The Greek Community of Alexandria

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  • The website of E.K.A. now “speaks” English and Arabic

    The website of E.K.A. now “speaks” English and Arabic

    The new website www.ekalexandria.org of the Greek Community of Alexandria, which has been operating for about a year and a half, having high online traffic and visibility, now “speaks” English and Arabic, in addition to Greek, since March 24.

    One of the main pillars of the Greek Community of Alexandria is the promotion of its activities and its vast history. Based on this axis, the Press and Public Relations Committee clearly planned to promote and highlight the important role the Greek Community of Alexandria can play as a bridge of cooperation between institutions located in Greece and Egypt, and that will confidently raise the visibility of the Alexandrian Greeks and their heritage.

    As part of the continuous improvement of communication tools, the Greek Community of Alexandria has gone through with this very important step; launching the website in additional two languages, English and Arabic, thus honoring non-Greek speaking friends, and especially the Alexandrians, and the local community of Egypt, in which it coexists.

    The aim of the Greek Community of Alexandria is to showcase the activities and the history of the Greek Community, but also to include news related to economic, political and cultural themes related to our city but also to Greece and Egypt. Making the website a bridge between the Egyptiot-Greeks with Greek, Egyptian and international audience.

    The official launch of the website in the two new languages took place on Friday, March 24, in the presence of members of the Greek Community. The launch of the two editions made by the Special Secretary of Communication Planning Immigration & Refugee Policy, the Alexandrian, Mr. Giorgos Florentis and the Deputy Director General of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad Mr. Dimitris Plevrakis.

  • Jesus’s tomb unveiled after $4m restoration

    Jesus’s tomb unveiled after $4m restoration

    The restored tomb in which Jesus’s body is believed to have been interred after his crucifixion will be officially unveiled at a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday.

    A team of Greek scientists and restorers has completed the nine-month renovation project, which focused on a small structure above the burial chamber, known as the Edicule. It is the most sacred monument in Christianity.

    “If the intervention hadn’t happened now, there is a very great risk that there could have been a collapse,” Bonnie Burnham of the World Monuments Fund, which had oversight of the project, told Associated Press. “This is a complete transformation of the monument.”

    The delicate restoration was carried out by a team of about 50 experts from the National Technical University of Athens, which had previously worked on the Acropolis in the Greek capital and the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The conservators worked mainly at night in order to allow pilgrims continued access to the shrine.

    In October, a marble slab covering the rock-carved tomb was lifted for the first time in more than two centuries, allowing restoration workers to examine the original rock shelf or “burial bed” on which Jesus’s body is thought to have rested. A small window has been cut into marble slabs to allow pilgrims a glimpse of the rock.

    The team also repaired and stabilised the shrine with titanium bolts and mortar, and cleaned thick layers of candle soot and pigeon droppings. The work involved the use of radar, laser scanners and drones.

    Wednesday’s ceremony to mark the completion of the restoration will be in the presence of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and a representative of Pope Francis.

    The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the heart of the Christian quarter of the walled Old City, covers the assumed site of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial and resurrection. It is a huge attraction for pilgrims and tourists from all over the world, many weeping and clutching precious mementos or photographs of loved ones and forming long queues for the shrine.

    Six denominations – Latin (Roman Catholic), Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Syrian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and Copts – share custodianship of the cavernous church. Bitter disputes over territories and responsibilities have erupted in the past, sometimes involving physical altercations. Disputes between the denominations have held up restoration work for decades.

    In a sign of the distrust between the different denominations, the keys to the church have been held by a Muslim family since the 12th century.

    The shrine has been rebuilt four times in its history, most recently in 1810 after a fire. The structure had been held in place for almost 70 years by iron girders erected on the instructions of a British governor who ruled Palestine in the Mandate era. They have now been removed.

    The $4m (£3.2m) cost of the restoration came from contributions from the six denominations which share custody of the church, King Abdullah of Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, and Mica Ertegun, the widow of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, who gave $1.3m.

