Balkan Beats 21

Balkan Beats

A BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE BY THE VOLOUNTEERS OF THE UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS

l Carniva Edition

#21

FREE PRESS

Carnival mask on a budget

by Sanna Svärd

Editorial

The 21th Edition Another year has passed, and the volunteers

of USB are back in the office after various travels. Whether we have visited home to celebrate Christmas or traveled to see another Balkan country (you can read about Raul’s impression of Romania on page 26), we are all back with new ideas and stories to tell.

Balkan Beats celebrates the new year with a

Carnival edition magazine. Here, you will find both tips for the season and interesting History.

Read about the origins of Carnival (page 12), how the Carnival is celebrated in different countries (page 14), or how to make a Carnival mask (page 18). But Carnival is

l Carniva Edition

by Sanna Svärd

not the only thing Balkan Hotspot is celebrating. This year, our organization, United Societies of Balkans, celebrates its 10th anniversary as an NGO (read about it in page 10). We celebrated this with a Vasilopita party in Bord de L’eau, here in Thessaloniki.

To finish up the first page of Balkan Beats: Carnival Edition, I would like to welcome our new authors Isabel Tootill, Tomás Cunha, Filip Grac, Raul Fretes and Lazar Vasilev. The team of Balkan Hotspot is always changing, which brings new aspects and ideas to our work. We hope you will like the articles on the following pages. Enjoy!

Balkan Beats, a part of Balkan Hotspot

Balkan Hotspot is the EVS (European Voluntary

changes in the Balkan and Eastern European Service) project of “United Societies of Balkans”, region and under the need for the creation of a a NGO founded in Thessaloniki in 2008 by a team better social environment. of active young people.

Key areas of the organization’s activities concern The Balkans and Eastern Europe are geograph- the defense of human rights, the organization of ical regions with many cultural features which youth exchanges and training courses, which will offer a broad spectrum of actions and youth in- bring young people from Balkans and Europe tovolvement initiatives. The organization was cre- gether, the organization of local educational semated as a response to the pressure of constant inars and multimedia production.

United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia pro- duction(webradio, videos, documentaries).

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO

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Main goals of the organization • To promote the values of non formal le- aring,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth.

• To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity.

• To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe.

• To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies.

• The break down of prejudices and stereo- types between Balkan countries.

9, Alamanas str., Agios Pavlos, Thessaloniki Tel./Fax: +30 2310 215 629 | www.usbngo.gr

Property of Balkan Beats The United Societies of Balkans, NGO, does not necessarily share the opinions expressed in Balkan Beats. It is illegal to reproduce any part of this publication without referring to the source.

www.balkanhotspot.org

This magazine is distributed free of charge.

Contents

Contents Act React

04

NGO ACTIVITY

Help Refugees’ Warehouse in Northern Greece VOICE TO VOLUNTEERS

08

Voice to volunteer: Alexandre Vale

10

USB NEWS

That’s how 10 years pass by at United Societies of Balkans…

Carnival

AROUND THE WORLD

Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

21

“These Nights are for You”

23

43

Chinese New Year

Around the Balkans BALKANIZATER

26

The Demystification of Romania GREEK CULTURE

30

Leonard Cohen —A greek story

14

33

European Carnival Edition

18

CRAFTS

Carnival Mask on a Budget

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

The Carnival of Thessaloniki: From Riding Bikes to Ringing Bells

12

The Origins of Carnival

Social and Political

Rebetiko mou

35

The hidden treasure of Ano Poli

36

Interview with Mikro

40

The human auction in Libya

MixFix

SCIENCE AND TECH

45

Humanity’s new frontier, Space X

48

FOOD

An ancient Beverage Salepi

50

Ach! Nico Ach!

52

MIXFIX

Taoism as ‘’The Way’’

54

Horoscope 2018

03

Act React NGO ACTIVITY

Help Refugees’ Warehouse in Northern Greece

by Isabel Tootill

The place where love and care are sorted, packed and distributed

In the past few years, we have seen movements and appeals to help refugees all over the

world. Money, clothes, food, hygiene products, and much more is solicited to provide a dignified restart to people who had no choice but to leave everything behind, and seek for a new life. So, what happens to these donations? What is the process? How do they get to their destination? they rented a warehouse nearby and created a sorting and distribution system in order to give some dignity and stability to those people.

Today, two years and

Maps of migration routes and Refugee camps in Greece © Isabel Tootill

Help Refugees is a non-governmental organisa-

tion that has as fundamental purpose to answer directly and effectively to the needs of the refugees all over Europe and the Middle East. It started in the summer of 2015, when five British individuals, after hearing about the crisis that was going on in the Jungle Camp, in Calais, North of France, decided to raise 1.000£ and donate all the goods they could buy with this money to the refugees there. Their plan went way beyond the expected: in only one week, they managed to raise over 50.000£ and were receiving more than 7.000 items a day. After arriving in Calais and realizing the absence of NGO’s and official governmental bodies, they decided to take it upon themselves to help the 6.000 refugees that lived there: in partnership with the L’Auberge des Migrants and the few volunteers who worked there,

04

a half later, Help Refu- «It’s not about gees is one of the big- the aid, it’s about gest international dis- giving dignity to tribution and funding people» organisation, support( Alex , Warehouse manager) ing over 80 projects involved with asylum seeking and the refugee crisis in different stages and different areas. Intending to be as practical as possible, the organisations tries to have staff working directly in the field, trying to understand what are exactly the needs of each project and if it is having good results or not. The drive here is not do give only financial and material support, but also advise, information and psychological help.

Just in the outskirts of Thessaloniki, remains

one of the only two projects that Help Refugees has on grounds: the Help Refugees’ Warehouse in Northern Greece. Under four humanitarian principles – humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence – this project aims to give a stable and respectful life to asylum seekers in Greece.

Alongside with another warehouse in Athens, these are the only sorting and distribution centres in Greece’s mainland, meaning that if a char-

NGO ACTIVITY

ity project, anywhere in the world, aims to collect and distribute goods for refugees in Greece, they will most probably end up in one of these warehouses. The Help Refugees’ Warehouse in Northern Greece opened in August 2016 and it hasn’t stopped ever since. It was setup in order to support people that had been moved from refugee camps in the North of Greece to more formal accommodation provided by UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), such as shelters or apartments.

It’s very important for the staff of the Warehouse

to know exactly what and when they are going to receive donations, being this the main reason for them to work mostly with other organisations and projects around the world: «If we have

Act React

a donation arriving at the Warehouse, it’s most probably being sent and organised by another organisation we work with or we know of (…), so we know exactly what and when it is arriving and we are prepared» (Alex, Warehouse manager).

The process is simple: shelters, camps and social shops reach out to the Warehouse with a list of needed goods; the Warehouse contacts projects and organizations around the world, whose goal is to collect goods and donations, with the list of needs; these are collected and sent back to the Warehouse, where they’re sorted, stocked and later distributed to the people in need of them. This doesn’t mean they’re not willing to accept donations from people who want to help directly. As a matter of fact, it’s not uncommon for people to arrive in vans or cars with their own

© Isabel Tootill

Boxes ready to deliver

© Isabel Tootill

Social shop in the Warehouse, where volunteers can buy clothes considered inappropriate for distribution © Isabel Tootill

05

Act React NGO ACTIVITY

«I don’t do any other work apart from this. I don’t go visit camps, I don’t do all the glamorous stuff that people do (…) I don’t visit people, I don’t talk to children, I don’t talk to families, I don’t create relationships with people… I pretty much just stay here and make sure everything is sorted» ( Alex , Warehouse manager)

contributions, being these usually travellers or volunteers. In these cases, the staff appeals for a previous contact, as a way to receive only what is needed, making it easier to sort and distribute.

As a voluntary based project, the Warehouse

survives through the work of volunteers who receive just enough money to survive, and have food and accommodation provided by Help Refugees. On a daily basis, the volunteers at the Warehouse might be packing orders (received by shelters and social shops), distributing them, sorting clothes and goods recently received, cleaning, counting stock, labelling, or simply organizing the place. Another big part of the Warehouse’s work is the one done in the Soul Food Kitchen, a partner project who uses the space behind the Warehouse to transform their ideas

Volunteers working in the Soul Food Kitchen

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Volunteers working in the Soul Food Kitchen

© Isabel Tootill

into actions: distributing hot food to those in need in Thessaloniki. These can be homeless people in the streets, abandoned buildings occupied by homeless, relocated refugees, etc. The Soul Food Kitchen acts twice a day by cooking, cleaning and distributing over 350 hot vegan meals around the city.

© Isabel Tootill

NGO ACTIVITY

Act React

Although it is difficult to measure the impact

of their work, the Help Refugees Warehouse in Northern Greece is sure to have helped and saved a lot of people. In 2017, they distributed over 200.000 dippers, 42.877 hygiene items, 183.885 vegetables and fruit, 67.603 items of clothes and 76.867 items of dry food. They were involved in 27 projects and distributed in 16 refugee camps.

In two years time, the space, processes, and procedures have changed dramatically as a way to keep everything sustainable and working: «everything that we send is properly prepared, sorted and checked – nobody is receiving anything that is damaged, nobody is receiving anything that is dirty, nobody is receiving anything that is inappropriate, and groups are expecting to receive these items that are sent according to their actual needs» (Alex, Warehouse manager).

There are various ways of helping and taking part

in the actions of Help Refugees, or of the Warehouse project itself. Through IndiGo Volunteers, the volunteer coordination project connected to Help Refugees, it is possible to volunteer for this organisation, weather in Calais, the U.K., Serbia, or Greece. After going through an application process, sorted by IndiGo, the volunteer will be placed where his or her skills are most needed.

Being a short-term volunteer, the most probable place to be sent to is one of the warehouses.

As for the long-term volunteers, they will work alongside organisations that require a specific set of skills for a specific amount of time, such as camps, educational projects, health support organisations, etc. It is also possible to help through the donation of funds and goods to Calais and Greece, being the list of needed items available in the Help Refugees’ website.

Faces of the Warehouse

© Isabel Tootill

In this place, 20 minutes away from the centre of Thessaloniki, hard work is repaid with the feeling of having given dignity to people who were forced to leave their lives behind to survive, and are now trying to restart a new life. Here, along with clothes, vegetables, and dry food, volunteers sort, pack and distribute love and care to those who need it the most.

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Act React VOICE TO VOLUNTEERS

Voice to volunteer: Alexandre Vale

by Tomás Cunha

We prepared an interview with one of our ex EVS volunteers. Through this interview, you can learn new things about being an EVS volunteer and about our ex-volunteers experiences.

It captivated me immediately. I thought a bit and immediately applied. Fortunately, I got accepted!

2 How much time did you spend here?

I spent ten amazing months volunteering for the project, from February to December 2017.

3 What was the biggest culture shock you found?

Alex in Delphi, December 2017

© Alexandre Vale

We talked with Alexandre, a Portuguese volunteer

from Braga that stayed in Thessaloniki for a longterm project. Alexandre is 27 years old and has a degree in Communication Sciences. He was born and lives in Braga, a city in the north of Portugal.

