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01. project

The Mount Olympus_logo_red-white

THE MOUNTAIN OF MYTH

TRAVEL PORTAL

THE MOUNT OLYMPUS

Reaching an altitude of 2918 m above sea level, there is no wonder why Olympus remained in consciousness as the motherland and shelter of Greek Pantheon. Zeus, the father of God’s, ruled over Olympus’ highest peak.

Today, the legendary mountain of Greek antiquity, apart from a gateway to myth, it is a rich and thrilling biosphere. Canyons, conifer forests, alpine meadows and montane grasslands compose a landscape of natural wealth and diversity, declared by UNESCO a Biosphere Reserve.

At the foothills of this wondrous mountain lie, also, centuries of history told through ancient ruins and byzantine fortresses, monasteries and picturesque traditional villages.

Either for present-day travellers or adrenaline-lovers, Olympus is a definite emotional experience deeply felt through myth, history and the peak of the peaks, Zeus’ reputed throne, high above and over the clouds. The ascent to Olympus is certainly one-of-a-kind. It is the ascend to the origins of Myth. 

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02. project

Via Egnatia_logo_Red-White

Constantinople TO ROME

TRAVEL & CULTURAL PORTAL

VIA EGNATIA

Via Egnatia, traced back in the 2nd century BC (c. 130), was one of the most important road axes of the Roman world connecting Rome with Constantinople and bridging the East with the West. It ran through the southern part of the Balkans across land and sea linking the Adriatic coast with the Aegean and the Propontis.
Perhaps the most lasting legacy of Via Egnatia, which principally came about as a trade route opening way for merchants, travelers and the exchange of goods, skills and ideas, has been the widespread cultural interaction that it enabled.

More than just a commercial passage, it served as a communication highway for intellectual and cultural exchange between people of different ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds transmitting languages and customs, religious beliefs, values and attitudes.
Today, upon this route, centuries of history and culture meet within a picturesque environment of alternating landscapes and rare biodiversity. 
In mainland Greece, Via Egnatia unites the regions of Thrace and Macedonia up in the north, while by sea it connects the Greek archipelago from the Aegean to the Ionian Sea.  Nautical routes.

The Via Egnatia platform enables the exploration and discovery of unique ecosystems, unknown habitats, local cultures, incredible archaeological sites and landmark monuments. It transports the travelers to the homeland of Alexander the Great, Aristotle and Democritus and lets them become acquainted with intriguing civilizations following the steps of the Romans, Byzantines, Franks and the Ottomans.      

Greek Cultural Routes is a non-profit organization founded in June 2019 in Thessaloniki. Its main purpose is to contribute by all legal means to the research, study, preservation, dispersal and promotion of the natural, cultural, intellectual, spiritual and architectural heritage found along the axes of the ancient Via Egnatia and Egnatia Road, as is known in present-day.

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www.viaegnatia.gr

03. project

Discover Prespa_green-lefko

discover prespa lake

TRAVEL & CULTURAL PORTAL

dISCOVER PRESPA

Descending from Florina by way of Possideri, Andartiko and Kota to Agios Germanos and Psarades, I glimpse through the leaves of the oaks and beeches the astonishing blueness of your waters, lying on the boundary between the familiar and the foreign, and I rejoice in their splendour. Your very image and what it represents suggests an ontological significance in your contemplation, particularly in the measure that it does not lead one into forms that are unchanging, cohesive, interconnected, but on the contrary into images that are isolated, fleeting, but incredibly beautiful. Farther off, the magnificent snowy peaks of Smolikas, Morava and Tymfi stand silent and proud, rooted in your pre-Alpine granite, as if in vindication of eternity. I dip my hand into the waters of Little Prespa, and I feel its power: vigorous, crystalline, cold and clear and with a purity that words cannot describe, which gleams in the reflections of the surface and in the boundless serenity of your shores.

Ion Dragoumis

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