In her welcome speech, the Director of the Department of Modern Greek Studies Dora Solti, reminded that this academic seat was established by Hungarian Hellenists, as Julius Moravcsik, initially as a seat of Byzantine Studies, with the contribution of Chatzis who taught in this seat, after he finished his PhD on Byzantine literature in the University of Berlin.

The Embassy’s press officer, Nikos Vlahakis stressed that event honored Chatzis’ personality, as an academic teacher, litterateur and journalist in the Greek and expatriate press, since the interwar period.

The keynote speaker of the event, Yiannis Pappas, poet and president of the Association of Philologists of Patras, highlighted the exceptional position of Chatzis among postwar writers.

According to data from Hungarian tourism organizations – many of which belong to people of Greek descent, there has been a 20 percent increase in bookings to Greece, compared to 2012.

Aegean’s summer flight schedules Athens-Budapest begin on May 15 until Oct. 26. Three weekly flights will operate between the two capitals, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while there will be transit flights to Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Heraklion, Chania, Mykonos and Santorini.

About 150,000 Hungarian tourists visit Greece on an annual basis. Greece is first in the Hungarian market of organized trips and in Hungarians’ preference as a summer holiday destination abroad.

Hungarian statistics show that the tourist flows in Greece focus on the summer period at a rate of more than 60 percent. A great number of Hungarian tourists arrive in Greece by bus or by car and reside mainly in Northern Greece, Chalkidiki, Pieria and Larissa. The most popular destinations of those who travel by air are the Greek islands Crete, Rhodes and Corfu.

Yanni met US Ambassador, Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis

The Greek pianist, keyboardist, composer, and music producer Yanni (born Yiannis Hryssomallis), who has spent his adult life in the United States, talked about his close relationship with Greece during his concert in Budapest, Hungary. He mentioned Greece many times as a place he loves to visit.

The Greek ambassador in Hungary, Dimitris Giannakakis, met the famous composer after the concert and expressed his gratitude for supporting Greece with his compliments. Giannakakis said: “Greece is in a difficult situation and needs the help of the Greeks all around the world”.

The ambassador then gave Yanni an invitation by the mayor of the town Messini, in Messenia, Peloponnese, who invited Yanni to give a concert in his homeland. Yanni was thankful and stated that he always loves Greece and his hometown.

The Greek-American US ambassador in Hungary Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis presented Yanni with the Ambassador’s Award for Cultural Diplomacy.

During his concert at the Sport Arena in Budapest, Yanni performed some of his works based on Greek music tradition inspired by the Greek landscape, such as The end of August, Santorini, Acroyali etc.

The festival offers a month of cultural activities aimed to promoting the French language and of the cultures of Francophone countries. The Embassy of Canada is taking part as well.

Two Greek films were screened, Plato’s Academy, made by the Greek director Filippos Tsitos and the short film Casus Belli directed by Giorgos Zois. The event attracted many Hungarian moviegoers, Greek migrants and Greek students and businessmen who live in Budapest as well as the ambassadors of Greece Dimitris Yannakakis and of Cyprus Vassos Chamberlain.

The Greek participation was coordinated by the Press and Communication Office of the Greek Embassy in Hungary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Information and Communication and the National Film Centre.

According to Hungarian statistics, tourist arrivals to Greece are mostly focused during the summertime, reaching a good 60%, at the same time when many Hungarians visit Greece by bus or car and mainly choose to stay in Northern Greece, such as Halkidiki, Pieria and Larissa. Popular destinations for those traveling by air, are Crete, Rhodes and Corfu.

A special event, within the framework of the 20^th anniversary of a large international travel agency in Hungary, was held at the former palace in the city of Gödel, in the presence of the new Ambassador of Greece, Dimitris Yannakakis.

At the event,Greece was part of a specially designed kiosk on tourist information material and brochures, which about 150 tour operators, business partners and package tours resellers attended. The 2013 organizations’ program was also presented.

The Metropolitan of Austria and Exarch of Hungary and Middle Europe Arsenios held the divine liturgy in the Cathedral and thanked the people of Karcag and the Hungarian deputy mayor for attending the mass, while he also noted the hard work put by the Hungarian Minister of Agriculture for re-landscaping the surrounding outside area of the Church.

The liturgy was also attended by the Greek Ambassador of Greece to Hungary and many other representatives of the Greek community in the country.

Zois’ film will also be presented at Athens film festivals such as Nyxtes Premieras. Out of Frame is about billboard advertisements that have been banned in Greece, leaving the landscape littered with hundreds of empty frames  without any message. His film shows that is the message and that people are out of frame.

Unlike Zois’ last film, Casus Belli, which had nearly 140 actors, there were none in Out of Frame. Shooting lasted 27 days while every scene was filmed around the Attica region. Zois funded Out of Frame with earnings from Casus Belli, which has also been awarded several international prizes and has been already broadcast by European TV stations.

(Source: ampe)

The GTYO will host two Greek brothers, Timotheos and Alexandros Petrin, who are considered rising stars in the classical music world. They will play alongside the orchestra at the ancient fortress of Sığacık in Seferihisar on Aug. 24.

On Aug. 26, Çeşme will host the orchestra at the Altınyunus hotel. This year, the musical director for the three concerts will be the rising Fazıl Orhun Orhon who, in addition to being awarded at major Turkish competitions, has been undertaking important pedagogical work for many years.

“The orchestra has become somewhat of an inspirational cultural institution, now performing major concerts in its fifth consecutive year. It represents one of the most important cultural institutions in the eastern Mediterranean, explained Orhon. “The orchestra aims to unite different musicians under the belief of friendship, harmony and music as a common language,” added Leni Konialidis, President of the GTYO.

Source: Hürriyet Daily News

Greek-Hungarian Theodore Skevis’ special participation really favored the Greek team. The music and dancing group from Epirus enchanted the attendees. It was founded in 1994 as “Women’s Association of Neo Velissario Ioannina” by strong women who wished to support and promote their homeland.

The 130-member association participated at an international festival for the second time under the guidance of the same dance instructor, Christos Zisis.

The group from Epirus was invited to visit Budapest again in the future for more amazing performances and accordingly invited Hungarian bands to Greece.