1 Why did you decide to come to Greece?

After graduating from Communication Sciences around 2015, I was in a very difficult time of my life stuck to a call center job and freelance gigs which did not fulfil me personally or helped me evolve in a professional level. I was very unhappy and frustrated due to the situation. Since a long time I heard about EVS but I always put it a bit aside, waiting for the right time. After reflecting and thinking: “I really need to change cycles”, I started researching EVS projects. I saw this opportunity to work in the media field in Thessaloniki, through Balkan Hotspot. I remember I was really fascinated and very interested in the project.

08

The biggest “cultural shock” – but I mean this in

a very positive way – was the architecture and the urban organization of the city. Personally, it doesn’t feel like a European country. It feels between European – Middle Eastern country. It was amazing for me to see Ano Poli, the “old town” for the first time. There you see all kinds of cultural influences – Jewish, Muslim, Christian etc.

This amalgam of historical and cultural influences really impacted me, coming from a small, very Catholic, conservative boring city – I come from Braga, Portugal.

4 Was it difficult to adapt to a different reality?

I wouldn’t call the adaptation process “hard” but

I would call it “interestingly challenging”. I tried to arrive with my mind as open as possible. It was my first time abroad, living and sharing a house with so many volunteers. And although I think I adapted easily, it was a bit challenging to get used to some changes in my daily life. At first, it was sometimes strange to live, work, cook, eat and do everything together with all volunteers, to share a

VOICE TO VOLUNTEERS

room and having your privacy and personal space very limited. Also, a huge difference that had an impact on my daily life – Cafés are too expensive. It was my daily routine to grab a book or my computer and go to a café to read or work on something. Since any espresso was 2,50 and any drink is at least 3 euros, my pocket money would be sucked too quickly. I had to adapt and actually I’m glad I did – or I would end up maybe doing nothing different. I discovered the Port Of Thessaloniki as one of the best places to grab a frappé, the White Tower is a universal meeting point, the squat houses are effervescent and inspiring.

It wasn’t hard but indeed it was a nice challenge.

5 Which event has marked you the most during your stay here?

I could write a whole article about it. But without

a doubt, it was when I started getting acquainted with the refugee crisis’ real situation. I was not ready or trained to digest what I would see and even what to reflect or think about the situations I would face. Seeing the way they are being treated and the misguiding media portrayal of the situation really affected me. Even now, today, I’m still thinking of ways to provide some kind of help on this topic.

6 Do you have an example of a “Lost in Translation” episode?

Every time you go to a supermarket you get

some kind of lost in translation moment. But the “best ones” happen when you go to the train or bus station. Whoever volunteers in Greece will understand why!

7 What was the feeling when you boarded the return flight?

So strange... On one hand, I felt really sad for

leaving Thessaloniki and a bit anxious about what’s gonna happen next. On the other hand, at the same time, I was really happy because I felt

Act React

like I learned a lot and grew a lot as a human being. I left still with plenty of things I would like to have done during my EVS. Maybe I would have a different attitude regarding some aspects of my experience if I was aware of them before coming.

But I left with this strong feeling: My EVS was – and is still – the most impactful experience I had and I made it worth it!

8 How are you doing now in Portugal?

Is it not strange that you can communicate so easily wherever you go?

Being back to your own city after such a long time and especially when you left it in a “very strange time of your life” is a strange, ambivalent feeling. After ten months, I feel a bit like a tourist and still digesting and reflecting on these ten months and all the good and bad experiences I had. Although I must say, I’m very optimistic.

You leave your city probably as a very insecure and anxious person. You come back feeling like a strong-minded, optimistic person. It is good to speak your language again, but I miss the times I could say bad words in Portuguese and nobody could understand them.

9 What has changed for you these past few months?

I’m still answering that question. But for now, I

feel I cleared a lot of doubts and insecurities I was dealing with about myself, my life and what I wanted from my life. What I can tell for now is that I now have a very optimistic approach to people, I expect the best of them. I learned how to do and go after what I want. And, most important: I learned how to be with people, how to attract and select the people I really want in my life and also, I learned how to be alone. This last part comes from the trips you make, from the initiatives you take. You learn to go after what you love, with the people you connect and love. And learn to relativize other people’s opinion.

09

Act React USB NEWS

That’s how 10 years pass by at United Societies of Balkans…

by Mafalda Tenazinha

We asked our president to do a flashback of these first 10 years ahead of the United Soci-

eties of Balkans (USB), one of the most respectful NGO’s in Greece. The result?! You can read it *Training Course in Austria. right here, right now in an interview made by Mafalda.

How did the idea of USB come to your mind?

The idea came from the need to do something for the Balkans, the need to do something for the people here, and from the vision to open up the knowledge for more people. A knowledge acquired by doing things not just by myself, but also by my friends and me (the ones who formed the initial group of the organization) participating in youth programs at that time.

I was 20 years old and, since then (when I met

European countries, such as England, France, Spain or Portugal… while in Greece existed only 5 youth organizations.

How hard was the beginning?

At that time nobody wanted to give me the “knowledge ready”. I didn’t know how to do it, what was needed, how to apply, how to build the structure… so I started to participate more often in some training courses and youth programs – the “tourist of the seminars”.

the first evs volunteer from Lithuania and I learnt After some of these experiences, you discover what EVS was), I started to like the topic of that this kind of knowledge is something that non-formal education, its power, and the power you don’t learn from the universities, but from of the intercultural spirit lived in this kind of ac- the inside instead. tivities.

Also my mother is somewhat guilty towards all of this, because she was taking me to her workplace. There, I started to create my free spirit, where I saw different realities from mine and where I developed my will to help others. There, I also delivered, for the first time, some small courses.

At that time, nobody wanted to cooperate with the Balkan countries. The people were much more excited about the idea of going to the main

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Aris Parashou, 34 years old, President of USB © Mafalda Tenazinha

USB NEWS

“Balkan Vision” was my first project by the sea-

side, in Halkidiki, and there I did all the mistakes that an organizer of a project can do. Thus, I learnt with all of these mistakes, and suddenly USB came from an unstructured group of people working together into - after 2011 – one of the most respected NGO’s in all over Greece.

Nowadays, Aris is the person who many people

come to clarify some doubts with in the more practical issues in the process of starting an organization.

10 years, 10 things USB already did 1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9

We have made exhibitions, a lot of competitions, documentaries. We published books but apart from all of these things…

We made many mistakes (but also we learnt from them); We spread knowledge to others; We did pioneer activities and we created pioneer projects; We sent abroad many people to have the experiences in their life; We did activities in places where nobody wanted to go (because normally people want to go to the big cities) – and we convinced local people to join us.

We taught Greeks that the certification sometimes doesn’t matter by explaining the power of non-formal education; We taught what EVS is; Networking: connecting people and projects - we hosted more people from other organizations and projects We believe they will give us more inputs and fresh ideas.

10 We do it as a team (and we also try to bring people to do things together)

Act React

“Not everything in the world is going around the certification.

You need to do things for your own personal development.”

The number of evs volunteers who have already been hosted by USB: +180.

The number of volunteers sent abroad: around 3000.

The number of youth exchanges organized

by USB: around 78 (+ training and workshops, seminars and small meetings)

The number of people we host in seminars/ training courses: around 4000.

10 years, 10 wishes for the future 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

See some changes in mentalities; See young Greek people coming back to their country; USB surviving over time; Having some more recognition and acceptance; Fulfill the needs of young people in Greece; Continue to be one step forward; See the people making mistakes and learning with them (volunteers included!); Have more young people on the team (young people mean fresh ideas); Continue to put people outside of their comfort zone;

10 Continue to be happy, to dream high, to give the motivation and the will to do things with others.

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Carnival AROUND THE WORLD

The Origins of Carnival

by Isabel Tootill

Have you ever wondered where all the Carnival season traditions come from? Have you ever questioned why do we wear costumes and masks during these days? Have you ever thought about the reason that led us to parades, dancing and music playing? Well, there is a sense and a purpose in all of this and, this year, you are going to know what about you are celebrating, since I am telling you all about it right ahead.

Carnival in Venice, 1856

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Source: http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/history.html

It is hard to have a simple direct answer to the question «How did the Carnival tradition start?». There are various theories and stories about this tradition, not only religious, but also pagan.

For Western Catholic countries, this day occurs typically in February, 40 days before Easter, and it is calculated by the Lunar Calendar. Religiously, this season, also known as the Shrovetide time, marks the beginning of Lent – the period leading up to Easter when the pleasures of life are denied and reflections about sacrifice and values are

AROUND THE WORLD

in order as a way to celebrate the time Jesus Christ fasted in the desert. The origin of the word is also quite uncertain, but it is thought to derive from medieval Latin carnem levare, meaning «to remove the meat». This, would make sense, of course, since this day is the last day to eat meat until Easter, according to Christian traditions.

The roots of this celebration are traced mainly to

two geographic continents: Africa and Europe. In the latter, the origin is thought to come from the fact that all the winter stores were coming to an end and about to rot, so this was the last opportunity for common people to eat well, making a big feast out of it with the whole community. It was Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) that officially decided that the fasting period – lent – would start on Ash Wednesday, making Carnival part of Christian calendar. Moreover, the Italian carnival is believed to derive from the ancient roman festivals, like the Saturnalia, for example. This carnival – the best known in Europe – spread to Spain, Portugal and France and, from there, it spread to North and South America. Also, this day was lived as a kind of ritual with the goal of scaring away the Winter spirits and calling the Summer and the light.

Carnival

had the urge to copy these rituals in the roads in a much more festive way. Masks started to be used as a way of criticizing the richer people and making fun of the ruling class. Not liking this, the colonialists forbid slaves to celebrate carnival and, only when slavery ended and lower classes were able to celebrate it again, carnival traditions as we know them started to develop in a stronger way. Over time, European and African celebrations started to merge and both sides begun sharing their traditions, culminating in the carnival festivities as we know them today.

Nowadays, even though Lent isn’t taken in such

a strict way, Carnival season is celebrated fervently in many places around the world. Excessive consumptions are made, and masks and costumes are worn in order to commemorate this period. Also, music and dancing take a big part in these days, symbolizing the happiness and good mood of such a beautiful time!

As for the African traditions, it is known that it

started in the Caribbean islands. During the colonial times, the upper class was celebrating this time with masquerade balls, music and dancing.

