Balkan Beats 17 Christmas Edition by Balkan Hotspot

BALKAN BEATS

BALKAN BEATS BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE

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 organizationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 production (web radio, videos, documentaries).

CONTENTS REFLECTION CORNER

CHRISTMAS

ACT REACT

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GOOD PRACTICES

POLITICAL & SOCIAL ISSUES

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INFOSHOT SPAIN USA TURKEY COLOMBIA

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Main goals of the organization -To promote the values of non formal learning, 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 stereotypes between Balkan countries.

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. This magazine is distributed free of charge.

VOICE TO VOLUNTEER p.7 NOBEL PRIZE FROM ITALY TO THESSSALONIKI

EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM

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SIXTEENTH EDITION

NOVEMBER & DECEMBER 2016

UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS, NGO ALAMANAS 9, 55438, AGIOS PAVLOS TEL. / FAX: 0030 2310 215629 WWW.USBNGO.GR

Editors: Ebru Sener Georgina Smith Jack Cowles CULTURE

TRAVEL

ART TALENT CORNER p.16 INTERNATIONAL THE HOUSE OF SHADOW DESTINATION INDONESIA ON A MOTORBIKE

LEGION

p.38 4X4

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MUSIC ART MOVIES BOOKS

BALKANIZATER CHRISTMAS FOR ALL p.18 ST. NICHOLAS p.22

FLASHBACK FLASHBACK AT CHRISTMAS

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THESS FEST OHI DAY TAF

HOROSCOPE

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MUSIC CORNER p.32 GREEKING OUT WITH CHRISTMAS KALANDAS

MIX FIX WHY TO SHOOT FILM

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BALKAN BUFFET SESAME BAKLAVA FROM p.34 GREECE BANITSA - SOFT DELICIOUSNESS FROM BULGARIA p.35

NEW TECHNOLOGIES p.51

p.26 p.28 THESS FILM FESTIVAL p.30

SPORT #ForรงaChape

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REFLECTION CORNER

CHRISTMAS by Maria Aguilar Lopez

I have to admit it: Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Not because of religion or any other cultural aspect but for family. The one who is given to you when you are born and the one you are choosing with the pass of the years. Christmas means hang out together, eating like we have not tried any food in months, drink and laugh together. This is what basically means for me. I bet that if you would ask one thousand people what Christmas means for them you would receive one thousand different answers. But they all will probably agree on one thing: family, home. Coming back to your parents’ home or your grandparents’ one. The smell of roast meat in the oven, or the Christmas sweets… And the happiness of the presents even if you are old enough and the present is only a pair of socks. It is true; I am this kind of person who would never miss a Christmas at home. Or this is what I thought. Last year, I had to see how many of my friends had to spend these days in another country, working far away from their families. After finishing university studies this is the only option you have in many European countries to get a job and try to have a future opportunity. I had to listen to my friends on Skype telling me how they were serving pizzas on Christmas Eve in a random restaurant of UK or how they couldn’t give their present to their new nephew or cousin. And these are only some examples of how dramatic is this situation that many families are forced to live because of a financial crisis that they did not generate.

It is true that I had the luck to spend the last Christmas with all my family and also this year I will, after finishing my time in Greece. But I don’t know where I will be next Christmas. I think any mother should miss her son or daughter during this time; anyone should be in the position to have Christmas Eve’s dinner on Skype with his family. I think it is tremendously unfair that someone is forced to be away from home because of bad management of a government or bad political decisions, especially after a lifetime of studies and sacrifices, after a degree, a master or who knows how many hundreds euros spent on a better future. I just hope this year I can spend a Christmas with my family and friends. I hope this year I can see more friends coming back home for Christmas. And I hope next year we could finally find what we deserve and that nobody is away from home if it is not an election. Yes, I am coming back home, but some people are not.

My New year’s toast will go for them.

ÂŠ Maria Aguilar Lopez 5

ACT REACT

GOOD PRACTICES by Signe Demant Hansen

Christmas is all around and all over the world people are creating events to make sure that everyone gets into the spirit. Especially those who do not have the means to celebrate. Everyone can join and contribute.

