner table with the plastic appendage glued to their ear, whilst their freshly prepared and probably delicious food goes cold? Meanwhile what can their partner across the void do other than politely gaze on with the face of a bored lemon.

Yet in days gone by, a popular Taverna would be buzzing with human speach and laughter.

Dining out was to be an event enjoyed, a high point of the week.

But now almost every other table has faces downcast to stare at the glow of an electrical society that has been created by pressure from our peers, advertising and media hype, that endlessly strive to convince us that this new and pulsating world of low voltage impulses is ‘Where it’s at!’

Nowadays it appears to be more important to boast how many Smartphone ‘FRIENDS’ we have around the world, that will click ‘LIKE’ to our prose, rather than to discuss the realities and pleasantries of life face to face with our chosen life partner, or family and associates. Indeed it is fast becoming of greater importance to debate the flaws of the new American President by touching a keypad, than to offer physical help to a poor old lady suffering from the cold, or to find water for a terrified stray

dog that has just been dumped by its neglectful owner.

Our local communities and national societies are rapidly changing and the importance of human interaction is on the decline.

Instead of physical discussion and debate we now prefer to absorb ourselves in the conflict free world of email dictates and armchair rhetoric, a format that is eagerly sponsored by the commercially driven forces that create vast unseen profits from our human desire to live in a blame free world, and achieve popularity by conformity.

Then why does the onus for potentially killing society fall on the poor Smartphone and not the PC or Laptop?

Because it is such a convenient device, it sits comfortably in a pocket or handbag and is steadily becoming an extension of our soul. It rings in the morning to wake us, it bleeps when it wants our attention, it tells us where we are and gives us directions, it instructs us what clothes are in fashion, what to read, what to watch, what to think?

So yes, in my humble opinion the Smartphone may well cause the death of society as we know it, which only makes one wonder....

What would ever happen if electrical power disappeared for good?

Daimler hails Greek firm Taxibeat, founded by Cretan, Nikos Drandakis Taxibeat’s service is particularly Daimler Benz is said to be rate stands at around 180 per- Arequipa. interested in acquiring local start-up Taxibeat, one of the most successful Greek companies set up in the years of the financial crisis, through its MyTaxi subsidiary.

The German car giant is offering a particularly attractive price, even when one considers that Taxibeat’s annual growth

cent.

Taxibeat was founded in May 2011 by Nikos Drandakis and today it cooperates with 7,000 drivers in Athens.

Besides the Greek capital, Taxibeat is also dominant in the capital of Peru, Lima, a market it first penetrated two years ago, and is expanding to the Peruvian cities of Cusco and

What is the meaning of GRExit?

by Sebastian Ciesielski

GREXIT = No more Olympic Games !!!

GREXIT = no more Greek flame for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

The only one way to remind the World what is Greece and what is Europe is to come back to it’s Roots.

Europe means Greece, Greece means Olympic Flame and Sport Games from thou-

sands of years. No-one can doubt that.

Prime Minister of Greece should never allow Greece to be taken out of Eurozone.

Greek Flame has no price - it’s priceless but maybe there is only one solution in this case.

If the World, if the other EU countries would like GREXIT so much - better think twice about it because there might be no Olympic Games anymore !!!

The World is not rich enough to

Daimler Benz is said to be ready to offer a price close to 40 million euros and is mainly interested in Taxibeat’s Peruvian business, as Lima is the company’s main source of income, with 15,000 drivers and 800,000 users registered there.

In total, Taxibeat has over 1 million users in the two countries it operates in.

popular in Peru because it offers security in city transport, which constitutes a crucial parameter in that market.

Daimler, known worldwide through its Mercedes-Benz and Smart car brands, has recently turned its focus on car leasing and new technologies too.

buy our Greek Olympic FLAME and we are not willing to sell it.

It is the idea like the common EU, like the common EUROZONE and like the idea of Peace in the World.

Becoming member of the Greek family you become like Greek. Becoming member of the Olympic Games everybody takes the roots of Greece. In this way we all become like one peaceful family united in sport and united in Greek culture -

everybody knows that.

Mr Tsipras may say: “If the Internationall Financial Institution’s want to kick Greece out of EUROZONE than we have no choice and Greece will not allow any Olympic Games to start anymore.

There is only one Flame like there is only one Greek pride and Filotimo.