Eventually, the lower classes, including slaves,

Carnival in the Caribbean Islands Source: http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/history.html

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Carnival AROUND THE WORLD

European Carnival Edition

by Paweł Walentyn Marchenko

Carnival season is a part of our culture and it happens yearly. In this article I will compare and highlight the differences between European carnivals. Having chosen four carnivals from different countries, I will take your on an adventure around Europe to feel what it’s like to attend one. Enjoy…

Venice, Italy

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Venice, Italy

Source: https://www.skuola.net/news/fun/giovedi-grasso.html

Venice’s carnival is one of the most popular carnivals throughout Europe. It has an incredible tradition and history! Not many know that in the XVIII century, carnival parties were lasting the amazing amount of 30 days, but Napoleon Bonaparte decided that it was too loud and wanted it to perish. The tradition of the Venice carnival came back in 1979, brought by the Italian government, and lasts usually 10 days. Formerly, there were rules about how to behave, and people were obliged to follow norms and bans. So, in order to be able to break barriers of social norms

and rules, masks and special clothing were made and worn. Elegant costumes, wigs and masks became inseparable element of participants of Venice’s entertainment. During Carnival season, Venice transforms itself unrecognizably. On the main stage, in Piazza San Marco, happens a legendary show of costumes that is comparable to a sophisticated outdoor ballroom surrounded by structures. Amusement is followed in a place called Piazetta. Every edition of carnival, it hosts many ball nights with spectacular street performances. Fun begins with a loud march of

AROUND THE WORLD

Venice, Italy

Carnival

Source: https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/456341374728847381/?autologin=true

finely dressed participants to St. Peter’s Basilica church. Later, there is the known show in which voice, thus full anonymity is provided. It also an acrobat climbs the belfry of the Basilica with enables eating and drinking without the need of attached wings to his back, and soon after is taking the mask off. lowered dropping thousands of confetti on parThere are tons of attractions and there is no way ticipants. It is said to be a magical experience. to see and experience all of it fully. So, with that Traditional Venice masks are made out of thought, one has to accept the fact that you canskin or special paper mâché, and are modestly not be in several places simultaneously. I hope one-colored. Among the most fancy masks, is that you, dear reader, were capable of tasting a the one with a jaw pushed forward, which helps bit of Venice at its peak, and were inspired to visit to remain anonymous and deforms the wearer’s this mystical place.

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Carnival AROUND THE WORLD

Nice, France

Nice is mainly attracting young tourists with its

dynamic and lively nightlife. The ones who are trying to find a quiet and peaceful place are better off looking for other locations, while all party people, who seek loud and exciting nightlife, will have a blast during the Carnival season in Nice.

ors for the spectators. The most important caravan is the one of the Queen, which is adorned with beautiful orchids. The march is spiced up with musical-dancing bands - including lots of drum performances - invited from all kinds of exotic corners of the World. Salsa, tango, rock and jazz blend perfectly with the mixture of cultures. During the march, you will see stilt walkers jumping happily around, colorful circus schools, witches and night military parades occurring near the statue of the French military commander André Masséna.

For two weeks in February, over Angels Bay, happens the most important event of the city. It is known mostly for its wonderful and magical parades. When looking at the streets, you will see rolling platforms, drowned in freshly smelling flowers on which stand colorful characters from fairytales, as well as gorgeous, smiling ladies in ‘incredibly creative’ dresses giving out blossoms As an additional attraction, there is something called Blossom fights where public and characto the public. ters from the parades throw mimosa plants at To decorate platforms, florists and gardeners one another, smiling and enjoying the carnival. use a few thousands of fresh flowers, spread- Two weeks of well performed parades, music ing the smell as the caravans passes through and performances end in a breathtaking show the streets, which become a true spree of col- of fireworks.

Nice, France

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Source: http://monplanvoyage.com/en/travel-inspirations/family-holidays/carnival-nice

AROUND THE WORLD

Carnival

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

Many think that Santa Cruz de Tenerife is one

of the most breathtaking Canary Islands. Craggy mountains are intertwined with flower gardens and well-kept parks. Just like in Ibiza or Gran Canaria, you cannot get bored. The variety of entertainment offered here is simply stunning. But the most famous is the colorful carnival filled with dancing, held every year in February, with a length of 9 days.

Maastricht, Holland

Maastricht, the oldest city in the Netherlands, is

known primarily for the act of signing a treaty in the city that sparked the creation of The European Union. Although this is not the only reason to visit this country… One of its beauty is found in local carnival madness, which has no comDuring this time, the most spectacular games the petition in this part of Europe. take place in Tenerife - the city is called «the small Rio de Janeiro» for a reason. The sunny fun of Way before February, on the eleventh day of Tenerife lasts longer because it has its own rights. the eleventh month, the Council of the Eleven The celebration, that spreads to other municipali- gather to establish the order of things for the ties and towns, give the impression of a ‘’wander- upcoming Carnival season. The Council of the ing carnival’’ - carnival dances, pageants and com- Eleven selects the «Prince of the Carnival» - the petitions seem endless. There are closed offices person who is in charge and takes over the loand schools, and all the shopping must be done cal authority during this season. On Saturday in the afternoon. The main carnival celebration before Carnival, the mayor gives the city keys to begins a week before Ash Wednesday. It’s a real the Prince of the Carnival and the city changes dress and fashion battle. Carnival celebrations are its atmosphere drastically. broadcasted live on Spanish TV, and the weather makes it fun and easy to enjoy: in February and During the great parade reigns buzzing, singMarch, the temperature in Tenerife does not fall ing, dancing and good, spontaneous fun. Even below 16 degrees. The whole madness ends with the most important clerks go to the market in a the funeral of a few-meter long paper-wooden bathrobe, a bathing suit and dressed as dwarfs sardine. Mourners dressed in black lead the fish or vampires. People of all states drink beer and puppet to the shore of the ocean, where they burn sing specially composed songs. This is an event it while finishing the winter. that you cannot just see - you have to participate!

Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain - the burial of the Sardine Source: https://www.spain-holiday.com/Tenerife/articles/ getting-into-the-carnival-spirit-on-tenerife

Maastricht, Holland

© Hans Hollanders Source: https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/ travel/its-not-crazy-its-carnival

17

Carnival CRAFTS

Carnival Mask on a Budget

by Sanna Svärd

If you are planning to celebrate Carnival this year, you have probably given a thought on whether or not you should get a Carnival mask. Of course, you could buy a mask either in a store or online. But, if your wallet echoes from Christmas (or any other reason), here is a guide on how to make your own mask!

What you will need: White paper

Step 2

Paper in a color you like

Fold your paper in half, and draw how you want

Cardboard

your mask to look. Cut it out, with the paper still folded in half. Now, you have the skeleton for your mask!

Lace Scissor Glue stick Ruler Optional: extra decoration

Step 1

Map out how big you want your mask, more or

18

less. Take a ruler and measure your face. You should decide length and height. I decided to go with 18x9, but it totally depends on the size of your face! Map this out on a piece of white paper.

© Sanna Svärd

© Sanna Svärd

© Sanna Svärd

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Carnival

Step 3

Map out your mask on a nicer paper, then cut it out. You’re almost ready!

Tip: Don’t buy cardboard, use something you received when buying something. I used an old chocolate box. Recycle! © Sanna Svärd

Step 5

Now, it is time to glue the cardboard and the pa-

per together. Important: leave the two outer corners of the mask with no glue, as in the picture below.

© Sanna Svärd

Step 4

Do the same again, this time on cardboard. This

is to stabilize your mask.

© Sanna Svärd

© Sanna Svärd

© Sanna Svärd

19

Carnival PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Step 6

Step 7

Make a hole in the outer corners of the card- Last step is to gently bend your mask, in order board-part of the mask. Thread your lace through for it to fit better on your face. these holes. As you can see, the red paper covers the knot. Smart, right?

© Sanna Svärd

Voilà! © Sanna Svärd

20

Now, you have your own Carnival mask! If you

prefer a minimalistic mask, you can keep it like this. If you want to look more Carnival-ish, you can decorate the mask further! Paint it, glue lace around the corners, sprinkle it with glitter, be creative! During carnival season, there is no such thing as ”too much”.

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

The Carnival of Thessaloniki: From Riding Bikes to Ringing Bells

Thessaloniki

by Sanna Svärd

If you have ever celebrated Carnival, or even if you have just seen pictures and movies of the

celebrations, I am sure that the first thing that comes to your mind is crazy masks and parades.

In this manner, Thessaloniki is no different. But, there are events that put Thessaloniki on the Carnival map. Ever heard of bicycling Carnival parades or bell-wearers? Read on to find out.

As you may already know, Thessaloniki is one of the most popular party destinations in Europe.

When Carnival arrives, this is perhaps more clear than ever. Thessaloniki has made a name out of itself, during this period, in various ways. Usually, the most important events take place in the theatre of Neapolis. The events should be easy to find either on Google or Facebook when the dates are closing in.

In Thessaloniki and the world, Carnival is an old

tradition, and you can read more about its origins on page 12. Yet, Thessaloniki has managed to renew Carnival both with an environmental-friendly approach, and a celebration of the past.

Since 2010, there has been a bicycling parade in the city called Bike Carnival. Previous years, the Bike Carnival has been on the Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake day), which 2018 will be on February 13th. According to the organizers themselves, the Bike Carnival has a political agenda. It was created to promote eco-friendly

© Pedro Amaro Santos

choices, but also to promote the positive impact biking has on your health.

Basically, what makes the Bike Carnival special is that you cycle, which I personally think sounds like a lot of fun. Dress up in your best Carnival outfit, bring your bike and enjoy a different way of Carnival parade. Finish the day off with a big meal, since the fasting is about to come.

Part of the Balkan Hotspot team during last year’s Carnival.

Read the article about Carnival 2017 here

© Bike Carnival

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

So, maybe Bike Carnival already convinced you to celebrate Carnival in Thessaloniki. But, if not, if you want to see something even more different, you should visit the Carnival two days earlier. On February 11th, Thessaloniki will host Bell Roads for the fifth year in a row. Bell Roads is the European festival of bell-wearing. Now, you might be wondering what bell-wearing is, which is totally understandable. Bell-wearing is a tradition with its origins in Drama and Kavala, two cities northeast of Thessaloniki. Since ancient times, people have dressed up with masks and clothes of animal skins, covered their faces with ash and tied ringing bells around their chests. Like this, they dance to perform rituals. These rituals have its origins in the ancient farming, from when hu-

mans discovered agriculture. All of a sudden, life and survival started to depend on good weather conditions, in order to have enough harvest to feed the community. The dresses are supposed to blur out the line between humans and animals, creating another kind of creature.

The tradition of bell-wearing is rather mystical.

We can assume that the customs did not look like this in the beginning, but years of rituals with various outcomes, harvest or no harvest, has developed the way the bell-wearers dress today. Maybe the best way to fully understand the mystique surrounding the bell-wearers is to visit Bell Roads.

And maybe the best way to understand the Greek take on Carnival is to visit Thessaloniki.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5VWlRCyrE

Š Bell Roads

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PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Chinese New Year Guo Nian

Thessaloniki

by Hande Yetkin

Did you know that the Chinese New Year is celebrated by 25% of the world’s population? Did

you know that it hosts the world’s biggest annual fireworks? It is one of the most colourful events in both Chinese and international calendars. Other than in China, it is celebrated in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, North Korea, Taiwan, Brunei, Singapore and Macau.

The chinese New Year’s Day is called «Guo Nian», which means celebrating a new year and overcoming the monster Nian. The chinese character Nian means both year and the name of the monster.

New Year celebrations start on the 23rd day of

the 12th lunar month of the chinese calendar.