©Unicef

Save the children In cooperation with the online shop Selfish Mother the organization Save the Children has created a bunch of holiday slogan sweatshirts. The sweatshirts are for both children and adults with slogans such as “Sparkle”, “Nut Cracker” and “Off Duty Elf”. 50 % from each sweatshirt sold will be donated to Save the Children and as one of the designers Jon Kortajarena says: “By buying this sweatshirt, we can all do our part and be real Santa’s Helpers”. You can buy the sweatshirts here: https://www.thefmlystore.com/ collections/save-the-children For further reading about the project: http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=9357115&ct=14928931

The Santa Run Thessaloniki On December the 18th the streets of Thessaloniki will transform into one big mass of Santas. The Santa Run is an annual event in cities all over the world where everyone run in the streets dressed up as Santa. The run has existed for a couple of years in Thessaloniki and this year is no exception. So put on your Santa costumes and get into the Holiday spirit! For more info: http://www.santarunthessaloniki.gr Christmas greetings As the holiday is approaching it is time to send out Christmas greetings to all your beloved ones. Many non-profit organizations annually create Christmas cards, which you can buy and with that donate money to some of the important causes all around the world. Among the NGOs are Unicef and Doctors Without Borders and you can buy the postcards on their webpages: http://market.unicef.org.uk/unicefcards-and-gifts/greetings-cards/christmas/ https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/tribute.cfm

ACT REACT

©Ema Scapa

Voice to Volunteer From Italy to Thessaloniki by Signe Demant Hansen

In January 2016 Ema Scapa went from Italy to Thessaloniki to volunteer with EVS. During his stay he not only experienced thorough self-development but also gained competences which have been of great use when he came back to Italy. What was your motivation to go on EVS? I had just finished my bachelor in engineering and I was a bit confused on what to do in the future. I decided to take some time for myself and, as I was so envious about all the people I knew who attended Erasmus projects abroad I decided to apply for one too. I wanted to improve my English level and at the same time meet new European people, and most of all, I wanted to go immediately after my graduation. That's why I checked the open calls for EVS projects.

In what way have you used this after you came back? As previously mentioned I exploited a new competence in Photoshop with some guys from a volunteer association here in Italy. I designed a couple of posters and flyers and a logo for t-shirts. After that, some of them asked me if I was a graphic designer, which made me laugh because I am not. But I also felt glad because they appreciated my effort in something that is not what I studied. What are you doing today? At the moment, I am studying Civil Engineering (master course) in Bologna – a wonderful city in Italy which I encourage everyone to visit because they won't regret it. Would you recommend other people to go on EVS? I would definitely recommend people to go on EVS! It is an unrepeatable experience that pulls you out of your comfort zone and makes you become a “more open-minded” person!

What have you gained from your EVS? Thanks to the course arranged by the United Societies of Balkans, I learned how to use Photoshop. That is the best thing I learned because I have used this later for other associations when I came back here in Italy. Also, I improved video editing skills which is a passion of mine since I was very young. But mostly it was my first experience of living by myself without parents, and the first time living abroad. So, what I gained was also learning how to cohabit with new people, foreign people in this case, so I had the opportunity to improve my English and have new friends around Europe.

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

INFOSHOT by Burak Dimli

https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/10/18/18/35/dementia-1750965_960_720.jpg

Spain

USA

Spain: After the election in Spain, the new government has announced they want to ban internet memes. Leader of right handed party; Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy prepared a regulation and suggested it in congress. This created a big movement on twitter and user’s unleashed new memes to poke Mr. Mariano Rajoy.

USA: Surprisingly Mr. Trump won the election and is the 45th president of USA. Lesley Stahl from ‘’60 Minutes’’ made a traffic interview with president Trump. After overwhelming questions Mr. Trump said that during the election campaign he behaved and acted like a character from TV or a movie because USA needed such a character like this. Also Mr. Trump added because of this behavior, he gained many votes.

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Vladimir_Putin_and_Recep_Tayyip_Erdo%C4%9Fan_ (2015-06-13)_3.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Fidel_Castro_1._Mai_2005_bei_Kundgebung.jpg

Turkey

Colombia

Turkey: During November, leading party of the Turkish government (Ak Parti) put forward a controversial proposal in parliament, in the middle of the night, when the other opposition party members were absent. The proposal could allow men who have been accused of sexually abusing or raping underage woman in Turkey, to avoid legal punishment if they marry their victim. The proposal collects many contrary opinions and there were protests after that day. Many social assistance organizations, parents of victims went to streets and walked against the government. Also proposal recruits reaction from U.N and Western European Countries.

