Happy Yule

iPhone 4S prices at Vodafone Greece

All plans include unlimited calls to landlines and Vodafone Greece subscribers, plus unlimited SMS to Vodafone Greece subscribers

The construction and operation of the new airport in Kastelli, Crete, is expected to evolve in a battle of European giants. The process for claiming the project brings together the largest construction companies, airport management companies and funds that invest in infrastructure development on the continent. At least four joint ventures have reportedly shown interest, involving major Western European construction companies, the most powerful domestic Greek groups, companies that manage airports in Europe, and funds that invest in infrastructure.

The French group Vinci has formed a joint venture with Greek Ellaktor and with the company that manages the airport of Nice in France. There is also French Bouygues SA with J&P AVAX, and with the managing company of the airport of Paris, Aeroports de Paris Management. German Hochtief partners with GEK-TERNA and the Copelouzos Group. Finally, there is Dutch Archirodon Group (with Greek roots) together with Austrian Strabag SE and the company that manages the airport of Zurich.

The consortia are likely to involve funds that invest in infrastructure development, and interest in the project is very high despite the financial crisis and the high risk reputation of Greece. Based on the studies conducted, 80% of the proceeds of the new airport will come from abroad, particularly from the major tour operators, as the airport attracts mostly charter flights. Therefore, country risk is drastically reduced. Estimated net profit for the contractor will exceed 3.5%, possibly even 4.5%, despite strong competition for the project, according to inner circles of domestic construction companies.

You might also want to read the earlier article about the planning of the New airport Iraklio Crete in Kastelli Pediados of February 25th, 2009. Yes, that’s 2 years ago.

A Little Christmas Story

When four of Santa’s elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure. Then Mrs. Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more. When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where. Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drunk all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then, the doorbell rang, and an irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said very cheerfully, “Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn’t this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?”

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

Not a lot of people know this.

From Wikipedia:

The Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26′. Though the Winter Solstice lasts only an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used as Midwinter or contrastingly the first day of winter to refer to the day on which it occurs. More evident to those in high latitudes, this is the shortest day, and longest night, and the sun‘s daily maximum position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the winter solstice occurs around December 21 each year in the Northern Hemisphere, and June 20 in the Southern Hemisphere.

Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.

In the Aegean civilizations, the exclusively female midwinter ritual, Lenaea or Lenaia, was the Festival of the Wild Women. In the forest, a man or bull representing the god Dionysus was torn to pieces and eaten by Maenads. Later in the ritual a baby, representing Dionysus reborn, was presented. Lenaion, the first month of the Delian calendar, derived its name from the festival’s name. By classical times, the human sacrifice had been replaced by that of a goat, and the women’s role had changed to that of funeral mourners and observers of the birth. Wine miracles were performed by the priests, in which priests would seal water or juice in a room overnight and the next day they would have turned into wine. The miracle was said to have been performed by Dionysus and the Lenaians. By the 5th century BC the ritual had become a Gamelion festival for theatrical competitions, often held in Athens in the Lenaion theater. The festival influenced the ancient Roman Brumalia. [source: Wikipedia]

Anyway, whatever it is you are celebrating in your part of the world, we wish you a great time. Yvonne and I will do our usual escapist routine, explore the country side, hope to stumble upon a warm hearth fire here and there, find some honest good food and ditto drinks, and generally stay away from any flashing lights and loud commercials for 3-4 days. We plan to return to “civilization” around the 28th.

Enjoy!

The first free wireless access points that operated at central points in Athens (Syntagma from 1 June 2006, and Thissio, Kotzia Square from 1 September 2007) have so far attracted more than 40,000 users who have made a total of 167,630 connections to the internet. Each access point is connected to the backbone of OTEnet (the biggest telecom operator in Greece) via a 4Mbps line. You can monitor traffic for these access points at the site of AthensWifi.

Funding for the wireless networks is part of the Digital Strategy, through the “Information Society” Program, using national resources and funds of the European Regional Development Fund. The relative ease of implementation of these projects allows for the timely completion in 2009. The implementation of wireless networks is carried out by local contractors, based on the submitted proposals. The local authorities, etc. TEDK are responsible for integration of WiFi hotspots by Autumn 2009, and then for performing maintenance. Lets hope they do a better job on that than on the maintenance of the traffic lights.

Local authorities and agencies involved in the development of free wireless access points are (brace yourself, it’s a long list, but you might want to check your next holiday destination in Greece):

[The list is being worked on, it's a chore to translate all the names in English]

Her name is Petroula Kostidou and this is the real daily weather forecast, not some satire. This airs every evening at 20:57 on STAR, a popular commercial television channel here. Originally the weather forecast lasted 3 minutes. Due to popular demand it is going to be extended to 5 minutes, last I heard. I wonder why.

Btw “Deltio Kairou” means “weather forecast”, or more literally “weather bulletin”. The “-oula” in the name of Petroula and which also occurs throughout her commentaries is a feminine diminutive suffix, often used for the purpose of expressing affection. In the Greek language this can be augmented by following it with the possessive pronoun “μου” (mou= my, mine; compare with “my dear little boy” in English). She usually uses it with everything, from temperature to wind force, place names and weather itself.

[Edit] For those with an insatiable appetite for weather forecasts, and no direct access to STAR, you can enjoy Petroula’s take on the weather live every day on STAR TV.

Enjoy

The creation of the new airport will require new roads, water and sanitation projects, including the transfer of the settlements located within the proposed runway (Archangelos, Roussochoria). The construction of a 17 km road will connect the airport with the National Road along the north coast of Crete, in the neighbourhood of Chersonissos. When finished, the distance from the city of Iraklio to the new airport will be approximately 40 kilometers. Complaints have been filed for lack of a new road linking the new airport to the south coast of Crete. [Edit] I found a map with the planned road infrastructure on the site of the Greek Ministry of Transport and Communications. Click on it for a larger size map. The labels on the map are in Greek, but you’ll figure it out. The blue lines are existing roads, the red ones are new or planned. From what I can see there is a connection foreseen to link the airport to the south. Don’t know what the complaint is about then.

The new airport (red area in the map below) will be constructed over an area of 600 hectares (1482 acres), adjacent to the current military airport in Kastelli. It has a runway of 3800 meters to accommodate larger aircraft. An additional area of 22 hectares (54 acres) is reserved for commercial activity south-west of the new airport. This is a very large project with a budget of 1.2€ billion for construction costs alone, and together with purchase costs including loans and other expenses, will reach 1.5€ billion.

View Larger Map

For an update see also the article about the Construction of Iraklio airport in Kastelli Pediados of January 20th, 2011. Yes, that’s 2 years later.