The festival lasts for about 23 days, ending on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the following year in the next calendar. Even though the date changes every year, celebrations are always between the 21st of January and the 20th of February. This year, Chinese New Year will be Source: http://etsy.me/2n4gXel on the 16th of February, and there will be a 7 days official holiday until the 21st of February. Prepare Yourself, Chinese New Year is The first three days of the new year are statutory Coming! holidays.

As the rest of the world, chinese people are also According to the traditional beliefs, each year is welcoming the spring with similar traditions such associated with an animal in the chinese zodi- as cleaning their houses, buying new clothes and ac and, this year, it will be the dog. It is believed fireworks. Plus, they have very unique special one: that the year that you were born is represented the usage of red items as decoration: they cover with an animal in the lunar calendar and that their houses and streets with red carpets with pothe animal of your year is the base of your char- ems on them, and they use red lanterns and some acteristics. For instance, if you were born in an pictures that are related with Chinese New Year. earth dog year, you are most probably communi- Chinese people regard red as energy, happiness cative, serious, and responsible in the workplace and good luck. Public preparations are done a but, unfortunately, you are cursed with bad luck month before, but the private homes are prepared because the dog year is considered as the most only on New Year’s Eve. Right after midnight of unlucky year of the calendar. Here you can find the Spring Festival Eve, fireworks and firecrackers your own Chinese zodiac sign and, if you belong appear to drive away the bad luck from the counto a year of the dog, here is how to make good try. It is believed that the one who launches the luck. first firework will be lucky in the year to come.

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Thessaloniki PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

New year celebrations are not only about how

the houses look, but also about how you get united with your family in this period. It is highly important to be with family members on New Year’s Eve, being the main focus the dinner and everyone around a table full of foods. First of all, you should know that chinese people care a lot about eating and that the food served in New Year celebrations has some special meanings.

For instance, fish brings an increase in prosperity; dumplings and spring rolls symbolise wealth; rice cake (niangao) means a higher income or a higher position; and noodles are the symbol of happiness and longevity. Also, every food has some lucky sayings. For example, when people are eating Tangyuan (sweet rice balls), they say «Tuántuán yuányuán», which means “Happy family reunion to each other”. In addition to those traditions, they also have some rules for the order in which the food is presented on the table. If there is fish in the menu, the head should be placed towards the guests or to the elders, as a way of showing respect, and everyone will only start eating after those who face the head of the fish. The ones who face the head and tail of the fish have to drink together, at the same time, in order to have luck for the next year. During dinner, families watch the CCTV New Year Gala, that start at 8 pm and goes on untill the midnight.

mythical monster called ‘Year’, and that it will come on New Year’s Eve to destroy living things and properties. After years of experience, chinese people figured out that the colour red drives away fire and noise, being this the reason for the chinese New Year’s celebrations to be noisy and full of fires. I know all of these traditions sound somewhat illogical but, trust me, they are extremely glamorous. Imagine a world full of drums, gongs and dragons… Chinese New Year’s celebration is like a piece of fantasy. According to the theme of the year, the concept of the decorations change. People prepare paper cutouts to garnish the windows. They go to the big squares or temples where the huge bells are. Traditionally, a bell can send all the bad luck in the country away and bring good luck. Listening the the New Year’s bell is part of the celebrations. Another tradition is to send red envelopes to each due to their love for red.

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, peo-

ple wear their new clothes and greet each other.

Nowadays, young people prefer sending greetings online. On the second day, the visiting of other people’s houses start. Married daughters visit the house of their parents. On the third day, people start visiting their relatives and friends.

On the last day, during the Lantern Festival, there two types of lanterns being sent away: the After dinner, family members are suppose to are aloft glowing lanterns are sent to the sky; and stay awake all night. This generation is called the floating lanterns are sent to the sea, rivers Shou Sui - for sure there is a myth behind that and lakes. tradition. Chinese people believe that there is a

Source: http://bit.ly/2n6v6IH

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Traditional Dances in Celebrations Source: http://bit.ly/2n4083R

PAST AND FUTURE EVENTS

Thessaloniki

The Chinese New Year in Thessaloniki

We, as the volunteers of United Societies of Bal-

Dragon Dance

Source: http://bit.ly/2rxchTJ

kans, live in a region full of Chinese and most of them have lived in Thessaloniki for more than 10 years. Being this the case, it is pretty inevitable for them not to be assimilated and to forget about some of the traditions. I asked some of them how do they celebrate the upcoming year and here are the answers:

“I have been in Thessaloniki for 10 years. We are

China is All About Superstitions and Taboos

celebrating our new year by shopping. We are taking a break and resting.” -Guanzheng Chen, 23

“I have been living in Thessaloniki for 10 years.

We are gathering for a meal on New Year’s Eve. that this country is all about bad luck and good We continue to go to work. We will cook someluck. If you are planning to buy a present for your thing nice.” -Yuxin Lin, 23 Chinese friend, be careful. It may be the end of your friendship if you cross the red line! You can “We will celebrate it on the 15th of February. make a Chinese quite upset if you offer them We will be together with our family and eat Hotshoes, clocks, cut flowers, umbrellas. They be- pot. We have been in Thessaloniki for 19 years.” lieve that these object might bring bad luck, as -Xiaofeng Gu, 46 well as mirrors (they attract ghosts) and sharp “We are have been here for 18 years. We will objects (they cause break ups). have a happy family gathering on New Year’s Keep in mind that you are not allowed to wash Eve.” -Susanna, 35 One thing that you should know about China is

your hair and your clothes on New Year’s Day - it is thought to wash away the good luck. You also can’t do needling work or sweeping up because it will sweep away the wealth. Additionally, you are not allowed to pronounce unlucky words such as «death» or «unhealthy». Whatever you say will haunt yuou in the following year. During the Spring Festival, it is highly forbidden to cry, to break a dish, to use scissor or knives, to lend or to borrow money, to visit hospitals and to dress in black or white colors. The reason is the same, it is all about bad luck! Moreover, you should avoid taking medicine on the first day of the lunar year otherwise you may be sick for the whole year.

“We have been in Thessaloniki for 5 years. We

will have a meal together on the 16th of February, as usual.” -Chengkai Zhou, 25

“We have been here since 2002. We will eat to-

gether with our family on New Year’s Eve.” -Hualing Yan, 45

As the answers show, they still care about be-

ing together with family on New Year’s Eve but, unfortunately, they are very far away from celebrating the most important day of their calendar.

Let’s wait and see if we can see a real Chinese New Year Celebration here in Thessaloniki or not.

25

Around the Balkans BALKANIZATER

The Demystification of Romania

by Raul Fretes

Fighting stereotypes through experience

In late October, I had the opportunity to embark on a trip around Romania for 12 days, a

country I never saw myself journeying into. Feeling anxious and nervous about what was waitting for me during my travels in this uncharted region of Europe I decided, as many other travelers do, to consult travelling guides, friends and acquaintances about what to expect. After a few days of checking information and advice, the excitement that I once had towards this trip begun to fade away and thoughts of the worst situations started to pop-up in my head: Romania seems like a dangerous country for a lonely wanderer. A clear majority of the people I have talked to, as well as most travel guides, seemed to line up into one common conclusion about Romania´s Inhabitants that were just myths: “Beware of the taxi drivers and do not trust the people, especially the Gypsies”

Slideshow

Roma Seller at Castle of Pele

After hearing the “facts” about the danger, the

© Raul Fretes

04:00 AM in a country where both its city and lanbeginning of the trip was uneasy and stressful: guages were completely unknown to me - , while travelling from Thessaloniki (Greece) to Bucha- carrying most of my equipment made it quite rest by bus - a 14-hour trip with arrival set around uncomfortable. I was continuously worried about

26

BALKANIZATER

my belongings and possessions, to a point where my mind was set to avoid as many locals as possible due to fears of someone trying to scam me or being pick-pocketed. Thus, upon arrival, people from the area noticed that I was a tourist, and this frighten me at the beginning, for it made me feel like a prey for them. I was anxious and scared... were the stories and anecdotes true?

While expecting the worst, a middle-aged woman approached me, followed by a young couple.

We were able to communicate and, briefly after helping both me and my elderly savior, they proceeded to call a taxi for me and made sure that I was set properly, being certain that the taxi driver had a proper license and asking for a fixed price for driving me to my destination.

Staying in Romania is surprisingly cheap, not

only for its low prices in both housing and inexpensive, yet a bit chaotic but highly functional, public transport. Also, food in supermarkets and restaurants is set at very low prices. The Cara`Cu Bere (The Beer Dragon), for example, is situated in a gothic revival building in the Old Town of Bucharest, and students can enjoy a full course meal for the price of 21,90 Lei (around 5 euros).

Alcohol is also a cheap steal in Romania, such as palinka, Romanian´s typical alcoholic drink: a distilled brewage made of plums, with a high level of alcohol. It can be acquired for 4€ to 12€.

Besides the price accessibility of the country,

Romania possesses many touristic points for the passionate historians, for its rich History of the independence war against both the Austria-Hungarian and the Ottoman Empire, as well as it being the homeland of none-other than Vlad The Impaler; the architecture lovers - in many cities of Romania, prominent Austro-Hungarian architecture still stand out in impeccable conditions, bringing up a different idea and thought of the country itself ; and for the mystery hunters - Romanian is home of many legends, myths and stories, such as the famous haunted Hoia Forest, outside the city of Cluj-Napoca.

Around the Balkans

© Raul Fretes Hoia Forest, Cluj Napoca - famous worldwide for its alleged frequent and varied paranormal phenomena, and for its light and magnetism phenomenons that occur within the forest1, as well as for being considered the highest sightsee spot for UFO in the world.

Throughout the History of Western European civilizations, there has been a constant labelization of the the Romani population, through fables, romantic novels and myths, as thieves, fortune tellers, free spirits, and liars2, portraying Romani people in popular western culture as wandering groups that spread diseases, abductors of children, and violators and murderers3. These labelizations, erotizations and stereotypization of this ethnic group have close similarities to the portrays that Jewish people have had.

Still, to this day, Roma people are regarded as one of the lowest of social outcasts in Europe, associating men with thievery and cunning acts and, depicting women as provocative, exotic, mystic and sexually available individuals. Thus, the inhabitants of Romania have been looked down by other western European all over History due to the stereotypes created. Even to these days, countries like France, Spain, Italy and Portugal mark them as undesirable immigrants and tourists thanks to the floating concepts that surround the mind of people that, most likely, never visited this hidden gem of the Balkans.

1 Valentin Iacob (2013). “Capitala mondială a paranormalului: Pădurea Hoia-Baciu (The world capital of the paranormal: Hoia-Baciu Forest)”. www.formula-as.ro (in Romanian).

Retrieved 2016-05-26.

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people_in_fiction 3 https://formingthethread.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/gypsiesstereotypes-offense-and-truth/

27

Around the Balkans BALKANIZATER

This negative depiction of Romania as an underdeveloped country with many socio-economic and political problems perhaps has to do with the country’s dictatorial regime during its communist period. A prime example of this is the relocation of more than 40,000 people during the construction of the Palatul Parlamnetului (Palace of the Parliament), considered the second biggest building in the world. It´s construction required the demolition of 1/5 of the area of Bucharest and had a cost equivalent to more than 2 billion euros.