Wake up the rest of the Europe because without Greece there is no EUROPE.”

eKathimerini

Researchers from Crete, Russia and Kazakhstan Find a Way to Enhance the Effectiveness of Laser Systems The authors of this project studied a large array of 200 unsynchronized semiconductor lasers in an attempt to understand the mechanism of the occurrence and the properties of this unusual state. During experiments, part of the laser array gradually synchronized, whereas the other part demonstrated incoherent behavior that is characteristic of the predicted turbulent chimera.

“My colleagues and I have studied an array of semiconductor lasers because such arrays of coupled nano-lasers have been created experimentally. However, we believe that similar results will be soon obtained for other laser arrays. In addition, laser arrays require less ener-

Illegal poisoning of animals and birds

by David Capon

Last month I mentioned that

(poison bait) detector dogs were now operating on Crete.

I now have more information.

The dog working in our area is Karina and she is handled by Mr Grigorakis.

As with the other three dogs currently working in Greece she was trained in Spain.

The great news is that there is now a training centre in Thessaloniki but the training period is well over a year.

A poisoning incident is usually easy to identify but the body or bodies should not be touched.

Around the body and/or the bait dead insects, beetles, snails, etc may be found.

Suspicious could also be the presence of food (usually slices of ham or bacon, sausages, cooked or raw meat) left in plain sight in the countryside with no apparent reason. Probably this kind of bait is covered in suspicious colours (like light blue or green) pointing the presence of toxic substances.

Anyone who finds probable poisoning incidents should provide as much information as possible regarding place and nature of findings.

OFF

THE CIVILIAN SHOULD NOT MOVE OR TOUCH THE FINDINGS, ESPECIALLY WITH BARE HANDS, at least until the dog team arrives. I am sure the person in the federation will provide further advice at the time a call is made. If the incident occurs within village boundaries the police should also be contacted.

To contact the dog team please call the Hunting Federation office on working days at 28210 98147 between the hours of 8:30 and 15:00. Out of hours please contact the dog handler direct on 6948 512153. But do be aware that he does not speak

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gy than large lasers and are easier to create,” said Professor George Tsironis, a senior researcher at the NUST MISIS Superconducting Metamaterials Laboratory, who was quoted in the Scientific Reports article.

The researchers are now planning to find a way to control turbulent chimeras, which would enhance the effectiveness of large laser arrays. This discovery could be utilized in fiberscopes used in lafo ser medicine and var- httrpm:/ore news click on /cretep ost.gr ious sensors, because it allows for adjusting the sensing picture by excluding the oscillation of the coupled lasers, the article notes.

SputnikNews

English and also be aware that the dogs, for obvious reasons, do not operate at night. However, when contact is made he will try and contact someone to speak in English with you. They will need to understand your concerns, the exact locality and your name so that they can determine priorities.

I hope that there will be few false alarms and that eventually the practice of laying poisoned bait will belong to history. As I mentioned last month the victims of the poison are often vultures and other carrion eating birds as well as innocent dogs and other wild carnivores.

p. 15

searchers from Russia, Greece and Kazakhstan made an important discovery for enhancing the effectiveness of lasers, including those used in medicine. The results of their project have been published by Scientific Reports (part of the Nature publishing group).

The group includes researchers from the National University of Science and Technology MISIS (Moscow, Russia), the Crete Center for Quantum Complexity and Nanotechnology (Heraklion, Greece), the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (Heraklion, Greece) and Nazarbayev University (Astana, Kazakhstan). They have dis-

covered turbulent chimeras in large semiconductor laser arrays that influence laser properties.

Chimera states were first reported for identical and symmetrically coupled phase oscillators in 2002, when it was discovered that part of the system could synchronize, as in laser emission, while the other part remained incoherent. The chimera state is a transition state between full order (perfectly coherent oscillation) and full chaos (incoherent oscillation). When the behavior and coherence size change irregularly, this chimera is identified as turbulent. However, the origin of turbulent chimeras remained unclear.

news & articles

An international group of re-

Shorty’s War... a book to read and learn from Author: Hobson Tarrant.

Published: 16th January 2017.

Pages: 616.

Genres: Fictions/Action/Romance.

Available from: Amazon & Kindle.

er forms. Badly injured he returned home to find the housemaid under different circumstances, they forged a close relationship until Shorty was unexpected shipped back to war.

Brief story outline...