Colombia: One of the biggest symbols of Cuba, the comandante Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (Fidel Castro) died at the age of 90. After his death Cuba declared 9 days of national mourning. According to the Cuban government revolutionary former president had survived 638 assassination attempts. After Obama’s government started Cuban Relations again, relation between the two countries had gotten better. Unfortunately, the symbol of the Cuban Revolution died on one of the most capitalistic days… ‘’Black Friday’’. ‘’A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past.’’ Fidel Castro

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

CONFUSION OF THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE by Ebru Sener

The Nobel Prize is a prestigious reward for rewarding those who serve humanity, given by a congress founded by Alfred Nobel’s testament which is declared in Stockholm on November 30, 1896 and signed 27 November 1895. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. Each prize is given by different committee. The Swedish Academy is responsible for Literature prize which is one of the most important award in literature. The Nobel Prize for Literature is given every year to the writer who expresses an idealistic tendency in the most different way by the words of Alfred Nobel. This year a surprising name received the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 was awarded to Bob Dylan "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition". We all know who is Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter. He has great songs, but is this enough for Nobel, is it fair? Of course this was not the first questionable decision given by Swedish Academy; in the past years this prize even given to Churchill and last year given to Svetlana Aleksiyeviç who is known as a journalist.

First of all we are talking about Nobel Prize for Literature, not Grammy, BRIT or MTV Video Music Awards. Another questionable topic is songwriting and poetry are the same? It should be oversimplify the poetry if we say they are same. Poetry is visual and auditory; but lyrics are mostly for auditory. You can read poems with different emotional tones, but lyrics are limited with the singer’s expression. Also mostly rhythm come forward in the songs, not lyrics. Poetry powerful just with language, words. It doesn't need music. But lyrics are naked without music.

“Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.” T.S Eliot

These are just one part of one of his famous song. On the paper they are nothing, we cannot say that it is very good example of poetry. This is acceptable for most lyrics. In fact lyrics are generally not very good example of the language because they mostly destroy it for rhythm. Furthermore “American song tradition”, this statement doesn't involve the being universal. Of course there is not distinct rules for to give Nobel Prize, but at least we wait for something universal, touches to everyone in anytime. It should be hidden, political reasons that why Swedish Academy very interested with “American song tradition”. After all Dylan awarded and he didn't refuse it. This shows that he also believe that he contributes the literature. This is just disrespect to good writers who are doing great jobs.

Tangled up in Blue ... She was married when we first met Soon to be divorced I helped her out of a jam, I guess But I used a little too much force We drove that car as far as we could Abandoned it out West Split up on a dark sad night Both agreeing it was best She turned around to look at me As I was walkin’ awayI heard her say over my shoulder “We’ll meet again someday on the avenue” Tangled up in blue

©Aleberto CAbello

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM WHEN THE VOICE OF THE YOUNGSTERS IS NOT HEARD by Iva Veneva

Do you feel sometimes like you urgently need a meeting with some EU politicians? Maybe you want to discuss your serious daily issues as a youngster with someone responsible... Do you think that it would be useful if the rights of the youth were to be represented in Europe? © Fb page to YFJ

“The vision of the European Youth Forum is to be the voice of young people in Europe, where young people are equal citizens and are encouraged and supported to achieve their fullest potential as global citizens.”

European Youth Forum (YFJ) unites more than 100 youth organisations in Europe as an umbrella body with two main pillars: National Youth Councils (independent and representative for each country) and International Organisations (with different interests as politics, youth mobility and exchanges, students’ formations, etc.). As one of the biggest and oldest non-governmental organisations in Europe its members are also youth councils of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Macedonia and more countries inside the borders of the Council of Europe. There is a privileged relationship between the Council of Europe and YFJ. It is because of the long-standing commitment and expertise on youth policy and human rights of the Forum. t works as well with several institutions such as: United Nations, European Commission, Local and Regional Authorities, the European Parliamentary Assembly. The collaboration of the Organisation includes a wide range of activities such as: stimulating a formation of National Youth Councils in the countries where such structures still do not exist; developing the Councils in the new members’ countries; facilitating the dialog on local and international level about important topics for the member organisations.