28

Even though Romania still presents under-devel-

oping characteristics in its economy, politics and transportation structure (low income, corruption cases, lack of highways, slow and antique train lines, etc.), it is yet far from this picture of being a third world country due to is highly well conserved historical buildings, and its avanguard student policies - such as being able to travel around the country for free as long as being a student in a Romanian university; high students discounts; and cheap accommodation costs in students dorms and studios (for Master’s degree or high graded students).

BALKANIZATER

In the end, it is easy to point fingers and judge others, and hard to praise them... however, sometimes we mustn’t take the easy road, but go through the rough one and learn by ourselves, at our own experiences: travel, read and interact with others. As the 20th century Spanish writer Miguel de Unamuno once said: “Fascism is cured by reading, and racism is cured by traveling”.

Around the Balkans

Frontside of the Palatul Parlament - the Palatu Parlamentului is the largest administrative building in the world with a height of 84 meter and an area of 365,000 square meters. © Raul Fretes

29

Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

Leonard Cohen —A greek story

by Tomás Cunha

In 1960, Cohen was walking on the streets of London when he saw an office door of a Bank of Greece. He went inside and asked for the cashier — “What’s the weather like in Greece?” — and the cashier replied — “Its spring.” — And two days later, Leonard left for Greece.

To a friend he explained that having this house

makes cities less frightening. But he didn’t want to lose contact with the metropolitan experience.

Buying the house also gave him confidence: “The years are flying past and we all waste so much time wondering if we dare to do this or that. The thing is to leap, to try, to take a chance.” — said Cohen.

“Greece is a good place to look at the moon, isn’t it?

You can read by moonlight You can read on the terrace You can see a face As you saw it when you were young” (…)

— Days of Kindness by Leonard Cohen

A few weeks after his arrival in Greece, Leonard

reached in Piraeus, where he boarded on a ferry for Hydra. When he arrived, he discovered an English-speaking community of artists and writer who invited Leonard to stay in the spare room of their house. Seven months later, Cohen, with 26 years old, bought a house on the hill of Hydra which became his permanent home. Cohen later said that it was the smartest decision he ever made. It was a private space where he could work, either on the terrace or in his music room.

30

It has a huge terrace with a view of dramatic mountain and shining white houses. The rooms are large and cool with deep windows set in thick walls. I suppose it’s about 200 years old and many generations of sea-men must have lived here. I will do a little work on it every year and in a few years it will be a mansion...

I live on a hill and life has been going on here exactly the same for hundreds of years. All through the day you hear the calls of the street vendors and they are really rather musical... I get up around 7 generally, and work till about noon. Early morning is cooler and therefore better, but I love the heat anyhow, especially when the Aegean Sea is 10 minutes from my door.”

(Cohen described his home to his mother)

GREEK CULTURE

Leonard Cohen writing on a typewriter in Hydra. Greece, circa 1960

Around the Balkans

© Unknown Author

It was a place of solitude, cold water and kero- spective. Here he began to produce some of his sene lamps. Here, Leonard found his peace, his best poetry, writing and songs. Here, the music sitting-down time, as he called it. of Greece entered his soul, emerging earlier memories and melodies, combining with them Here, Leonard discovered the Greek way of life. to suggest a new style, a new mystique.

He was able to stand back from the onrush of western man and ask himself the real questions “Bird on the Wire” began in Greece, when Cohen of life and meaning, as well as to get his young first arrived in Hydra, where there were no wires life, full and successful as it had been, into per- on the island, no telephones and no regular elec-

31

Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

tricity. But soon telephone poles appeared, and then the wires. “I would stare out the window at these telephone wires and think how civilisation had caught up with me and I wasn’t going to be able to escape after all.” — Cohen said. Then he noticed that the birds came to the wires. The next line referred to the many evenings Cohen and friends climbed the endless stairs up from the port of Hydra, drunk and singing.

“Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free.” (…)

— Bird on The Wire by Leonard Cohen

And it was here that he met Marianne, a young

woman of great beauty, high intelligence, deep sympathy and fun and, together, they made music for 10 years, explored the world and themselves, responding only to the more meaningful pressures of life and love.

Bibliographic References: Baboulias, Yiannis (2016, December 4) [online], “Hydra: a pilgrimage to Leonard Cohen’s Greek island retreat”, The Guardian, consult. in 07.01.2018, available in: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/ dec/04/hydra-greece-leonard-cohen “Leonard Cohen’s Greek Years”, Luisa World, consult. in 07.01.2018, available in: http://www.luisaworld.com/leonard-cohens-greek-years/ “Leonard Cohen’s Hydra”, Leonard Coher, consult. in 07.01.2018, availible in: https://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/hydra2.html

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© JUnknown Author Leonard Cohen and the Norwegian model Marianne Ihlen in Hydra, Greece, circa 1960

“Come over to the window, my little darling I’d like to try to read your palm I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy Before I let you take me home Now so long, Marianne It’s time that we began to laugh And cry and cry and laugh about it all again” — So Long, Marianne by Leonard Cohen

GREEK CULTURE

Rebetiko mou

Around the Balkans

by Valentina Orlando

Looking for a way to get closer to the Greek soul, and guided by my unripe nostalgy of

everything that I will leave behind due to my return to Italy in few days, I searched for a taverna where the heart of the Greek culture is located.

It was in these places that the music of rebetiko

was born and, like blues or the Portuguese fado, it suggests with its rhythms, its popular origins.

Curious about the connections with the Italian music tradition, I discovered a connection of the contemporary rebetiko with the Italian songwriter and instrumentalist Vinicio Capossela.

“Ebbro fino agli occhi, vuoto fino al cuore, gonfio

di retsina e di dolore” (Intoxicated to the eyes, empty to the heart, swollen with retsina and pain), sings Vinicio Capossela, reminding me that rebetiko tells stories of love, travel, social issues, and stories of outcasted people. The music indeed expressed the marginal situation and the feelings of the urban underclass of the early ‘900. Moreover, the word rebetiko derived from the word rebelos, rebel.

By chance (or not) the tavern in which I decided to spend my last night in Thessaloniki, is called “Το ρολóι”, the clock.

A clock on the wall, made out of ancient wood, marks the time without gentleness. All around are photos in black and white, capturing in frames musicians in a long standing pose, playing in the same taverna. I recognise Kamara, the arch of Galerius, in a time gone. All the tables are close to one another, creating a familiar atmosphere.

Bouzouki being played in Tο ρολóι

© Valentina Orlando

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Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

Taking a seat near the man that is playing the bouzuki, tirelessly, I can’t take my eyes off the instrument, adorned with white and green stones, neither off the fingers of the musician, unstoppable. The woman sitting at the other side of the table, starts to sing. I was right about the connection with the Italian sounds: the acoustics remind me of the Italian tarantella from Naples, then the sounds of my land, taranta from Puglia.

The string instrument starts to spread the mixed musicality.

You could be enchanted by the beauty of the bouzouki, not only by its sound but also by the © Valentina Orlando object itself. From its earliest introduction, the Rebetiko player bouzouki was the main instrument in the kom- menian, Gypsies) perform, spread out in Greece. pania, usually accompanied by the baglamas, its The Café Aman, suppressed during the Balkan War (1912-1913), flourished after 1923. It dates smaller counterpart. back to the end of the war between Greece and Listening, closing my eyes, I think about a uni- Turkey (1919-1923), which ended with the expulversal language, the meaning of “home” and the sion of Muslims living in Greece to the Turkish feeling that this music contains winds of differ- land, and in the Greek land of the Orthodox Chrisent cultures. The origins of rebetiko are indeed tians living in Turkey. lost in the interweaving of Turkish, Greek, Gypsy and Armenian oral music in the Anatolian and The music stops late at night. It is time to leave Aegean area, a plot that in the nineteenth cen- Thessaloniki. I gift the city with my thoughts. tury merged into the first forms of urban enter- Two are the things that a traveller cannot fortainment. In particular, towards the end of the get: an astonishing view and the notes that he nineteenth century, the Café Aman, a place with has heard as a soundtrack of his route. This one a Turkish background where soloists and orches- belongs to the blended vitality and sadness of tras of various backgrounds (Greek, Turkish, Ar- rebetiko.

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GREEK CULTURE

Around the Balkans

The hidden treasure of Ano Poli

by Silvia Bartolotti

Among the red rooftops of the old town of Thessaloniki, suddenly a little dome appears. it is the ancient church of Oios David that preserves at its heart one of the most impressive and unknown masterpiece of Greece: an intact Byzantine mosaic dating the first centuries of the Christian age.

The mosaic of the Church of Hosios David is something hard to describe in words. Reading bunches of articles and books about it, still will not remotely let you understand what it means standing in front of it. It is not a coincidence that the second part of the legend has it that a monk had a religious fit and died after having discovered the mosaic concealed during years of persecution. A sort of Florence Syndrome before that Stendhal got into Santa Croce.

The Mosaic

Š Silvia Bartolotti

Hidden among the quaint rooftops of the old

town of Thessaloniki, there is a dome that looks at the sea. It is not so noticeable from the narrow streets that surround it and, the little church below, gives the impression of it being just one of the dozens existing in the city of the Thermaic Gulf. Small and stony, only a handful of people know that legend has it that, at the end of the Roman Empire, there was the palace of a mythic princess named Theodora. She had secretly converted to Christianism and realized that one of her bathrooms could have been the perfect place to hide a chapel for her prayers. As the pious noblewoman had a good sense of aesthetics, she called a painter to decorate the wall. The result of all this was a mosaic that is considered to be for Thessaloniki what the Partenon is for Athens: a masterpiece, a treasure, a pride in front of the world.

The conformation of the absyd where it has been composed gives it a particular effect that makes the artwork even more astonishing. The image is actually closed inside a sort of divine eye drawn following specific perspective rules, so that the image inside appears in a three dimensional way. Jesus is encased in the pupil and it seems like he’s jumping out from the rainbow where he is sitting on. This gives to his uncommon pubescent and beardless representation a transcendent and mystical idea. Also, the bright colors around him give, at the same time, a connotation of purity typical of the young age, and a dimension of sacredness that only the Son of God could have. Even more delightful for the view of the spectator is the intensity of the blue that defines the upper side of the big eye.

This blue looks like lashes, but actually, for me, it’s like if beyond the image there is a sky that is the garden of heaven: with plants and birds - the symbols of prosperity.

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Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

Interview with Mikro

by Filip Grác

Mikro is a Greek band from Thessaloniki, which actively contributes to the electronic music

scene in Europe since 1998. In these two decades, they managed to release 8 studio albums, 2 soundtracks and lots of various digital singles and remixes. In their releases they initially used an all-caps Greek spelling of their name (ΜΙΚΡΟ), however in their latest releases they have switched to a nonall-caps spelling, transliterated to the Latin Alphabet (Mikro).

Mikro in the midst of a concert

Your band is present on the European electronic music scene for almost two decades now. What were the major changes or ground-breaking events that you had a chance to experience while being a part of this scene?