    (www.theguardian.com)

  • Parthenon Marbles resurgence

    Parthenon Marbles resurgence

    In recent developments for the return of the Parthenon Marbles, the Athens government has made a desirable offer; to loan, on a recurring and long-term basis, rare archaeological treasures from Greek museums in exchange for the return of the Marbles from the British Museum.

    The request has been made as a symbolic act in the fight against anti-democratic forces that appear to be on the rise and seeking “the dissolution of Europe”.

    “The reunification of the Parthenon Marbles will be a symbolic act that will highlight the fight against the forces that undermine the values and foundations of the European case against those seeking the dissolution of Europe,” said Lydia Koniordou, the Greek Minister of Culture and Sport.
    “The Parthenon monument represents a symbol of Western civilisation. It is the emblem of democracy, dialogue and freedom of thought.”

    Greece has a number of art works dating back to antiquity, including the ‘golden mask of Agamemnon’ and the statue of Zeus/Poseidon, which if loaned to Britain would likely draw great interest.

    In an official statement the International Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures (IARPS) said the Greek government had clearly made the offer in the “true spirit of compromise”.

    “Greece and its supporters will not rest until all the known surviving sculptural elements from the Parthenon are reunited in the Acropolis Museum in full view of the monument which they once adorned,” the IARPS said.

    Andrew George, chairman of the British Association for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures, said agreeing to return the sculptures on these terms would only help the UK to rebuild its reputation in the region following the controversial Brexit vote.

    “Britain has nothing to lose but a deeply damaged reputation – having clung on for over 200 years to such important artefacts which were stolen from the Greeks when they could do nothing to stop it – and has much to gain at the very time Britain’s reputation needs enhancing amongst those countries it wants to do a deal with,” Mr George said.

    The Marbles were taken from Greece more than 200 years ago by Lord Elgin, when the country was still part of the Ottoman Empire, where they once adorned the Parthenon temple built by the world’s first democracy some 2,500 years ago.

    (neoskosmos.com)

  • The Greek refugees who fled to the Middle East in WW2

    The Greek refugees who fled to the Middle East in WW2

    The influx of more than a million refugees and migrants to the Greek islands in the past year has stirred up difficult memories for a dwindling group who followed the same route during World War Two, but in reverse.

    As German and Italian troops occupied Greece, tens of thousands of people fled by sea to refugee camps in the Middle East.

    At the end of the war, they began heading home. Most made it back safely, but for some the journey ended in tragedy.

    “An event like this is hard to forget,” says Eleni Karavelatzi. “It leaves you seared with scars and makes you bitter forever.”

    Eleni Karavelatzi was 12 months old when in 1942 her family fled the Nazi occupation of Kastelorizo, a Greek island 2km (1.5 miles) from the Turkish coast.

    They sailed first to Cyprus and then to a refugee camp in Gaza known as El Nuseirat. They stayed there until the end of the war.

    In September 1945, a British vessel, the SS Empire Patrol, left the Egyptian city of Port Said carrying Eleni’s family and 500 other Greek refugees.

    Within hours, fire broke out onboard. Thirty-three passengers died, including 14 children.

    From her garden on Kastelorizo, Eleni can now see the EU border agency ship searching for new migrants and reminisces about what happened in 1945.

    “My parents told me that I was tied with a rope and lowered on to a raft. But as they were letting me down, my father saw that it was full and ordered me back. As soon as I was brought up, a woman jumped on the dinghy. It capsized and all the children drowned.”

    Among the victims were Eleni’s three cousins, whose names are carved on a monument a short distance from where she lives.

    To the east of the monument lives Kastelorizo’s only other survivor, Maria Chroni, who lives with her granddaughter.

    Maria Chroni, who was born in 1937, clung for life on a piece of wreckage.

    “I found myself at sea holding on to a wooden plank.”

    “How it happened, I can’t remember. I only know I that I stayed in this position for 10 hours. Then my father rescued me and lifted me into the charred boat.”

    From Aleppo to Egypt and beyond

    Other Greek refugees had fled the Nazi occupation to Syria. They were mainly from the island of Chios, a few kilometres off the Turkey coast.