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

Its main goals are empowering young people, making them autonomous and an active part of the decision-making process through strengthening their youth organisations. Through the Forum a variety of topics are discussed. Basic on this are prepared policies, representing the rights, interests, and ideals of the young people in Europe. Now, after you have written the above mentioned, maybe somewhere deep in yourself was cultivated the seed of curiosity, curiosity about the work of this organisation, it’s members and the life of the youngsters, who are part of it. If it is true, I am presenting you Lora. Lora Lyubenova is coming from Stara Zagora, Bulgaria - a town, popular with its straight streets which smell of a linden, a lot of talented poets and people like her - brave youngsters with strong positions. Lora represents Bulgarian Youth Forum in YFJ and she is a board member of it. Now as a candidate for a leader of the biggest umbrella youth organisation in Europe, she shared: “The price that you pay to be on such a trustful position is not so attractive as people thought. Part of it includes: spending 150-160 days/year in traveling for meetings and General Assemblies, waking up early to take your flight, rare moments of calmness and concentration at home (which normally are used for preparing presentations and writing policy papers) and the permanent exhaustance”, which as she says “is part of the job characteristic of every youth worker”. But she continued: “It is definitely hard but it is definitely worth to do it because of the change you make and see in the world around after.” Lora has decided to enter in the competition for the leading position of YFJ because she finds herself prepared enough as a leader, woman and Bulgarian. “Women are more sensitive and for the positions like this one, where you should make 2 pillars with a large number of organisations they represent, to work as one body, you need to have a feminine understanding and eagerness easy to face the challenges coming with it.” To be a citizen of a developing country could be priceless when you need to prove your ability to develop an organization in times of crisis. “To be Bulgarian in this competition I find as an advantage given me by birth, living in a developing country and knowing the obstacles I could meet on my way.” As a lot of active youngsters in Bulgaria, Lora passed many training courses, mobility programmes, participated in different initiatives of political and non-governmental organisations. From a very early age because of a personal story she was in a position to ask a lot of questions about women’s rights, law frame about divorces and how it affects kids in such situations. Logically, her first dream is to study law and fight for feminine rights. Keeping to be very active at the school years she had been part of creating right defencing clubs everywhere they were not existing. At her last year at the high school she decided to study poli0tology because she realised the importance of the creating of fair laws before to use them. Following this way through the social-democratic party in her country she started her youth worker’s way.

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

Before 8 years she became a leader of the feminist network of International Union Of Socialist Youth (IUSY). After that she becomes a vice-president of Young European Socialists for 2 years mandate. In the same time, it is founded National Youth Forum in Bulgaria. She is one of the founders, so it is not a surprise that she was 2 mandates a board member and 2 mandates was a vice-president of it. Hers was the honour to give a certificate of the National Youth Forum, Bulgaria as a member of YFJ. Parallelly, she continued her education. After getting her Bachelor degree from a Sofia University, Lora studied international master programme dedicated to the gender studies. Later, because of her hard work, she is nominated by IUSY and chosen as a board member of European Youth Forum. Passing all this way gives her the confidence that she is ready to become a president of European Youth Forum in the next elections. They will happen in the end of November 2016 in her country, Bulgaria in the European Youth Capital 2017, Varna. The elections’ rules are following. Every member organisation has a right to vote on the General Assembly, where two delegates present it. The difference in the proportions between the number of organisations, formatting the 2 pillars - National and International Organisations (40/60), defines that the vote of one National Council has a bigger weight than a vote of the International Organisation. The idea is the 2 pillars to be represented equally in the Forum. Decision for who of the candidates to be voted is taken before (in one of the preliminary meetings of each organisation) or on the day of the GA after the speeches of the candidates. In any case the responsibility about the choice in both cases is big.

