Greek Community of Alexandria

Author: Athanasios Koutoupas

  • Workers find remnants from Byzantine church in Gaza

    Workers find remnants from Byzantine church in Gaza

    ΓενικάThe findings include segments of marble pillars with ornate Corinthian capitals and a foundation stone bearing a Greek symbol for Christ.

    During the works to build a shopping center in Gaza, Palestine, a group of construction workers discovered ancient ruins that archaeologists believe they are parts of a Byzantine church sating from around 1,500 years ago, the Palestinian tourism and antiquities ministry said on April 4.

    The findings include segments of marble pillars with ornate Corinthian capitals, one nearly three meters long, and a 90 cm foundation stone bearing a Greek symbol for Christ. Fifteen pieces have been uncovered, with excavations continuing, as Hurriyet Daily News reports.

    “Our first thought is that the site is a cathedral or a church from the Byzantine period,” said Jamal Abu Rida, the general director of the antiquities ministry.

    “During that era, there was a great interest among the Byzantine rulers to build churches in the Gaza Strip.”

    Gaza was a prosperous seaport during the Roman period, with a diverse population of Greeks, Romans, Jews, Egyptians and Persians. Pagan temples were destroyed in the late 4th and early 5th centuries and there was widespread church-building.

    (en.protothema.gr)

  • Egypt looks forward to holding Egyptian-Cypriot-Greek Summit in Cairo

    Egypt looks forward to holding Egyptian-Cypriot-Greek Summit in Cairo

    ΑίγυπτοςPresident Abdel Fattah El Sisi received on Tuesday 12/4/2016 visiting Cypriot Parliament Speaker Yiannakis Omirou in the presence of Speaker of the House of Representatives Ali Abdel Aal and the Cypriot Ambassador to Egypt.

    Sisi welcomed the Cypriot legislator and highlighted the depth of relations binding the two countries, said presidential spokesman Alaa Yousef, adding that president Sisi expressed hope for holding a tripartite summit in Cairo between him and the leaders of Cyprus and Greece to continue discussions on various issues.

    The president welcomed Cyprus stances supporting Egypt and its people as well as its support for Egypt at regional and international gatherings.

    President Sisi also praised cooperation between the two countries during the hijacking of the Egyptian plane in Cyprus weeks ago, which reflected the strength of Egyptian-Cypriot relations.

    The Cypriot parliament speaker conveyed the greetings of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades to President Sisi and also praised cooperation between the two countries in the economic domains.

    The Cyprus speaker said during a meeting earlier with prime minister Sherif Ismail that Egyptian-Cypriot ties gained momentum recently and underscored his country’s keenness on offering support for Egypt in its anti-terrorism and extremism efforts.

    (www.sis.gov.eg)

  • Greek consulates around the world to issue official documents

    Greek consulates around the world to issue official documents

    ΟμογένειαThe ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs on Friday launched an initiative that will allow Greeks living abroad to apply for official certificates and documents from the country’s consular services around the world.

    The new scheme will operate in pilot mode for a week at the Greek Consulate in Dusseldorf, which is home to hundreds of Greeks who can benefit from the new service. Titled “Proxenos” (Consul), it will allow Greeks all over the world to get hold of birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as other documents within minutes from their nearest consulate, which will have access to central public records databases.

    Also on Friday, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias announced plans to digitize the ministry’s history archive and to improve its translation service.

    (www.ekathimerini.com)

     

  • Photographers capture loss of Alexandria’s historic architecture over last 20 years

    Photographers capture loss of Alexandria’s historic architecture over last 20 years

    ΓενικάPhotographers Mostafa Mamdouh and Abdallah Hanafy took to Alexandria’s decades-old streets with their cameras in a quest to display how time has taken its toll on the city’s historic landmarks over the last two decades.
    The photos document the replacement of beautifully-crafted buildings with modern, dreary towers between 1996 and 2016.
    Mamdouh and Hanafy collected old photos of areas of Alexandria and researched their dates, then took photographs of the same place as it is now, holding up the photographs of what used to be there in front of what is there today.
    The essential aim of the project was to document the heritage sites in Alexandria; some of which did not survive the architectural purge that came with the modernization of the city, Mamdouh told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
    “This is one of a series of projects we carried out to monitor the stark difference between 1996 and 2016 in nine areas of the city,” he said, adding that the changes in the city during the last 20 years have been for the worse in many places, while others still cling on to their architectural beauty.