The major change was the coming of digital dis-

Source: http://nikonnmikro.wixsite.com/mikro/gallery

mocracy of music. Everyone who listens to music is an A&R with power on his hands. The audience determines who is up and who’s down. Of course, nothing is black and white. There are grey zones, but we believe that we are in a good direction.

How do you guys perceive your debut album when you listen to it now?

tribution in music and its great victory against the other ways of music distribution. iTunes, Ap- With a lot of nostalgia. Also, after all these years, ple music, Spotify and the other guys are game we still listen to this album with the same excitechangers. It’s not only about the way of listening. ment! It was a great, row and very spontaneous It’s about almost everything. We live the era of de- piece of a first work.

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GREEK CULTURE

There could also be found two different soundtracks in your discography. Did you choose any special approach while making film music in comparison with the composition of the tracks for your regular albums?

Of course. It’s a very different story(...). Cre-

ating an album is to work on a blank canvas.

Soundtracks are about delivering something that helps on a purpose, on a director‘s vision. And that’s the challenge. To create the right musical landscape that delivers what director needs.

In your discography, we might find a wide spectrum of tracks that vary, from more playful and danceable tunes to pretty complex ambient instrumental structures that require a focused listening. Do you usually know the nature of the tracks that you are currently making or is it the tracks themselves that choose their final purpose for you? I mean, do you compose your tracks knowing ahead what that final mood/atmosphere would be or does this dimension appears throughout the process of composition/recording?

Both of the scenarios are possible. Sometimes

you know what you want, you have a goal, a purpose, a clear picture of the track in your mind.

Sometimes you start with a sound, a loop, a thought, a word, and everything goes on and goes on. Jamming around with instruments is very helpful and innovative. Sometimes mistakes happen, and then there is magic! All you have to do is to love what you want. Making music is not a profession or a chore. Art is love to create, to express yourself. You leave your soul to drive you through the creation game. Without rules, without limits. Very important! That’s why our spec-

Around the Balkans

trum of creation is too big. We never limit our creation to music genres. If we feel aggressive we make aggressive drum n bass or electro-rock music. If we are in a dancing mood we create dance music. If we are sad or relaxed we create trip-hop or chill ambient music. That simple.

Do you feel any particular musical connection to the geographical area where you live? Is there some vivid electronic music scene in Greece or the Balkan area that you feel like being part of?

Music is out of geographical limits. Especially

now with the internet stuff. It’s not where you live. Is where your soul is. Keep in mind that MIKRO is a 4 member band and that three of us are living in London at the moment. Only one is still in Greece. But that’s not too important in the music that we write. It’s more about networking with people in the music world, having more experiences, more stimuli. When you go to music creation world you go to another universe, light years away from this one. The reason we left Greece was that we want more explorations.

There could be electronic music artists in Greece that also incorporate traditional music from this area into their production (for example Imam Baildi samples Greek songs from the beginning of the 20th century). Were there also some attempts in your discography to interconnect your music with the traditional music of this genre (for example, by remixing the legendary tracks from this area, etc.)?

We did and we do. As we told, there are no limits. If

we feel that we want to “play“ with something old/ traditional we will do it. No blench. Greece, Especially, has a great history of traditional music. Its heritage and depository are huge! For all the tastes.

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Around the Balkans GREEK CULTURE

How do you choose the tracks that you remix? Are you usually asked by the original interprets to remix some of their tracks or does this process start by you liking the track first?

Usually, we choose our “victims“. When some-

and we develop each other ideas. The most common/frequent scenario is that something’s starting from Nick (usual some loops, riffs, an idea) and then there is this developing exchange game.

Some of the songs on your albums are in Greek, but there could also be found ones that are sung in English.

How do you decide which languages to use? Do you write lyrics first and then make a musical accompaniment for it or is it usually the opposite way?

one approaches us to remix his track we have a discussion of what he expects from us and from the remix, we have a period of grace to see if the track talks to us. If you know what we mean. It’s not about liking track or not. Sometimes, the challenge is to take a track that you don’t like and re- In our case, music comes first. We are music mix it, and do a version of the same song that you guys. Then we come up with the words. Words like. As we told, it’s about if the track talks to you. it’s a pain in the ass for us. Especially in the Greek language. We’re not poets. We’re music writers.

As has been already mentioned, your Language is about where you’re addressing. music explores quite a lot of different Greek lyrics is more when you’re addressing only genres and soundscapes. Where do Greek people.

you draw inspiration? What are your current influences?

Do you have some exclusive writer of the lyrics for your songs or do all of Any sound, word, image, book, photo, video, the band members participate in the smile, face, poem, film, discussion, a song can writing of the lyrics evenly?

act and reacts as an inspiration. It’s an endless game with your feelings and your senses. Set Do you have some exclusive lyric writer for your your mind free and leave your senses to drive songs or do all of the band members participate you in the musical universe. in the writing of the lyrics evenly?

How does the overall creative process usually works in your band? Do you guys come into the studio with a clear notion of the tracks that you want to make or do you develop your tracks primarily via jam sessions?

Are you planning to go on the tour or release some new material in the upcoming months?

We plan to release new songs, and maybe a full

album on 2018. Our latest album “New“, was released in 2014 by UNDO Records. Our latest sinAll the known scenarios. Sometimes jamming is gle, “Sti Thalassa” released in July 2017. Maybe good. Sometimes it‘ s a waste of time, but amus- it’s time for an album. But we don’t rush. As we ing. Sometimes we exchange ideas, riffs, loops told, total freedom.

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GREEK CULTURE

Source: http://nikonnmikro.wixsite.com/mikro/gallery

Official band photo

Throughout the years Mikro has experienced numerous interesting live gigs alongside with various legends of electronic music (Raveonettes, Smashing Pumpkins, Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode or Hooverphonic, etc.). Did some of these encounters influenced your musical style of your band or have some of them developed into a collaboration or remixes?

We were very lucky playing on the same stage

with names like Morrissey, Fat Boy Slim, Raveonettes, Ladytron, Hooverphonic, Avril Lavigne, Scissor Sisters, The Rasmus. Almost all of them were an influence on our music. Huge names.

Unfortunately, none collaboration or remix comes up with any of them.

Around the Balkans

Feel free to support our socials and spotify artist page: Spotify:

http://spoti.fi/2mLhQsM

Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/MIKROband/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MIKROmusic

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/mikro_insta/

Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/mikro

Youtube MIKRO CHANNEL OFFICIAL: http://bit.ly/2EKQf1C Thank you for the support!

Be kind!

Nick / John / Chloe Ann / 5irc MIKRO are: Nick Bitzenis (aka Nikonn)> vocals, synthesizers, samplers John Lefkaditis > guitar, bass Chloe Ann > vocals, keys 5irc > drums, percussions, drumpads

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Social and Political SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

“These Nights are for You”

by Lorenzo Sciuca

The Alexis Commemorative Procession in Thessaloniki 2017

Thessaloniki, 6th of December 2017. Egnatia street, the main street of Thessaloniki is empty: no cars, no people, no dogs.

The Alexis Commemorative Procession in Thessaloniki 2017

A tiny haze fills the street and voices increase, little by little, anticipating the arrival of a huge mass of people. The atmosphere is now grievous, from the first rows of the procession to the last ones; from the walk of the dogs that escort this cortege to the sight of a distant squad of policemen.

© Lorenzo Sciuca

of a December of fire, riots and protests that, as a matter of fact, devastated this and many other cities in Greece.

In the evening of the 6th December 2008, the

innocent 15 years old Alexandros Andréas Grigoropoulos was shot by a policeman for no absolutely no reason. This brutal act of force from Everything is grievous and tough. This is the 6th the police put fuel on the fire of the protests that of December, the day of Alexis remembrance: 6th had already taken place in Athens, resulting in a of December, 9 years ago, Athens… the starting big escalation of violence that lead the protests

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SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

Procession for Alexis, in Thessaloniki

Social and Political

Š Lorenzo Sciuca

spread across Greece, as well as in other European cities. These sad events left a mark in the greek mind and heart, being proof of that the fact that, 9 years later, in the 2017 procession in Thessaloniki, there were people clapping from the buildings.

guy was shot for no reason by the police, some remembered all the details, some were actually there, and some said that it was a whole staged act, where the only victim was the poor and innocent Alexis.

In

remembrance of that 6th of December are still alive and strong, and hopefully these collective memories will avoid that something like this will ever happen again.

these months of my experience here, in Greece, I had the opportunity to ask greek people about that night and everyone remember those events. Some people just remembered that a

9 years have passed, and the procession and

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Social and Political SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES

© Lorenzo Sciuca

Procession for Alexis, in Thessaloniki

Protesting for what?

Protests in Greece started because of a com-

plex multiplicity of reasons and it is not easy to understand them in a deep way.

Anyway, we will try to list them in this aside ar-

3 Low study conditions Many students report about poor study condi-

ticle:

tions, no heating system, no money for equipment or professors.

1 Police Violence and Repression

4 Increasing taxes

Greek police brutality was not new, even before Taxes have arised in the past few years and this, 2008’s events. There had been many cases of vi- alongside with low salaries and a high rate of olence and, since violence calls violence, this es- unemployment makes the tax burden unsustaincalated and actually is one of the major reasons able. of the protests today.

2 Bad future perspectives

5 Permanent “Crisis Feeling”

The greek economic situation got worse since 2008 and this has lead to an overall feeling of young people. Not even for the ones that live in frustration. This feeling has provoked the necesother countries. This has caused a feeling of in- sity to protest in order to get a better general stability that lead to protests and riots. situation.

Due to the crisis, the future is not certain for

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NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Social and Political

The human auction in Libya

by Bariş Yüksel

Atrocities against the human dignity are committed all around the World. One of the most

recent ones was in Libya. People who were migrating to Europe for a better life, due to different reasons, were trapped in Libya and were sold and treated as commodities.

The world has been dismayed by the publication of a CNN investigation into the slave trade notoriously developing in the lawlessness of post-Gaddafi Libya.

crown. When Libya declared its independence on 24 December 1951, ending the Allied occupation of Libya, it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa “Does anybody need a digger? This is a digger, a to gain independence.”1 big strong man, he’ll dig,” the auctioneer says in grainy mobile phone footage, gesturing to one of As similar to other countries in the region after the two tall, silent young men next to him. the decolonization process, there wasn’t a stable system and a regime in Libya. Muammar Gaddafi “What am I bid, what am I bid?” became the leader of Libya on the 1st of Septem1969 with a group of young Libyan military “The two men were sold together for a total of ber officers against King Idris I in a “bloodless coup $400.” d’état”.

But how did this process of crime against humanity emerge in the 21st century, while one may easily want to assume that it stayed in the dark chapters of humanity? I acknowledge that the topic is multi-layered and significantly complex- Thus, I hope to give a brief summary of the issues around the topic, as far as I am capable of it.

Back Then...

