Greek Community of Alexandria

Author: Athanasios Koutoupas

  • 4th century imperial bath complex inaugurated in Egypt’s Alexandria

    4th century imperial bath complex inaugurated in Egypt’s Alexandria

    Egyptian Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany and members of parliment inaugurated Alexandria’s cistern and imperial bathing complex area in the Kom El-Dikka archaeological site.

    The area had been undergoing excavation and restoration since 1960 by an Egyptian-Polish mission from Warsaw University.

    Mahmoud Afifi, head of the ministry’s Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, said that the newly inaugurated area will be included within the Kom Al-Dikka tourist path, which includes the Roman amphitheater, the bird villa and residential houses from the Hellenistic period until the Islamic era.

    El-Enany describes the bathing complex as “one of the finest edifices of its time,” and that the bathing halls had welcomed hundreds of bathers at a time.

    The complex also includes palestrae for physical exercises, colonnade passages and amenities such as public latrines.

    Water was supplied to the complex using huge cisterns and heated by a complex system of furnaces and pipes.

    The minister and the parlimentary delegates also paid a visit to the planned Mosaic museum in downtown Alexandria to inspect the ongoing work and address any obstacles to its completion.

    During the tour, Mohamed Abdelmaguid, director-general of the Underwater Archaeological Department, introduced a three-phase plan to develop the Qayet Bey Citadel and its surroundings.

    Abdelmaguid also reviewed a plan for the construction of the first underwater museum beneath the city’s eastern harbour, which once was the ancient Alexandria royal area.

    Abdelmaguid suggests the building of an underwater park to promote diving as well as the establishment of a training centre for underwater archaeology.

    (english.ahram.org.eg)

  • The ‘smart city’ of Trikala and the future of Greece

    The ‘smart city’ of Trikala and the future of Greece

    A visit this week to Trikala and meetings there with government and business leaders has reinforced my optimism about Greece’s future and this country’s rich endowment of human and natural resources. Trikala has the distinction of being the first “smart city” in Greece – integrating technology-powered solutions into the daily life of the municipality and delivering government services to citizens through e-governance. From free Wi-Fi service throughout the city to tele-health care for the elderly, from driverless buses to the e-Dialogos platform where citizens can participate in the public life of the city and its decision-making, Trikala is using technology to increase transparency and improve citizens’ lives. I was deeply impressed by the way Mayor Papastergiou and e-Trikala CEO Odysseas Raptis have embraced technology as a means to bring government closer to citizens and to streamline delivery of services. Trikala is leading the way as a 21st century model for other Greek cities looking to partner with American companies to put technology to use for democracy.

    With technology playing such an important role in the city, Trikala was the perfect venue for our CodeGirls 2.0 program. I had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony for the 40 girls who completed the two-weekend course to advance their computer programming skills. CodeGirls is a program sponsored by U.S. Embassy Athens and our partner, the Greek NGO Mataroa, to teach girls the fundamentals of web development. We have organized the CodeGirls program in three other cities in Greece – Kozani, Kalamata, and Patras – and we will look for ways to expand to other cities in the future.

    I was blown away by what these young people have accomplished. I hope that the technology skills the CodeGirls participants learned during this course will serve them well in the future and show them that there are no barriers to what they can achieve. I have already met CodeGirl graduates who have told me how this program changed their lives. One young woman now attends the American College of Greece and was offered a competitive internship with a technology company following her participation in the Kalamata CodeGirls program. Examples like this convince me that Greece’s talented youth will drive the country’s growth and prosperity.

    The tech-savvy spirit of Trikala is also inspiring and supporting entrepreneurship. During my visit, I met with Dimitris Dimitriadis, creator of the EasyBike system. EasyBike is the first bike sharing system to be developed and successfully implemented in Greece, and it now operates 30 active bike sharing systems in various cities with more than 2500 bikes, including here in Athens. This initiative promotes sustainable mobility and is an example of how tech entrepreneurs can be successful in Greece working with local government. Entrepreneurs and startups can really take off when they have this kind of government support at the local and national levels. It was a pleasure to see how bicycle-friendly Trikala is, and even to ride around the city a bit with Mayor Papastergiou. I am very grateful for his hospitality.

    I loved my tour of the Tyras dairy complex, led by CEO Dimitros Sarantis. This is the largest feta production facility in Greece, and I saw cheese and yogurt being produced for groceries all over Europe and the United States. This is a world-class facility, with state of the art technology and new investment in environmental sustainability; a great example of Greek resilience and entrepreneurial spirit.

    My travels around Greece have shown me how much potential there is in this beautiful country, and I am committed to using the resources of the U.S. Embassy to support entrepreneurship, including the range of exchange visits we support between Greek and American entrepreneurs. Aside from the entrepreneurs I met in Trikala, I’ve recently had meetings with members of the startup community in Thessaloniki and with the scientific pioneers at the Foundation for Research and Technology in Heraklion, Crete. I am very encouraged by the innovation and growth in Greece’s knowledge-based economy. Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy and I know that they can also become the launch pad for Greece’s economic recovery. Combining the entrepreneurial spirit I have seen in so many Greeks with the advantages of e-governance, I am enthusiastic about Greece’s potential for growth in the coming months and years.

    (www.ekathimerini.com)

  • 6 archeological missions to resume underwater excavations in Egypt

    6 archeological missions to resume underwater excavations in Egypt

    Six local and international excavation missions have obtained the necessary approvals to resume their underwater archeological excavations for antiquities along the shores of Alexandria and Red Sea governorates, according to the Department of Underwater Antiquities in the Ministry of Antiquities.

    The head of the department, Mohamed Abdel Maguid, said the missions submitted their papers for approval in December in an effort to be ready before April. Only two of the six missions will resume work next month, he added.

    The first of these two missions is the French Le Centre d’études Alexandrines (CEAlex), headed by Isabelle Hairy. This mission will complete its work in Fort Qaitbay by May 20. The second is the Egyptian mission which will work along Red Sea coasts from April 15 until May 7, headed by Mohamed Mostafa.

    Maguid said the other four missions have asked for the commencement of their work to be delayed until fall. These include Frank Goddio with the European Institute of Underwater Antiquities in France; Harry E. Tzalas with the Institute of Hellenic Underwater Archaeology in Greece; Galina A. Belova with the Russian Institute for Archaeology and Egyptology Studies; and Paolo Gallo with Turin University in Italy.

    (www.egyptindependent.com)

  • EBRD is studying financing five feed-in tariff projects in its 2nd phase

    EBRD is studying financing five feed-in tariff projects in its 2nd phase

    Janet Heckman, managing director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said that the bank is currently studying to finance five projects in the second phase of the feed-in tariff projects starting from the second half of this year.

    Heckman told Daily News Egypt that the bank refused to finance the first phase of the feed-in tariff projects due to the domestic arbitration clause, as they wished it to be outside Egypt.

    According to Heckman, EBRD is planning to inject investments worth €1bn in Egypt during the current year.

    She explained that most of the investments will be allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the private sector projects and the new and renewable energy projects.

    She said that the SME financing portfolio at the bank in Egypt recorded $410bn for 5 local banks, of which $150m have been signed last year.

    She added that the bank is currently studying with a number of Egyptian banks to provide financing lines for SMEs and trade operations.

    Heckman believes that the economic reforms applied by Egypt, including the flotation of the pound, support the competitiveness of Egyptian exports and attract foreign investments.

    Heckman expected that the Egyptian economy will grow by 4% this year, which is the same growth ratio as last year. The bank has invested €700m over the past year.

    (www.dailynewsegypt.com)