Important characteristics of every young politician are the positions she/he has, concerning the current topics like National Elections, Brexit and terrorism. Lora shared that in her country also there were presidential elections recently. “We had two main candidates: a right candidate from the leading party and an independent candidate, supported by the left party. From the right party - GERB - they were very slow in choosing the candidate because of the representative character of the position I suppose.” She adds that this time it is obvious that in the campaign the messages and the charisma of the persons matter for the choice of the voters in Bulgaria. Asked to comment what are the problems in the voting system in her country, Lora just said: “Although the voting this time was compulsory for all the citizens (for the first time), it did not affect seriously to the voting activity. Some people chose again to stay at home but not to go to vote because all the tradition of voting has its weak parts in Bulgaria.” She marked that for example just party’s members and supporters are part of the voting commissions and that the voting sections were less than a needed amount to cover all the citizens. One of the main problems for her also was that there wasn’t an official debate before the elections: “Basically, I couldn’t see their abilities as politicians.”. Anyway, Lora is an optimist for the politics in her country: “At least we saw by the new faces on these elections that there is an alternative - good or bad it exists.”

POLITICAL-SOCIAL

Going back in the memories of Lora we were speaking for her hardest moments as a part of European Youth Forum. “I still remember as it was yesterday the attenuate in Norway and how I understood what happened. I had friends there. Thanks God they survived.” “I think that this was the first signal for Europe that the terrorism is here and that this is a serious problem. Unfortunately, this threat was underestimated then. As well as it happened after bombing a peaceful procession in Turkey a little bit later.” “It is amazing how when it is far away from the west Europe the threat looks imaginary. Because the reflection of the Paris’ attenuates was very different in the European and world context.”

Lora is worried also for the Brexit choice of Britons: “It is sad that it was taken away the right of the British young people to be part of Europe, although they voted against Brexit.”

Keeping in mind that Europe is far away from all the processes in USA, Lora commented that they affect whole the world, though if it depended from Europe the choice of the US president would be very different. “For the Europeans, the platform and the ideas of Burnie Sanders for example, would sounds much more acceptable.” The choice of Trump for Lora is a result of a lot of mistakes in the campaign. “It was a work of the journalists and analyzations better to explain what would be the aftereffect of such a choice. The hard life of the people in the central states made him the preferred candidate. Hillary was my favourite in the competition but it was very hard for her. It was a brave step from her to decide to participate in the elections again. After the 2 mandates of her husband as a politician (with its positive and negative aspects) and her long political experience it is inevitable the accumulation of a bad image. Conclusion of these elections are showing again that the word of youngsters was not heard because they voted for Hillary.” I hope that my article helped you to understand that the youngsters in Europe are represented well by serious politicians like Lora with her long but worth to be walked way as a youth worker. Maybe the next candidate for the leading role of the European Youth Forum is you. Who knows... 15

CULTURE

THE HOUSE OF SHADOW By Georgina Smith

In a little town, a few miles north east of Thessaloniki, sits a unique exhibition. Xanthi boasts many beautiful views, places to visit and a variety of shops and restaurants to cater all. But at 3 Mavromichali St, there is the aptly named The House of Shadow, an art exhibition that uses shadows to create masterpieces. This means that sometimes, when looking at the sculpture alone, it is very difficult to distinguish the true meaning of the art, until a light is projected towards it and the shadow makes beautiful imagery. The House of Shadow was created in 2014 by Triantafyllos Vaitsis, who said that he decided to go into this industry because he “was working as a freelance environmental engineer… But I wasn’t satisfied with this job. I was empty. One day, I said to myself; ‘I will try to make my hobby a job’. The economic crisis in Greece helped me. I had less work… So, I had more time for experiments and creating. I started and I think that my choice was right.”

Many of the sculptures inside are predominantly made from recycled material/trash, referred to as ‘Trash Art’. Vaitsis, when asked why he uses such material, said “it is very interesting to work with materials which have their own shape. You have to try more and find the right way to use them. Moreover, I like to give them life again.” Using old pieces of garbage to create his sculptures, including tyres, scrap metals, and bits of plastic. This idea had developed through time; “At first, Shadow Art was a hobby for me. I loved this kind of art. So, I spent more time searching, reading, and making experiments… The results were great and people loved my work too. I had many proposals for exhibitions and orders. Each one of them is a new challenge.” This included a marriage proposal as one of his creations. A request made by a member of the public.