    “The Germans were here and we were hungry. I was three back then,” remembers Marianthi Andreadi. “So we left for Turkey illegally and from there we took the train to Al Nayrab camp in Aleppo (Syria).”

    Marianthi remembers some of the faces that stood out on her journey. “I was surrounded by older women. And there was this moment that stays with me when we were on the Turkish border and the guard yells ‘Gel Burda! Gel Burda!’ (come here).”

    “We ran away quickly. I fell down. And eventually he let us go. But I never forgot this.”

    Greek archives reveal Al Nayrab camp was less a permanent settlement than a meeting point, says Iakovos Michailidis, professor of history at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. “People were brought here for short periods of time before being sent to various parts of the Middle East, or even Africa.”

    Ioannis Stekas travelled first to the Middle East and then into Africa.

    He explains how his father sold their properties to send him and his brother abroad with their mother, Chrisanthi.

    “He was planning to follow us with my 10-year-old sister. But shortly afterwards the Germans banned migration towards Turkey.”

    In her diary, written down by Ioannis, his mother writes: “We went to Cesme (in Turkey) and stayed there for a month, then headed to Izmir, before travelling for three days by train to Aleppo.” Ioannis’s older brother Kostas was at that point drafted into the army by the Allies.

    Ioannis, aged six, carried on with his mother on their long journey via Egypt to Dar es Salaam on the coast of Tanzania before continuing across land to Elisabethville, now Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    “After 40 days we left Aleppo by train and in two days we arrived in Egypt, at the Suez Canal,” Ioannis’s diary says. “We stayed there for a while in tents.”

    “After Egypt we took a cargo ship and crossed the Red Sea to Aden, a British colony. We stayed two days inside the ship as they were bringing food supplies for the rest of the journey.

    “When we left Aden, there were hot air balloons to prevent enemies from bombing civilians. No-one knew where they were taking us. After a 10-day journey we arrived in Dar Es Salaam.”

    Stamatis’s story

    Stamatis Michaliades, was just six when he fled famine during the German occupation of Chios in 1942.

    He left with his father and brother while others in the family stayed on the island. The boys and their father crossed to Turkey and from there to the Moses Wells refugee camp in the Egyptian desert, where they waited for the war to end.

    Past and present

    While Greece’s returned refugees feel a bond with the new wave of displaced people, age makes it difficult for them to meet.

    But they hear new stories from Greek TV and Marianthi Andreadi believes that despite her country’s financial problems “we’re doing what we can”.

    From their balconies, the former evacuees watched Syrian refugees coming off packed fishing boats. “It’s like a mirror to the past,” says Maria Chroni. “The hardest thing is having to witness the arrival of children.”

    Eleni points out that the Greek evacuees made it back home and life returned to normal. She is not sure if the same will happen to the Greece’s new refugees any time soon.

    (www.bbc.com)

  • Trade exchange between Greece and Egypt reached €1.3bn: Pantelis Gassios

    Trade exchange between Greece and Egypt reached €1.3bn: Pantelis Gassios

    Greece intends to increase its commercial cooperation with Egypt. Known for its fabulous cuisine, Greece started with food products, aiming at increasing investments between both countries in this sector.

    Around 15 Greek food companies exhibited their products in the Greek Rowing Club, located in Giza, which included olives, olive oil, honey, cheese, packed products, and other goods.

    To learn more about the current state of Greek-Egyptian economic relations, Daily News Egypt took the opportunity to meet the counsellor for economics and commercial affairs at the Greek embassy, Pantelis Gassios.

    Trade between Greece and Egypt last year reached around €1.3bn. How much of this amount do Greek exports to Egypt represent?

    The Greek exports represented €750m, while Egyptian exports to Greece represented €577m.

    Do you expect any increase in trade in 2017?

    Let me tell you that the trade exchange witnessed a remarkable decrease over the past ten years, mainly because of the drop in the oil prices.

    So both the Egyptian and Greek sides aim to diversify the exchange of products to not depend on oil and its by-products so much, as their prices are always unstable.

    Exporting oil and its products between Egypt and Greece, how much does it represent from the whole amount of exports between both countries?