The plot is a complex and interShorty Longthorn was a young vil- weaving flow of action and emolage poacher in 1910, Shropshire, tion, it ends with a surprise twist England. that will shock or delight all who Circumstances forced him to go read. into service for the local Lord at the ‘Big House’ where he met a house- Reviewer’s comments: maid who became the love of his This novel at 616 pages may appear life, but also her wicked lover who long, yet it is not a book of padtook sadistic pleasure in making ding but has a fast moving content Shorty’s life hell. throughout.

At the offset of the Great War, The story is divided into chapters Shorty was rejected by the army that are each introduced by gendue to his diminutive size, but was uine newspaper headlines of the still plagued by the white feather period which set the scene in an brigades. amazingly creative and innovative Taking pity, the young Master from fashion. the Big House took him to war as his The tale unfolds from the pre-war batman, but Shorty was destined days of 1910 up to the war years of to see active service in many wid- 1917.

It cleverly contrasts the horrors of war with Germany and its Axis forces, against a British homeland that was struggling to cope during a time of human slaughter, the like of which the world has never known before or since.

This is a uniquely rich and heart warming story, filled with perceptively sculptured characters from a background of wealth but also depicting the earthy grit and humour of the poor and lowly soldier.

This book comes highly recommended. * 5 Stars!

Rethymno Carnival... Everybody here!!!

It’s

been one century, since a group of people from Rethymno – with optimistic mood and open heart to every pleasant challenge – decides to put some colour to the everyday life of the city, during the Carnival season.

So, in 1914 the first Carnival of Rethymno was organized, bringing the original mark of the intentions of the people of Rethymno.

Through the years, these intentions turned into actions that exceeded every time the expectations of their inspirers and finally turned to be an amazing event: the Carnival of Rethymno, a live organism, tending to reverse the natural route of life: the “older” it’s getting the better it is becoming!

This year’s carnival subject was focused on this inversion and invited whoever deeply hopes for better days, whoever sees rainbow colors beyond grey to be a part of the large, emotional and fresh Team of the Carnival of Rethymno and share, create, have fun and experience things that nobody wants to

miss.

Thousands of people created and shared this experience, having in their minds and their hearts the fact that when people cooperate, every day becomes special and life itself becomes more beautiful. It is as simple as that.

With this year theme “Dreaming in unity” the slogan and basic element of Carnival 2017, the strongest carnival group in the country a huge hug for everybody, participants and visitors from around the world were invited this year to “live & experience” under the same roof, the dream!

Many volunteers and carnival groups involved in the organization of various events. The Grand Rethymno Carnival kick off was on Saturday February 4th 2017 at the Unkown soldier sqr, followed by the presentation of the costumes of the teams that will take part in the Carnival of 2017. At the official opening event the local community along with visitors and volunteers enjoyed a spectacular opening

with fireworks, satirical theatrical scenes, promotional initiatives, live concert by SBARAQUACK in a nonstop live program with Funk, Disco, Rock ‘ n roll, Balkan rhythms and many other surprises.

The Carnival started by bringing the message of Carnival all over Rethymno city and the cities of Chania & Heraklion through road shows known as “Forerunner”, where the festive atmosphere spreads to the local communities.

The Great Carnival Evening Parade was on Saturday 26th of February started at 21:00 and finished with a live party.

The Carnival celebration ended with the Ash Monday on the 27th of February. The Greeks leave behind every sinful attitude and non-fasting foods to prepare their bodies and souls for the Orthodox Easter.

The Carnival of Rethymno is a creative cultural institution which shows the special character of the local population and the local initiative and involvement.

This common passion is exactly what aids the start up of many established theater groups, ateliers, hand-crafts,

art venues e.t.c. here in Rethymno. All the floats are made by Rethymnian artists and are always based on recyclable materials. Also most of the carnival uniforms are made by local crafts, another way for people of Rethymno to work together and contribute to the local economy. 2.000 Rethymnians, including many Rethymnian entertainers, perform at the main events as well as promotional events leading up to the carnival. Llast year we had 45 Carnival groups with 33 floats on the parade, 18.000 participants and more than 100.000 visitors of all ages from all over the world that had the opportunity to celebrate and enjoyed the Carnival.

*****

***** ***** *****

dressed That simultaneously attest We’re not just customer, but guest.

While likewise with this simple toast The merchant mellows into host.

It may be summer as we roast Or winter’s battened-down north coast It may be wine before we eat Or potent raki swallowed neat: The wish is meant, the words are sweet With sharing life and sharing Crete.

by Niall Finn

*****

***** ***** *****

What goes in must come out

Poetry of life

This poem’s subject? Well, in fact: The human intestinal tract – How your insides can all run riot If you’ve been careless with your diet, Or if the air-conditioned fug Of planes or trains contained a bug, While there’s another option still; Your stomach got a nasty chill.