In 2008 he first discovered ‘trash art’ and with this he did some more research and came across ‘shadow sculpture.’ This form of art influenced his own ideas for the exhibition; many of his pieces combine the two to create a unique experience to all of its guests. One of his most breathtaking ideas is the sculptures of double shadow (contrast). For example, his piece the ‘Early Cycle’ depicts two different views. This particular sculpture originated from the poem ‘Ropes’ that Vaitsis had written in 1994. The ‘Early Cycle’ creation present an ugly version of evolution, of life and death. The piece begins with a foetus (visualizing birth) and continues with the swing and then the noose (death.)

The House of Shadow also includes the ‘SOUL’ (PSYCHE in Greek) collection of creations. This is a changing shadow that appears from a rotating sculpture and creates different images to different people; however at one particular time the guests will all see the same image – where the word PSYCHE is formed. This collection also includes shadow sculptures entitled “fertilization”, “amusement”, “joy”, “loss” and “purification.” Other creations worth mentioning are the portraits of well-known celebrities and historical figures, such as Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstien, and Konstantinos Kavafis When asked which piece is his favourite, Vaitsis explained “I like every sculpture of mine for different reasons. One of my favourite creations is the fantasy. In this creation, there is a man, alone... But every night, a woman (his shadow/ fantasy) comes and hugs him… I love this because sculpture and shadow are becoming one. They are touched. There is no difference between them.”

CULTURE

Great is the joy of man Swinging, On two thick ropes, Hanging on the branch of a tree, Great is the misfortune of man Swinging, On two thick ropes, Hanging on the branch of a tree.

Vaitsis not only has the art in the exhibition, but also has plans for the near future “I would like (and I am trying about it) to find support to make a huge installation with shadows… during my trying, I will continue creating and making experiments for new ways of shadow art. [As for events] I had an important proposal and I hope that everything will go right and I will have an exhibition in London, in 2017.” From personal experience, I am not a huge art fan, however this exhibition is something completely different, I was in awe with how the pieces were created. Me and my friend only went to Xanthi for a day, but we are very glad we ended up in the House of Shadow. Triantafyllos showed us around the entire exhibition, explaining his influences and the meaning behind each creation, it made the experience a lot better as I could get an explanation for each piece and sometimes see the sculpture from a different perspective. My friend Lauren D, would also like to say “The House of Shadow is a lovely workshop created by a very inspired artist. It is small yet rich in originality. The works of art tell a story which evokes feelings and ideas to guests.” There are many other pieces of art at the exhibition, are you interested? Then go see for yourself. At a modest €2, it is definitely worth the money. I can guarantee you will see something different and even if art galleries and exhibitions are not your thing, it is something for the whole family. If you ever find yourself in Xanthi, I would highly recommend you visiting the House of Shadow, it’s fun and creative.

If you want to find any more information: Website – www.vaitsis.com Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Thehouseofshadow Email - tvaitsis@gmail.com twitter - twitter.com/tvaits Instagram - artvaitsis

Sources https://www.tripadvisor.com.gr/Attraction_Review-g189511-d7149595-Reviews-The_ House_of_Shadow-Xanthi_Xanthi_Region_East_Macedonia_and_Thrace.html http://www.vaitsis.com http://en.protothema.gr/welcome-to-the-house-of-shadows-photos-videos/

CULTURE

CHRISTMAS FOR ALL

Some experiences about St. Nicholas Day by Marien Cuesta Garcia

We have seen who is St. Nicholas and his history over time. Now let's dwell on the experiences of people from very different places. They will tell us about their experiences and their traditions on this day. In many places, different games are played and different things are eaten. To know more about how St. Nicholas is celebrated we have done interviews of people of very different nationalities. First of all, we have the experience of Kasper. One of our volunteers. He tells us how it is celebrated the famous Julemanden in Denmark. ‘‘Santa Claus is white-bearded and dressed in red robes and for the Danish people he lives in Greenland. Here Santa Claus has a workshop where he and his elves make toys for children during the year. He even has an official post address where you can send your wishes to him.