    In 2016, €492m out of the €750m Greek exports to Egypt were petroleum, oil, and their by-products, while €412m of the €577m Egyptian exports to Greece were crude oil.

    This is why both sides would like to diversify the types of products they are exchanging.

    Recently natural gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea were discovered. It has been stated that Greece and Egypt will hold discussions to sort out this matter. Any comments in this regard?

    It will be Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus, as far as I know; these fields are located in the zone between Egypt and Cyprus.  What governments are working on is to transfer natural gas to the Greek island of Crete and from Greece to the rest of Europe.

    The implementation of energy plants takes time and is difficult. It also involves ports and building underwater pipelines. However, we are very optimistic that it will happen, bearing fruitful results for everyone.

    Are there any possibilities for Greek gas to be refined in Egypt?

    I am reading in the press that there are deals between Egypt and Cyprus to bring natural gas to Egypt—in the form of liquefied natural gas—for the domestic market. So I view this as a great idea.

    What is the amount of Greek investments here in Egypt?

    Official data estimate Greek investments to stand at €800m, according to official figures from the Central Bank of Egypt and Greece. However, there is Greek capital inflow from other countries, like Cyprus. So investments amount to around €1bn.

    What are the types of these investments?

    Cement, paper manufacturing, oil and gas explorations and constructions, food industry, manufacturing of building materials, aluminium, irrigation systems, banking, and training services.

    You mentioned that you would like to diversify exchanging products between both countries and not depend only on petroleum and oil ones. How do you see the future of exchanging food products between both countries?

    The food industry is one of our top industries in Greece. Our food products are being exported all over Europe and also to the US.

    The market in Egypt is very inviting since the population is high, and the country therefore consumes a lot.

    Egypt too is strong in this sector, so we are also inviting Egyptian counterparts to invest in this sector in Greece.

    I consider it a very promising sector concerning investments from both sides, and I believe it would be a win-win investment.

    Recently the International Monetary Fund granted Egypt a $12bn loan. The Egyptian government is working on economic reforms. Is Greece taking this into account regarding further investments?

    Greece is very aware of the reforms Egypt is undertaking. Changes are painful but necessary. However, in terms of a long-term vision, the changes made by the Egyptian side are going in the right direction.

    Greece is famous for its production of mcetkh. What is the top Arab importer of it?

    We use mcetkh in many things, including cooking and making sweets. I can say that Saudi Arabia is one of the top importers worldwide for Greek mcetkh—they use it in many of their products.

    (www.dailynewsegypt.com)

  • Egypt, EU launch new phase of strategic partnership: Foreign ministry

    Egypt, EU launch new phase of strategic partnership: Foreign ministry

    The Egyptian foreign minister’s visit to Brussels has launched a new phase of strategic partnership between Egypt and the European Union, paving the way for an EU-Egypt association agreement in the upcoming period, the ministry said on Tuesday.

    The agreement — which has been under negotiation since February 2016 — would frame the country’s relationship with European institutions over the next three years.

    In an official statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his European counterparts have compiled a document of each side’s priorities, to guide further negotiations on the agreement.

    On his visit, Shoukry met with 28 European foreign ministers, making it “the first meeting of its kind with a non-EU minister this year,” the statement read.

    The meetings tackled EU-Egyptian relations. Shoukry discussed ways the EU could support Egypt economically and politically, given that the country’s stability is an essential European interest, the statement read.

    Shoukry also discussed economic, social and political developments in Egypt and the challenges the country faces in each of these sectors.

    “Egyptian national institutions bear the responsibility of safeguarding human rights in Egypt,” Shoukry told his EU counterparts, according to the statement, adding that “human rights include social and economic rights; they are not restricted to political rights.”

    The minister arrived in Brussels Sunday for an official visit, on which he met with EU officials including the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Vice President of the European Commission and the EU Commissioner for Home and Migration Affairs, along with the foreign ministers of 28 EU countries.

    “The visit was successful because Egyptian diplomats built a bloc of Egypt supporters within the EU, represented by countries that have made remarkable progress in cooperation with Egypt such as Greece, Cyprus, and Hungary,” the statement read.

