History & Culture

Greek Orthodox Christianity, overwhelmingly: roughly nine in ten Cretans identify as Orthodox, and the faith has shaped the island continuously since the early Christian centuries. The more interesting answer is how it works in practice, because on Crete, Orthodoxy is less a Sunday activity than the island's calendar, social glue and architectural signature, and even an entirely secular visitor or resident lives inside its rhythms. One detail worth knowing, because it genuinely is distinctive: the Church of Crete is semi-autonomous, answering to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople rather than to the Church of Greece. Crete has always done things slightly its own way, and its church is no exception.

In the early 1950s, everybody was talking about the new “Xenia” hotels - a nationwide group of ultra luxury hotels that were expected to grow the tourism industry in Greece. The Greek state was mostly bankrupt after the world war and its own civil war, so the Greek government decided to start the ambitious Xenia project - a group of hotels that they hoped would boost the economy. In the height of the “Xenia” days, there were 59 working Xenia Hotels. But where are those hotels now? What happened to them?

Why does Athens look the way it does? What parts of its architecture come from Ancient Greece? Which buildings come from trends in the last 100 years? What are the most recent changes to Athens' architecture?

What is Bright Week in Greece? How do the Greeks celebrate? Where can I join the celebrations? Bright Week is the week immediately after Easter in Greece. It is typically a time of celebration, and you will find dancing, traditional food, and a great atmosphere all over Greece.

Greece has a reputation for being among the most amazing places on the planet, both for its natural beauty, its Mediterranean climate, and its UNESCO Heritage sites. It’s no wonder that many famous movies - both dramas, romances, and comedies - have been filmed here. In this article, we cover some of the most popular movies that were filmed in Greece.