The cause may never be that clear: The outcome? You’ve got diarrhoea.

I think it’s better if we first Fast forward till we’re past the worst – Until the “product” has a form A little closer to the norm.

I know it seems a bit absurd To get excited by a turd But if the last 10 toilet calls Were replays of Victoria Falls I’m sure you will agree with me It’s nice to have solidity.

But if your way to help your tum Was multiple Imodium The next to cause you consternation Could be a dose of constipation.

A poem really need not be, a meter, rhyme or company of words that flow with eloquence, it can but be of circumstance.

A riddle, jest or who knows what, a vacant line we long forgot.

A song we heard at mothers knee, a treat of words from Christmas tree.

Yet poems give such pleasure still the warmth of heart, a memories thrill.

Yes poems are free to us all, no rules to bind, no law to call.

So let them ring, yes let them fly vent your emotions to the sky.

In love, in fear, in hate of things, let poems abound with untied wings.

Snap words of venom, words of fear, words of love to end the year.

We start as a child so small and frail, then blossom as our lives prevail, we love our neighbour and our wife, we live though hardship and through strife.

Who knows what’s right, who knows what’s wrong, we know the words to every song.

A target there must be somewhere

*****

***** ***** ***** Yia mas

Goodwill, respect and interest Two tiny words to us ad-

of where to aim , I know not there.

So as life ticks by what do we do?

More of the same? Wear out the shoe?

Or should we seek some deeper well ?

Reach for our heaven ..

But perhaps find Hell ? *****

*****

*****

*****

Sidney’s First Winter in Crete So Sidney fled the British for mo shores re http:// news click on cretep from inclement ost.gr weather he abhors.

To Crete he flew without a thought of long lost pals, his interest nought.

To bathe in seas with sun on back, laze in bars when times were slack.

To laugh and jape the whole year round no worried frown on Sid be found.

All summer long his dream came true until this winter turned him blue.

A shower of rain he could comprehend coffee and news, a few hours to spend.

But that is not what he did find bad weather fit to blow his mind.

His villa cool with sunshine’s joys became a fridge, thick clothes deployed.

“Get more wood!” His grieving wife did cry.

“I want those flames to touch the sky!

Tell me not your fears of the expense, drag me from England? You’ve lost all sense!”

So Sidney’s toes trudged through the snow, his high hopes dashed and changed to woe.

His thoughts of cold beer alas had went Every penny on house oil now was spent.

by Hobson Tarrant

Do not Forget!!! Click CRETEPOST.GR for your daily news

p. 17

The shortcut had seemed clear enough – First a village then a rough White-coded road would carry on – But where the hell had that road gone?

We’d clearly reached the highest lane You didn’t need an Einstein brain To recognise a cul-de-sac Black rock in front; beige wall out back.

But here in Crete you live and learn And so we made our five-point turn Then on the hairpin had the luck To squeeze past someone’s pickup truck.

Perhaps what we were looking for Was further back so we once more Went down the steep and narrow slope Not yet prepared to give up hope.

“Let’s try this turn! See where it leads!”

But soon the asphalt stops, one needs To take it slowly here and there Past rocky bits – I wouldn’t care To hear a sudden, fatal thump, Be stranded with a broken sump.

The passenger, to light the load, Hopped out where gullies cut the road And now and then she couldn’t stop Herself from flinching at the drop: “I guess we wouldn’t fall so far Before the olives caught the car.”

The intersections came and went.

Left or right? We guessed, which meant That pretty soon we had no clue To where we were or what to do.

“Oh, there’s that rainbow! On our right?”

We sensed that we had gained some height And so to find the road to town Our default option was go down -

Second gear, the brakes applied, In hope the track stayed just as wide Awareness ever more acute We couldn’t have retraced our route.

Then suddenly, around the bend, What seemed to be our journey’s end.

“Look, there’s a house, no, in fact two!”

But then a sense of déjà vu – The same beige wall; the same black stone!

We laughed (or was it more a moan); 40 minutes’ sweat and rain Just to get back here again.

culture

What goes around comes around

The Cretan custom of Christmas Hog in the Botanical Park

The

traditional Cretan custom of “Hirosfagia” (The Christmas Hog) revived in the Botanical Park at Fournes, Chania.

Many visitors tasted several recipes, based on pork.