After the long occupation of Libya by the Otto-

man Empire and Italy, and the short occupation

by Allies, “on 24 December 1951, Libya declared its independence with representatives from Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan declaring a union with the country being called the United Kingdom of Libya, and Idris as-Senussi being offered the

After he secured his position during the era of

Libyan Arab Republic, “on 2 March 1977, the General People’s Congress (GPC), at Gaddafi’s behest, adopted the “Declaration of the Establishment of the People’s Authority” and proclaimed the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya” (state of masses in Arabic). He was receiving mixed receptions, not only from the rest of the World, but also from the citizens of the country.

“Libya under Gaddafi used to have a higher GDP (PPP) per capita than the EU, and in some periods higher than the US.”2 However topics such as human rights, censorship, corruption or external politics were controversial.

1 Kingdom of Libya. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Libya 2 History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Libya_under_ Muammar_Gaddafi#cite_note-3

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Social and Political NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/11/13/libya-migrant-slave-auction-lon-orig-md-ejk.cnn

Migrant being sοld as slaves

Source: CNN

Libyan Civil War

on 23 October 2011, ending 42 years of Gaddafi’s leadership in Libya.5

“The first Libyan Civil War, also referred to as the Libyan Revolution or 17 February Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011, in the North African country of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government.”3

The following was suggested by the political scientist Riadh Sidaoui, in October 2011: “Gaddafi has created a great void for his exercise of power: there is no institution, no army, no electoral tradition in the country”. As it could be anticipatas a result, the period of transition would be During the civil war, The United Nations’ Securi- ed, extremely difficult in Libya. ty Council passed a resolution to enforce a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace on 17 March 2011 and Human Auction authorised airstrikes against Libya ground troops and warships that appeared to “threaten civilians”4. According to Guardian, the trade of human beings has risen sharply since the Italian governThe last government holdouts in Sirte finally fell ment began paying Libyan militant groups and to anti-Gaddafi fighters on 20 October 2011, and, smugglers to stem the flow of migrants over the following the controversial death of Muammar sea, earlier this year. Fewer people are now makGaddafi, Libya was officially declared “liberated” ing it to the shores of Lampedusa and southern 3 Libyan Civil War (2011). Retrieved from: Italy, as countless legions more remain trapped https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Civil_War_ in militia detention centres in Libya.

(2011)#Development_and_corruption 4 Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/press/en/2011/sc10200.doc.htm

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5 UPDATE 4-Libya declares nation liberated after Gaddafi death. Retrieved from: https://uk.reuters.com/article/libyadeclaration-liberation/update-4-libya-declares-nation-liberatedafter-gaddafi-death-idUKL5E7LN0P620111023

SCIENCE AND TECH

MixFix

Humanity’s new frontier, Space X

by Raul Fretes

In only 15 years the company became a massive success that could archive human space exploration and Interplanetary colonization.

Since 2002, the American company Space X has been breaking technological landmarks

with their revolutionary designs, manufactures, and rockets and spacecrafts launches. The private company made history back in 2010 for accomplishing the historic milestone of been the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from the Earth´s orbit, as well as for designing and manufacturing a cargo spacecraft which delivered a cargo to and from the International Space Station, a feat only previously accomplished by governments’ space projects, aside other achievements.

Space X with its founder Elon Musk Source: https:// www.quora.com/What-kind-of-leader-is-Elon-Musk

Beside the company’s world renown achieve-

Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon & Yuri Gagarin, the first Source: http://rafaelazioti.blogspot.gr/ man on orbit 2015/11/neil-alden-armstrong.html

ments, as well as being considered one of the Earth’s most prominent researchers in planetary colonization, not too many know about its goals or even its own existence as a company that is escalations of both warfare threats, including those of a nuclear threat from the Soviet Union on looking to change mankind history forever. against the United States, Great Britain and its Back in the 20th century, shortly after the World allies, known as the Cold War. During this tense had been shaken by World War II, the planet once period of History, in which both blocks showmore faced a possible war with the continuous cased their economic, military and technologi-

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MixFix SCIENCE AND TECH

Mars Colonization Project

cal strength, having the latter peaking with the Space Race which started in 1955, leaving a legacy on Earth such as communications outputs, weather satellites and the historic milestone of putting the first human in space, accomplish by the soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961 and, at the peak of the race, the US first moon landing with Apollo 11 in 1969.

Since

then, the ancestral mythical distance between man and stars were scratched over, creating new possibilities for mankind, a future era of space surveillance and, possibly, the colonization of other planets with the help of private companies such as Space X.

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Source: http://danielmarin.naukas.com/2017/09/30/el-plande-spacex-para-conquistar-el-sistema-solar-version-2-0/

The concept of Space X came to its founder,

Elon Musk1, when he conceptualized Mars Oasis, a project to land experimental greenhouses and grow plants in Mars, as an attempt to regain public interest and curiosity in space exploration and increase the budget of NASA. Musk tried to obtain rockets from Russia, but failed to find 1 Elon Musk is a South African-born American business magnate, investor, engineer, and inventor. He is the founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX; co-founder, CEO, and product architect of Tesla Inc.; co-chairman of OpenAI; founder and CEO of Neuralink, and founder of The Boring Company. He is also a co-founder and former chairman of SolarCity, co-founder of Zip2, and founder of X.com, which merged with Confinity and took the name PayPal. In December 2016, Musk was ranked 21st on the Forbes list of The World’s Most Powerful People. He has an estimated net worth of $20.5 billion as of January 2018 and is listed

by Forbes as the 55th richest person in the world.

SCIENCE AND TECH

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, attached to the Dragon, a cargo-only capsule, lifts off from the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida

them for an affordable price. But he realized that he builds affordable rockets by producing 85% of the launch hardware in-house, so it started first as a small but useful orbital rocket, instead of building complex and risky launch vehicles.

Musk stated that the company goals are to improve the cost efficiency and reliability of access to Space, the development of rapidly reusable launch system, and the prospect to send humans to Mars’ surface within 10-20 years through what he describes as the “Mars Colonial Transporter”, a privately funded development project to design and build spaceflight system of rocket engineers,

MixFix

© Getty Images

launch vehicles and Space capsules to transport humans to Mars and return to Earth2.

As for 2017, Space X managed to accomplish

over 16 mission launches, doubling up its previous record and, it announced that the company has been contracted by two private individuals to send them on a free return trajectory around the Moon, which will be provisionally launched sometime this year, achieving, yet again, a new historic landmark as for the first instance of lunar tourism.

2 Steve Schaefer (June 6, 2013). “SpaceX IPO Cleared For Launch? Elon Musk Says Hold Your Horses”. Forbes

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MixFix FOOD

An ancient Beverage - Salepi

by Lorenzo Sciuca

Roaming around Thessaloniki is a good opportunity to see many uncommon things: stray

and welcoming dogs, people roasting meat or fish in an improvised barbecue on the road, “Kolouri” vendors and, for sure, “Salepi” vendors. In this article, we are going to discover what is “Salepi”, how it is made and what are the benefits of this beverage.

© Lorenzo Sciuca

The sun’s rays are warming up your body, you’re laying on a soft sand, and around you is the sound of the sea, the mild tide and weak waves... let’s face it, the Summer is over. Even if in Thessaloniki this winter has not been too cold, it is still Winter. Flu, cough, sore throat, cold are for sure something to deal with in this season.

Aristotelou Square, you can smell it... a wonderful, spicy and unknown smell coming from some little vendors, full of steam and people around it: this is a Salepi vendor.

What is exactly Salepi? Salepi (Σαλεπι, in Greek)

is a beverage made with a particular powder that After a work day, sometimes you just need to derives from the roots of some unique orchids buy groceries and, even with all of these symp- called Salep; the name of this plant comes from toms, if you keep on walking in Thessaloniki, near the Arabic word “Sahlab”, shortened from khusy

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FOOD

MixFix

cause it was causing a decrease of wild orchids3.

In some regions of Turkey, Salepi is still used as a flavour for some recipes and, in Greece, it is served as a beverage by the vendors in the street.

The preparation of the beverage is made with

water, milk, orange flowers, rose water and, of course, the powder obtained by the grinding of the Salepi orchids roots. There are many legends about Salepi and, very oftenly, the vendors in the street tell these legends. According to one of them, for example, the consumption of SaleA Salepi beverage vendor in Aristotelous Square © Lorenzo Sciuca pi will help you to have male kids. According to another one, the Salepi can help men to restore ath-tha’lab, literally: fox’s testicles1. In the past, virility. this beverage was consumed since the ancient Roman Empire with the name “Satyrion root” and What everyone says and knows about Salepi is it was considered to be very aphrodisiac. The al- that it helps a lot with a sore throat and flu probchemist Paracelsus wrote about it: “Behold the lems making this the ideal beverage for Winter!

Satyrion root, is it not formed like the male pri- So, let’s take a walk in Aristotelous Square and vate parts? No one can deny this. Accordingly, drink some Salepi! magic discovered it and revealed that it can re- 3 Salep. (2017, D3ecember 31). In Wikipedia, The Free store a man’s virility and passion”2.

Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:03, January 18, 2018, from https://

The Sālep was very popular in the Ottoman Empire, so much so that spread to England and Germany with the name “Saloop” in the 17th and 18th, before the rise of coffee and tea. It used to be offered in the coffee houses. At one point, the Saloop exportation became illegal in Europe be-

en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salep&oldid=817999929

1 “Sachlav.” American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 18 Jan. 2018 https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sachlav 2 Dalby, p. 292; Theophrastus, 9.18.13; Pedanius Dioscorides, 3.126-8; Pliny the Elder, 26.95-98, 27.65; Pseudo-Apuleius, 15.3.

A Salepi vendor serving this powerful and warm beverage

© Lorenzo Sciuca

A Salepi beverage ready to be consumed on a bench of Aristotelous square

© Lorenzo Sciuca

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MixFix FOOD

Ach! Nico Ach!

by Hande Yetkin

A white and blue Greek sign shines on the right side of the Kurfürstendamm street, Berlin.

It is 11am and it looks like there is no one inside. Wooden chairs are on the tables and the light is turned off. I slowly walk to the space in the back of the establishment and there are two men and one woman sitting around one of the tables, in a very σιγά σιγά mood, enjoying their coffee and chilling with a nice talk. It is not a surprising scene for the ones who get used to the Greek life, is it?

© Hande Yetkin

One of the guys invited me to their table with a huge smile and offered me a cup of Greek coffee.

He was from Albania, helping out with everything in the restaurant, and the woman worked in the kitchen.

Recep

Kesgin, the owner and the manager of Ach! Nico Ach!, is originally from Trabzon, a northern city in Turkey where the Pontic Greeks lived, in a near past. He entered the restaurant industry 40 years ago with his Greek partner, Nico, when he had to give up his sports career due to a serious injury in 1978. It is easily noticeable that the name was not a coincidence: “The name was chosen by me.”, he said. In the past, his partner Nico was a womaniser and Mr. Kesgin was always calling him by saying Ach, which is both a Turkish and Greek expression used in situations you don’t approve at all. When the calendars were showing April 1990, they founded their third restaurant together and named it with his saying.