    At a meeting with the EU Commissioner for Home and Migration Affairs and the German and Austrian foreign ministers in Brussels, Shoukry reiterated Cairo’s refusal to establish camps to house irregular migrants attempting to travel to Europe, saying “refugees and migrants live freely and enjoy the services provided to Egyptian citizens.”

    During his visit, Egypt’s FM also met with Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, to discuss political and security challenges in the Middle East.

    An EU delegation is set to visit Egypt mid-March to continue talks on the association agreement.

    During negotiations, Cairo has assured the EU that the agreement would be based on Egypt’s 2030 development plan.  

    (english.ahram.org.eg)

  • Greek-Canadian Senator Housakos Wants Canadian Government to Recognize Pontian Greek Genocide

    Greek-Canadian Senator Housakos Wants Canadian Government to Recognize Pontian Greek Genocide

    During a recent speech in the Canadian Senate, Greek-Canadian Senator Leo Housakos addressed his colleagues in efforts to bring to vote the need for Canada to recognize the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks from 1916 to 1923 by Turkey.

    Most people are not aware of the group of ethnic Greeks called Pontic Greeks. They are ethnic Greeks who once lived along the shores of what is now known as the Black Sea. Greek merchants originally settled in the area over 3,000 years ago, establishing trading posts along this shoreline and eventually the outposts grew into villages, towns and cities. This area was known as Pontus.

    From 1914-1923 their prosperity and peaceful way of life came to a tragic end when over 353,000 Pontic Greeks perished during the Greek Genocide at the hands of the Ottomans, neo-Turks and Kemalists. Their fate was later sealed following negotiations at Lausanne and an ‘Exchange of Populations’ between Greece and Turkey, which resulted in all Orthodox Pontic Greeks being forced to uproot and repatriate to Greece.

    According to transcripts published on protothema.gr, Senator Housakos recently presented the “Motion to Call Upon the Government to Recognize the Genocide of the Pontic Greeks and Designate May 19th as a Day of Remembrance” calling on the government of Canada to “(a) recognize the genocide of the Pontic Greeks of 1916 to 1923 and to condemn any attempt to deny or distort a historical truth as being anything less than genocide, a crime against humanity; and (b) to designate May 19th of every year hereafter throughout Canada as a day of remembrance of the over 353,000 Pontic Greeks who were killed or expelled from their homes.”
    “…We must be clear that this is a tragic fate — a genocide. Not only have the ghosts of the Pontic Greek Orthodox earned the right to confront their murderers, but to paraphrase the words of a wise man, those who forget the tragedies of the past are doomed to repeat them in the future. And indeed, the world chose to ignore the genocide of Armenians and Pontians, and we were forced to confront the Nazi Holocaust of European Jews as a result. We ignored Rwanda and are now dealing with genocides like that of the Yazidis being carried out by ISIS,” Housakos stated.

    The senator added that his motivation for bringing the motion to the table is to acknowledge history, heal, learn from what has occurred and most importantly be sure that it does not repeat itself.

    (canada.greekreporter.com)

  • Dahab’s Underwater Museum: a Kiss of Life to the Red Sea Ecosystem

    Dahab’s Underwater Museum: a Kiss of Life to the Red Sea Ecosystem

    When the IDive Tribe started an underwater museum in Sinai’s Dahab four years ago, people thought they were insane. Now, the team of divers is planning their second museum in Hurghada.

    February witnessed the latest addition to the museum: a statue to honor the Egyptian diver and holder of the world record of the deepest dive, Ahmed Gabr.

    The new statue looks like the Oscar’s statue, which in turn resembles the Ancient Egyptian God Petah. The idea and the execution are of the artist and assistant lecturer at the University of Arts in Luxor, Hamed Mohamed. The statue is made up of 100 pieces of granite.

    Aiming to help in conservation of the Red Sea coral reefs through decreasing the pressure on them by creating alternative dive sites, each statue is unique in its own way.