It has to be mentioned that all pork meat was delivered by pigsties from Rethymno and there was no pig slaughter in public.

p. 18

food & wine

The Christmas Hog In old times in Crete it was the custom for each family in the village to raise a pig, or “hog” (hiros in Greek), which would be slaughtered on Christmas Eve and n click o news tepost.gr e served as the main holr o /cre for m http:/ iday dish the next day.

On the second day of Christmas the villagers would cut up the pork meat and make: - Sausages - Apakia – the pork is cut into chunks and then smoked - Pihti – the hog’s head is boned and all the meat is boiled. Then the stock, after special preparation, is made into a delicious gelatin mold with pieces of the meat in it.

- Siglina – the pork meat is cut into small pieces, then cooked and stored, covered with lard, in large pots. This way the meat could be kept for many months - Omathies – the pig’s intestines are stuffed with rice, raisins and bits of liver - Tsigarithes – pieces of lard cooked with spices and eaten with leaven bread for the mid-morning meal when they picked olives The Christmas hog was the basic source of meat for many weeks. Of course, we are referring to a diet particularly poor in meat – the famous Cretan (Mediterranean) diet which provided Cretans of yesteryear with good health and longevi-

ty.

Nothing was wasted from the Christmas hog, as there was a use for each piece of the animal. Even the bladder, or “balloon” as it’s known, would be washed out and cleaned, then blown up and used as a ball – a precious gift for the children of that day.

In many areas around Greece in the past, parts of the pig would be used as a basis for several home remedies, while other pieces were used for sooth-saying. The slaughterer, or one on the elders in a diviner role, would study and interpret the animal’s entrails. Then he would make predictions of the future for such things as the home, the harvest and the weather.

It is now widely used in Greece and has almost replaced the pork meat for holiday fare – but not completely.

itra and Kronos so they would favor them in cultivating the land.

This would take place from De-

NOTE 1: The custom of the tur- NOTE 2: The folklore writer key for Christmas arrived in Eu- Kostas Karapatakis, in his book rope from Mexico in 1824 A. D. “The Christmastide, Old Christmas Customs and Traditions,” reports that the Romans would sacrifice pigs to the gods Dim-

cember 17 through 25, which was also the period for slaughtering the animals until a few years ago. (with info from explorecrete.com)

Creta Farms expands to Serbia Creta

Farms ABEE, a Greek-listed delicatessen company, is entering the Serbian market with its “En Elladi” product series through the “supply & licensing agreement” method.

In a business forum organized recently in Serbia, in the framework of an official visit by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Creta Farms officially announced its partnership with Carnex.

The agreement and the promotion of the products will be supported by both sides with an ad campaign focusing on a population of 7.0 million.

Creta Farms chairman Emmanouel Domazakis and Carnex managing director Vladista Mladenovic, expressed their satisfaction for the agreement

last few months that it expands rapidly in the Balkans and Europe with the promise for a dynamic continuation. Serbia, with its economy entering a growth course, is the second largest economy in Western Balkans, with the domestic delicatessen market totaling around 350 million euros annually.

We are very proud as a company to be able to invest, strengthening Greek entrepreneurship abroad, but mostly because such large companies such as Carnex have confidence in our innovation and adopt our philosophy which joins the forces of the Carnex has a total of 20,000 for quality and nutritionlargest Greek delicatessen customers, a workforce of 1,000 al products that will help company in Greece and the and it is one of the strongest people to learn to feed and largest agro-food company in business groups in the country. live better,” Domazakis said in Serbia.

“Creta Farms has proven in the an announcement.

for more n ews click http://cre tepost.gr

Greek wine industry needs to recruit specialized professionals Greece’s wine industry needs

versities.

It is necessary because global competition demands that a company in the wine industry to adapt to a constantly changing environment. ” For the situation in the export business sector, Mr. Iatridis highlights the remarkable increase exports observed in the “most competitive market in

the world, that of North America.”

“In particular in the US market, there is a significant rise in exports in value (8,226,408 euros/2014 – 10,503,671 euros/2015) by 27.68%, while notable is the increase in export volumes by 16.22% (1,909,945 lt/2014 – 2,219,653 lt/2015), he said.

out chemical analysis before sensory evaluation. In case that we’ll find samples out of specification in accordance with the EU regulation and the IOC, the sample will be excluded from the competition.