50

After years of partnership, in 2000, Nico decided to leave and go back to Greece. A few years later, when the economic crisis emerged in Greece, he couldn’t manage to continue working there and came back to Berlin. Unfortunately, the ex-partners are not working together anymore. While I was thinking how sad it is to have an ending like that after all those years of partnership, Mr. Kesgin started to talk about his plan of moving back to Turkey next year, although he is not sure about it both because of his children, and the political situation there: “I will decide if I will go back to Turkey or not when I see the election results in 2019.”, he says. Whether he stays in Berlin or not, the restaurant will stand with another owner.

We had a break of our conversation when the

first customers of the day appeared. He took the order of the customers by himself and came back to our table again. He declared that their customers are 60% German and the rest is coming from Turkey, Israel or Russia. Sometimes

Recep Kesgin

© Hande Yetkin

FOOD

MixFix

The master chef is half Greek and half Turkish. He

Chef with the fish

Š Hande Yetkin

is from Komotini, a city in North Eastern Greece, near the Turkish border, and has been working there for a long time. The fish they serve is coming from the Aegean Sea and all supplies are come mostly from Greece. The most preferred meals on the menu are Giros, Moussaka and Tsipoura.

The special food of Ach! Nico Ach! has the same as the restaurant. It is a pretty rich dish that is a mixture of giros, souvlaki, brizola, vegetables, feta, tsatsiki and some other types of salads. When the waiters serve the food, it is common for them to drink with the customer if they offer him a drink or, instead, the opposite might happen, he explained: if a waiter wants to order a drink for the customer, they can sit and drink together.

they host big Turkish groups, mainly for special celebrations. There are some live events, including belly dancing shows and bouzouki sessions.

The place is also preferred by a lot of famous people, mostly politicians, such as Mihail Gorbacov and the members of the German Govern- To conclude, I truly think that it is a good opporment. There are a lot of photos on the walls with tunity for German locals to experiment Greek food, by having that kind of restaurant in one of the customers. the most famous streets of Berlin. It is a good When the place got a bit crowded, I asked for sample of the Greek culture with all the details permission to see the back side of the restau- inside and welcoming people. When you plan rant. He took me to the kitchen and introduced your next trip to Berlin, do not forget to put this me to his crew one by one. warm place on your list.

Ach! Nico Ach!

Š Hande Yetkin

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Taoism as ‘’The Way’’

by Pawel Marchenko

Taoism, as a Chinese philosophy, tradition and religion has been performed over two mil-

lenniums. In this short article I will very briefly go through what you need to know about this eye-catching tradition.

Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a term used

by Chinese as a philosophical tradition and religion. Its meaning stands for living in peace and harmony with Tao and/or Dao, which means «The Way». This is the basic idea of Chinese philosophical schools: Tao cannot be put into words because it’s a term that describes being, energy, unity, harmony and life itself. It is the universe as well as its life force or energy. Tao schools are divided into two schools. Confucianism, which originated from Taoism, is focused on rigid rituals and social order. Ethics of Taoism vary between schools, but in general believe in Wu Wei (effortless action), naturalness, simplicity, and spontaneity. Taoists follow the basic virtues of Tao, and call them the “Three Treasures’’: ‘’compassion’’, ‘’frugality’’ and ‘’humility’’.

The roots of Taoism reach to the 4th century

BCE. The base scheme of their philosophy is the famous Yin and Yang which represents opposite forces of one being. The Yinyang School, also

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known as the School of Naturalists, first created

by Zou Yan, gave origin to Taoism’s cosmological notions.

The founder of the Taosim religion is thought to have been Lao-tzu, or Laozi - ‘’The Old Master’’ -, a semi legendary figure. Having Lao-tzu been, supposedly, Confucius’ teacher, it is thought to be the reason of the origins of Confucianism. Not much is known about Lao-tzu, since there isn’t much evidence of his existence, only some notes and Tao Te Ching manuscripts. These ancient writings were created for people to live in harmony with the Nature cycles, which is a fancy way of saying to live peacefully with one another…

“Those who know do not say;those who say do not know.”

— Lao-t zu

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Look closely and you might notice the the symbol of Yin and Yang

“The superior men are sparing in their words and profuse in their deeds.”

— Confucius

Ancient Taoism included practices and tech-

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Source: https://guyus.wordpress.com/my-pantheistic-views/ be-balanced/yin-yang-sky-m/

Truths about Yin and Yang:

Yin and Yang are not excluding one another.

Yin and Yang are interconnected and interde-

niques, which involved achieving ecstasy, lon- pendent. gevity, immortality and performing exorcisms, Yin and Yang are divisible.

Taoists believe in naturalness, being the central Yin and Yang are absorbing and simultaneously value of their religion. It describes the basic charsustaining one another. acter of the Tao and it is associated with spontaneity and creativity. To attain naturalness, an Yin and Yang can transform into one another. individual has to free himself from selfishness and desire, and has to appreciate simplicity.

Part of Yin resides in part of Yang and vice versa.

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Horoscope 2018

by Lazar Vasilev

Cancer

Aries

The

stars tell about some difficult moments during the first 3 months of the year, but you have to be strong, the results will be incredible at the end. The summer is promising a lot of sexy moments, flirts and big love. Yes, it is right!!! So don‘t stay so much on the computer, start that diet you always wanted to try, the gym and quit smoking as you said last year, and get ready to meet the biggest love of your life.

Taurus

The family is something important but sometimes is good for us to think a little for ourselves.

Don‘t stay at home, when you want to go somewhere, don‘t miss your chance just to make your family happy. You know the wrong things in your relationship. This is the year that you have to take a decision to the next level or the end of itlisten to your heart. For those that are alone, November is promising, a romantic person, which will bring some warm atmosphere around, maybe this is the person that you need to build your dreams with.

Leo

stop opening the fridge at the small hours of the night. The year will be full of amazing adventures, so make the backpack. The stars don‘t show love, but a lot of flirts and happy moments.

Be careful with the spirit drinks, they can bring a lot of troubles, and some of them you don‘t want to meet at the morning without makeup.

Don‘t listen to anybody, you are your own kings and queens. who cares about what makes you different? If someone loves you, don‘t play dirty games, don‘t lose them as the last ones. You love casually meeting other, but be careful, that the feelings of the others can be born by a mistake, just by spending some hours with you and your experience in the bed. Expect a gift, that will leave you speechless- in a good or a bad way.

Gemini

Virgo

The food will be tasty if you enjoy it with friends,

To be perfect is for the Gods, you are a human The romantic dinner that you dream of, will be and everyone makes mistakes. Don‘t blame yourself for everything. The painkiller of everything is “party“, so put on the Versace clothes that you bought during the Black Friday, call to your besties and go out because life is beautiful.

The summer is promising some very nice stories to share. Remember, your heart will be taken by two people, so think double, and don‘t cheat on anyone.

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soon become real. Candles, wine, and good food will blur your mind, but don‘t force yourself if the person is not for you. The summer will be a very hot but is not a surprise to you, you spend a lot of days working on yourself, and you will feel the result of it. This year will be a more relaxing for you at work, but still, you are the perfectionist even in this. December will meet you with a very nice person, who can be your valentine next February.

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Libra

Say “No“ to everything that you don‘t like. This

year will be full of decisions that you have to make, and they would be important for your life.

A couple of people around you will ask for your heart, some of them just need help and will use you as always. Work on your strong parts of your personality, and you will find out all the mistakes from before, don‘t make them again. A small job problem is appearing in June, but it is not so hard to stay without work in the summer. The stars show a lot of traveling abroad, so de-dust your suitcase!

.Scorpio

For some, this year will be the year of “Yes, I

Can“. some of you will find serious people next to them, and some of you will understand that they are truly and fully enough for their selfs. You will face a lot of changes, a lot of hard moments and a lot of adventures. You have to forget for the poison in your tails and to enjoy the moments.

The stars show luck, so go and take a lotto ticket, maybe the jackpot is waiting for you, or the jackpot is the person in front of you while you are waiting for the ticket.

Sagittarius

Nobody can be perfect and/or be everywhere, so stop trying. The important tasks at work will drag your attention, but don‘t forget that you also need love. An old feeling will appear in your heart. This year will be full of success and opportunities. A lot of events will bring to you a lot of new people to know. Don‘t be ashamed and stay true to yourself.

Capricorn

Stay calm during the fights with your friends,

not all things are bad. Listen to your heart when you have to make many choices in this brand new year. for new love is coming or actually, it is there, you just need to open your eyes and also don‘t forget about your last year promises. A wonderful trip will show you to the sweet ways of life. Say “Yes“ to everything that is new for you, this is the year of experiments. What about an EVS for two months somewhere? Think about it!

Aquarius

There isn‘t a lot of changes for you this year.

You took your way, just keep doing the things the way you do. For those that are alone, you will not meet the love of your life for now, but there are people around that will try. Make something crazy, you will like it. The work can be done later, for this year is for having fun, so... choose your clothes and don‘t make the others wait for you.

Pisces

The year started fast for you, and it is the way it will go. Keep enjoying the life, for it will be offering you a lot, don‘t miss it. A new relationship is coming, with more passion than the last ones. promises of adventures and mischiefs will surround you this year, so be wary, but do not let this hold you back also, be careful with a person that introduces himself as a friend. The future is clear for those who have new ideas and want to start new things, do it. Now is a perfect time.

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Sanna Sv​ä​rd | 20 years old Paweł​Marchenko | 24 years old Staying in Greece for 6 months until March.

Staying in Greece for 5 months until January (left before the release of the 21st issue)

Favourite topics are sports and music.

Favorite topics are culture, Human- and Animal Rights.

Isabel Tootill | 24 years old

Mafalda Tenazinha | 29 years old

Staying in Greece for 6 months until May.

Staying in Greece for 10 months until March.

Favorite topics are culture, travel, History and Human Rights.

Favorite topics are travel and art.

Valentina Orlando | 27 years old Staying in Greece for 10 months until​ July.

Staying in Greece for 10 months until midDecember (left before the release of the 21st issue)

Favorite topics are music, diving and photography.

Favorite topics are art, culture and travel.

Hande Yetkin | 22 years old

Lorenzo Sciuca | 29 years old Staying in Greece for 10 months until March.

Favorite topics are photography, technology and all the things that deal with creativity!

Tomás Cunha | 21 years old Staying in Thessaloniki for 6 months, until May Favorite topics are cinema, music and photography.

Bar​ış​Yü​ksel | 27 years old

Lazar Vasilev | 25 years old

Staying in Greece for 10 months until July.

Staying in Greece for 1 year, until November

Favorite topics are sociology, History and cinema.

Favorite topics are arts, Human Rights and travelling.

Raul Fretes | 22 years old

Filip Grác | 29 years old

Staying in Greece for 6 months, until April

Staying in Greece for 1 year, until January

Favorite topics are travel, cinema and photography.

Favorite topics are culture, History and art.

General Directors: Editors: Aristodimos Paraschou Isabel Tootill Christian Cibba Baris Yuksel Raul Fretes Graphic Designer: Sanna Sv​ä​rd Alexandros Tagaridis Find us: www.balkanhotspot.org Usb_ngo.gr

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European ERASMUS+ Programme, European Voluntary Service. This project has been funded with support from the European Commision. This publication [communication] reflects the views of only of the author, and the Commision can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.