    “The gallery consists of several artworks statues made by Egyptian hands and representing our culture,” said IDive founder Abdelrahman Elmekkawi.

    Additionally, the museum serves as a new home for coral reefs. With rising global temperatures and the damage of human activity, coral reefs worldwide are in danger. The divers hope to “plant” the sea, with every centimeter needing at least ten years for growth.

    The location of the museum is strategic, explains Elmekkawi. Scientists expect that in 70 years, most of the coral reefs all over the world will die,  except those inhibiting the Red Sea and the Arab Sea due to class C and D zooxanthellae temperature resistance (above 30 degrees). This makes the region a donor site for the regeneration all over the world seas

    The first phase of the museum placed three statues – a donkey-shaped table and two chairs – at the Magra Al Seil area. A year later, an additional three statues were located near the lighthouse: statues of the Gods Horus and Bess, and a life-size elephant sculpture, weighing almost a ton, constructed from metal junk by Mohamed and a student of his.

    The costs of the statues were raised from the group’s personal money, and 150 IDive members contributed volunteer work.

    The next planned statue will be a ten meter pyramid, which divers can enter. Hamed plans to make drawings on one of the sides, while the artwork done on the other sides would involve international collaboration through inviting 50 art schools from around the world to take part of the project.

    In addition to the Dahab underwater museum, the pyramid might start a new conservation and attraction sight in Hurghada.

    (egyptianstreets.com)

  • Toward a Judging Free Society: Human Library Comes To Egypt

    Toward a Judging Free Society: Human Library Comes To Egypt

    There is a library in Denmark where people replace books, and conversations replace silent reading, ones that shatter societal stereotyping and prejudices. This unique experience is now coming to Cairo.

    Human Library Egypt is holding a one day event at Sheraton district on Friday, with five “books” discussing drug addiction, refugees, special needs, the first single lady adopting a child, and a different looking girl whose features are regarded as ugly and unacceptable by those around her.

    “The personalities represented in Human books are mainly ones that suffered from widespread stereotypes in the Egyptian society,” said Amira Rizk, one of the organizers of the event.

    Some of the books approached Human Library Egypt after coming across the idea through social media because they wanted their story to be heard by others and their challenges to be understood. Other books were approached by the initiative after knowing about them either through an article, TV program or talks featuring them on any medium

    “We are hoping that this experience on the long term creates a free judging society where people become more and more tolerant to others by learning to accept differences that s an integral part of creation,” Rizk said.

    Implemented in 70 countries, Asmaa Ismail brought the idea to Egypt. Ismail believes in the power of healing of people through self expression, and in the impact people can do by just listening to others without even offering solutions.

    For the execution, she checked the official Human Library page and applied to be one of the organizers. Her request to bring the idea from Denmark to Egypt was approved and she became the first representative for them in Egypt. The first event was held in May 2016 on a small scale, where the books were mostly volunteers from her network then gradually the idea started spreading.

    (egyptianstreets.com)

  • Egypt Plans to Implement ‘Electronic Visa Application System’ to Attract More Tourists

    Egypt Plans to Implement ‘Electronic Visa Application System’ to Attract More Tourists

    In a step that aims to facilitate visa procedures to tourists, Egypt’s Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar met with Telecommunication Minister Yasser Al-Qady to discuss the development of a new system that will allow issuance of electronic visas.

    The step is expected to positively affect the tourism sector and the rate of incoming tourists to Egypt, as it will facilitate the procedures of obtaining the Egyptian visa.

    President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi ordered to accelerate the implementation of the E-Visa system during his meeting with the Supreme Council for Tourism. Travelers will be able to obtain their Egyptian visa through an online system that will speed up the procedures for obtaining visas and smoothen the process undertaken in the airports upon their arrival.

    Abdel-Ghaffar said the Interior Ministry is keen on implementing the new system and also upgrade the security technological systems it has. Al-Qady stressed the importance of the cooperation between the two ministries in order to achieve the highest quality possible of services for foreign nationals in Egypt.

    Member of Parliament Mohamed Al-Massoud said the E-Visas system will help boost tourism in Egypt.

    (egyptianstreets.com)