From Italy, Mr. Giuseppe Antonio Lauro, an agronomist, an expert in the cultivation of olive, professional connoisseur, a judge at major international competitions and consultant Evaluation procedure for Rural Development of the In all the samples will be carried Calabria Region, Italy. Also is

a professor in olive cultivation and promotion consultant issues (marketing) for extra virgin olive oil From Greece, Mrs. Effie Christopoulou, panel suvervisor and recognized trainer of the International Olive Council in chemical and organoleptic properties, chemical expert for EU and the IOC. The competition and all the oils to be awarded, will be published at recognized Greek and foreign media.

3rd Cretan Olive Oil Competition Perfecture of Crete and the Agronutritional Cooperation of Region of Crete, in collaboration with all involved authorities of the island organizes the 3rd Cretan Olive Oil Competition.

In the competition can participate: - Standardization companies - Cooperatives, - Producers and Producer Groups that are producing bottled and branded Cretan Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Key dates of the competition: - 25th January 2017: Registration opening.

- 1st February 2017: We are receiving the samples - 6th March 2017: Closing of entries and receiving of samples .

- 11th March 2017: Evaluation of the samples .

- 12th March 2017: Awarding and closing ceremony in Rethimnon

p. 19

ing community, will provide their expertise in the field of Wine Business, Mr. Iatridis observes: “The specialized expertise of people in the wine industry, credited on its work and especially its results, it is necessary to be diffuse to the new generation so as to form a high-level professional basis within uni-

food & wine

to recruit specialized professionals, Angelos Iatridis, winemaker and co-owner of Domaine Alpha Amyntaio Florina told ANA. “There is a great shortage of qualified personnel and the limited number of people who are out threre, have been trained abroad,” he added.

“The developing -quantitative but mainly qualitative- wine sector in Greece, needs to find highly educated skilled professionals,” says Mr. Iatridis, “who will transfer their knowledge on exports and the promotion of wine, to those who will attend the training course by the Economic University of Athens on “Entrepreneurship in winemaking.”

Referring to the importance of the program, where experienced University teachers, as well as top executives and entrepreneurs from the winemak-

Spring health tips for your dog Dogs

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pets & vets

tend to love spring because they get to spend more time outdoors.

After being cooped up during the winter it is a joy for them to be able to take advantage of the lengthening and warming days to release all of their pent up winter energy.

It is equally joyful for us watching our dogs have a good time. However the warmer days bring about certain health concerns so take a moment and make sure your dog is fully prepared for spring.

Depending on where you live mosquitoes start becoming more active -- and mosquitos can transmit heartworm disease.

Generally heartworm on preventative medication r s click re new cretepost.g o m r o / f should be given year http:/ round to prevent infection because mosquitoes thrive year round in many parts of the country.

And as our climate continues to warm mosquitoes tend to stay active longer each year.

Despite this some pet owners do not give heartworm preventatives in the winter so spring is a good time of year to make sure your dog has been checked for heartworm and is current on his heartworm preventative medication.

The cost of heartworm preventative medication is a bargain when compared to how much it costs to treat heartworm disease.

In addition to mosquitoes,

ticks and fleas become more prevalent as well. There are a variety of products available to combat these nuisances, so ask your veterinarian which one is best for your dog. Start early as preventing ticks and fleas from becoming a problem is far easier than dealing with a major flea infestation.

Get into the habit of regularly checking your dog for ticks. Ticks are typically found around the head, on the ears, neck, chest and forelegs although they can be found anywhere. Usually it is easier to find them by feeling for them instead of looking depending on how long your dog’s coat is.

Spring is a good time to check and make sure your dog’s vaccinations are up to date. Dog

to dog contact increases in the spring and continues on into the summer months. Your dog is exposed to more infectious diseases during this time of year. For example many veterinary clinics start to see increased incidence of kennel cough in the spring because of increasing dog-to-dog contact.

Spring for some people means it is time to plan and start your garden. Selecting plants that are safe for dogs will go a long way in preventing toxicities from occurring. Keep in mind that some dogs can enjoy digging as much as we do so avoid planting toxic bulbs such as hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and certain lilies. Fertilizers and mulch can be toxic as well so store them in an inaccessi-

ble area like a shed when not in use and do not allow your dog in the garden area.

With spring generally comes spring cleaning. Be aware that many household cleaning products are harmful to dogs so follow instructions as posted on the label and store all chemicals out of reach when not in use.

With spring rains come spring mud, keep your dog’s feet dry and your house clean by keeping a towel near the door and perhaps in your car as well.

Spring means fun times for dogs (and humans) so pick up the leash and go for a walk or hit the dog park. You are bound to notice a little spring in your dog’s steps. cesarsway.com

How to Replace an Interior Door What you’ii Need

Measuring tape Hammer Screwdriver Pencil Circular saw Straight edge Hand plane Utility knife Combination Square Chisel Drill Paint / wood stain

Step 7 - Screw the Hinges In Use the hinge to check for proper depth of the mortise. Once the depth has been reached, it’s time to screw the hinges in place. If you accidentally go too deep with the chisel, a thin shim can be used to bridge the gap. It’s also recommended to drill pilot holes into the door before screwing the hinges in place.

Updating interior doors can

transform the look of your home. While replacing interior doors sounds easy enough, improperly installing the new door can leave uneven gaps along the floor or jamb. Fortunately, there is an easy way to replace interior doors without too much time or fuss.

Step 2 - Remove the Pins Use a hammer and screwdriver to remove the pins that keep the hinges in place. Start with the bottom hinge and go up to prevent the door from falling on you. If the pins aren’t loose enough to wiggle free by hand, use a hammer to gently tap the pins free. You can keep the pins in the jamb hinge to prevent losing them.

Step 3 - Align Both Doors Unscrew the old hinges and the lockset, taking notes on their position if you plan on reusing them. Lay the old door on top of the new door and align them

flush. The old door will serve as a template for the new door.

Simply trace around the old door using a pencil. The lines will tell you areas that need trimming.

Step 4 - Trim the New Door Down If the new door doesn’t perfectly align with the old one, then you’ll need to trim it down to size. Use a utility knife to score the pencil marks. This will help prevent splintering during the cutting process. Trim the new door using a circular saw and straight edge. If you need to trim less than a quarter inch, then a hand plane is better equipped for the job.

Step 9 - Get the Lockset Measurements You can use the old door for the lockset measurements, but only if you are using the previTo accomplish this, align the ous hardware. If you bought a old and new doors with each new lockset, use the template other. With all four sides flush, as a guide for proper installamark out the hinge locations tion. on the new door with a combination square. You can use a Step 10 - Paint or Stain the utility knife to make the marks Door and pay close attention to the Before you install the new door, gap between the hinge and the take some time to paint or stain it. Do this before you install the outer part of the door. lockset. Once the paint is dry, insert the new lockset in place Step 6 - Chisel the Mortise Chiseling out a hinge mortise and get ready to hang the door.

is the most difficult part of this project. Place the chisel perpendicular to the markings and hammer out the outline of the hinge, being careful not to go too deep. Then, cut a series of grooves inside the hinge. These cuts will make the removal process easier. Next, hammer the Step 5 - Cut Out Hinge Slots chisel at a low angle and start For blank doors, you’ll need removing the unwanted mateto cut out slots for the hinges. rial. Work slowly and use con-

Step 11 - Hang the New Door Hanging the new door is best done with a helper.

Hold the door so that the hinge knuckles interlock with each other.

After they are in place, use your helper to ensure the pins. With all the pins in place, test the door for smooth operation and adjust wherever necessary.

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Step 1 - Check the Measurements Before you start removing the old door, you’ll want to make sure that everything fits properly. Measure and record the height and width of the door and bring these measurements with you when you purchase the new door. Doors typically come at 80 inches in height, but vary greatly on width.

Step 8 - Use Shims to Adjust Test the new door by making sure all the hinges for more n line up and the lockset ews click http://cre tepost.gr lines up with the latch.

Adjust wherever necessary using shims. Once everything lines up, mark the exact location where the edge of the door meets the strike plate.

do it yourself

• • • • • • • • • • • •

stant pressure to keep the chisel from slipping.

How to Recognize OSA and What It Means for Your Health

by Miltiades Markatos Pneumonologist

What is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)?

OSA is a common disorder that causes people to temporarily stop or decrease breathing repeatedly during sleep. It affects up to 14% of people.

If I snore, does that mean I have OSA? Not necessarily. There are many reasons people snore, but snoring is common in almost everyone who has OSA. Other signs and symptoms of OSA include: • Gasping for air while sleeping • Morning headache • Daytime sleepiness • High blood pressure • Depression What causes OSA? It can happen for many reasons, but increasing age and obesity are the most common risk factors.

A neck size of 40 cm or greater is a risk for OSA. Also, men are three times more likely to have OSA than women.

on r s click re new cretepost.g o m r / fo :/ p t ht

health & nutrition

How do I know if I have it?

Your doctor will take a careful history and do a physical exam.

You or your doctor can complete a screening checklist. If your doctor thinks you have OSA, the diagnosis can be made by sleep studies either at your home or at a special sleep centre.

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How is it treated?

The standard treatment for OSA is a machine called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure). CPAP uses pressurized air to keep the airway open at night. Most CPAP machines are about 12 × 6 × 6 inches, and weigh between 4 and 8 lb.

While you sleep, you will wear a

mask that connects to the CPAP machine. Some masks fit over the mouth and nose. Other masks fit over the nose only.

be helpful as well.

failure • Stroke What happens if I don’t get treat- • Hypertension (not controlled ed for OSA? with medicine) Untreated OSA may lead to se- • Depression I don’t like wearing my CPAP. Are rious health conditions or prob- • Increased risk of motor vehicle there other treatment options? lems such as: crashes Yes. The first option is to try • Heart disease, including heart • Overall increased risk of death different mask fittings for your CPAP. Your doctor may also suggest a BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure) machine, which may be more comfortable.

CPAP forces air at a continuous pressure, but BiPAP forces air at higher pressures when you breathe in and at lower pressures when you breathe out.

In rare cases, some people may also consider dental fittings or surgery to treat OSA. For people who are obese, weight loss may

A life changing visit to our pharmacy can make you change the way you see life and put your body and mind in harmony. Have you ever visited a pharmacy to taste health?

A different pharmacy in the centre of the old town of Chania is waiting to share with you secrets of well being and longevity. Taste the biolo gical honey, the royal jelly, tea from plants carefully chosen in therapeutic recipes, high concentration and purity juices of pomegranate, cranberry, aloe. Orthomolecular nutrition with suggestions on detox programs and a carefully selected range of supplements, vitamins an gluten free products from all over the world.

In the same premises you can find a live homeopathic lab with 6.000 homeopathic remedies in stock and the ability to produce any kind of homeopathic form i.e. pills, granules, solutions etc Evangelia Sakka is the pharmacist in charge who has created that special pharmacy and will be happy to introduce you to that fantastic world but also suggest whatever will be more settable for you.

Our philosophy doesn’t stop on food and supplements but we want you to think of your mind and body as well. That’s why we have created next to our pharmacy the Green Care SPA. A SPA that helps to uplift your mind and body with biological face an body treatments, reflexology, reiky, su jok and moxa treatment, Bach flower remedies, homeopathy sessions, bowtech as well as nail therapies.

We are waiting for you to restart your life at Daskalogianni 43 - 45, SAKKA Pharmacy www.my-pharmacy.gr / www.greencarespa.gr

Canyoning on Crete The

The second week higher level techniques are taught in closed space and followed by descents in canyons with water.

By finishing the school one is certified as an autonomous or assistant guide.

The schools are addressed to those who are healthy and have no fear of heights. Swimming is mandatory to those

who want to attend.

Canyoning is an activity rich in techniques.

It combines techniques of speleology and mountain climbing with activities that have to do with water, like the canoe and the hydro speed.

The techniques and the equipment used for the descending of canyons is for more n relevant to that of speleews click o n http://cre tepost.gr ology since single rope is used when there is water.

The knowledge of canoe techniques is useful for the �understanding� of the water flow when there are holes and cone holes.

The start of a new promising canyoning association is a fact.

Information: Address: C.C.A. 5 Thiras st.

GR-71305 Iraklio Crete Greece Tel. 0030 6997090307 or 0030 6974469226

Email: crete.canyon@gmail.com

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both in Kithira.

The schools intend to make known the passing techniques of canyoning.

They last two weekends and two weeknights. The first week starts with the teaching of techniques and showing films in closed space.

It is followed by two descents in canyons, the first without and the second with water.

sports & leisure

Cretan Canyoning Association started operations in the beginning of 2007 with the purpose of mainly educating young people according to the standards of French and Italian canyoning schools.

It also aims to the preservation and repair of secure locks, the exploration, the security and the mapping of new canyons in Crete and in Greece in general.

The C. C. A. has trained 33 new canyoners in its first year of operation through five different schools.

It has also accomplished correctional securities in the canyons of Ha in Thripti Mountain, Ethiano and Maridaki in Asterousia, Eligas and Panagia in Lasithtiotika, Kamaraiko in Psiloritis and a new security of Kakoperato canyon in Asterousia.

Two new securities followed, one of the canyon of Mylopotamos and the other of the canyon of the Kaki Lagada,