On Christmas eve (December 24th) Santa and his helpers fill all the toys in a huge sack and put it in Santa Claus's sleigh. Then Santa flies all over the world to pass the toys to children going through the chimney in every house he visits. In some houses a member of the family will dress as Santa and will give the gifts to the children and in some families leave a bowl of porridge for giving Santa something to eat on the way’’. Judith from the Netherlands tells us how is the celebration in Holland, who is the famous Sinterklaas, the controversy about Zwarte Pieten, his little black assistants and all the games and things that they do in these days. ‘‘On the 5th of December it’s the birthday of Sinterklaas, which is celebrated in most families. This is the main event, but in the previous weeks there are already many festivities. Note that in the Netherlands children are not given presents with Christmas, but with Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas (Sint Nicolaas, = Saint Nicholas) is a friendly old man, that lives in Spain in a big house together with his helpers, Zwarte Pieten. Every year they come to the Netherlands on a big steamboat, to deliver his presents to the Dutch kids, but in order to get presents you need to behave well! During a period of more or less 3 weeks Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Pieten are in the country and two main festivities take place:

The “intocht” – entry- of Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas arrives to the Netherlands on a Saturday in the middle of November, from that moment children will receive small presents and candy in their shoes as Sinterklaas and his helpers (Zwarte Pieten) go by the houses at night to deliver them through the chimney. The entry of Sinterklaas is a big event that takes place in every city and village, but is also broadcasted live on national TV. For this, every year a different city is chosen to welcome Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten.

CULTURE

The 5th of December. This is an evening you should spend with your family, also grandparents are often there. There is a difference between families with young children (that still believe the presents come from Sinterklaas), and families with older children, who know that Sinterklaas does not exist. In the first case the children start singing Sinterklaas songs when it’s dark, which is already at 5pm, then they wait, drink hot chocolate milk and eat ‘‘pepernoten’’, until the doorbell rings and a big bag filled with presents has arrived. Sometimes the presents come together with a poem, which you have to read out loud. Then it’s time to unwrap the presents and to say thank you to Sinterklaas. In the case of older children the family members buy presents for one specific person they get awarded, they write a personal poem (usually the idea is to make fun of this person). Sometimes you also make a funny or nice gift wrapping. The discussion and the racist character associated with Zwarte Piet in Netherlands. For a couple of years there is a lively and sometimes rather violent discussion about the figure of Zwarte Piet, who is painted black. There is a clear parallel with the Blackfacing tradition in the US and a link with the history of Dutch slavery in former colonies. This leaves a bad, racist, taste that is not compatible with the rather positive message of Sinterklaas. As time passes by more and more people seem to opt for a change: “rainbow” Pieten and “chimney” Pieten have been introduced in the last couple of years. Recently, one of the main TV channels (RTL4) decided not to use complete black figures anymore, but only the “chimney” Pieten. Let’s hope that this will continue in the coming years so that it will really be an event for all the colourful people of the Netherlands.

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The Spanish Jose Manuel tells us his experience in Spain about how it is celebrated this day and how important it is. ‘‘Firstly, on 24th December 'Nochebuena', Papa Noel places presents for the children in socks or bags by their beds, in front of the family Christmas tree or the Nativity scene, or in some cases by the fire place. That night all family together have an special dinner consisting of a major dish of meat such as lamb or fish such as cod, also a traditional sweet 'turrοn' a kind of almond candy. After singing the traditional Christmas carols most children go to bed early, anxiously to be prepared to receive their presents next morning. Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, known in Spain as Papà Noel, brings gifts for children (an adults) to open on Christmas Day. On the other hand, on 5th January (Three Kings Day Eve) all around Spain is celebrated Then The Three Kings' Parade is celebrated all around Spain the arrival of the Kings with a joyful pared called the 'Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos'. The Kings usually ride upon horses or elaborate floats and throw goodies down to the children and other people lining the streets. This is also traditionally the big opportunity for children to ask the Kings for presents.

That evening, after the parade, children go to bed early, but excited, to wait for Melchoir, Caspar and Balthazar to come in through the window and leave their presents. Children leave out their shoes in a spot where the Kings are sure to see them. When morning arrives, children delightedly discover their presents by their shoes. Finally, The magical day comes to a close with another Spanish Christmas tradition: a typical breakfast of 'Roscοn de Reyes' a ring-shaped cake decorated with fruits symbolizing the precious gems that adorned the royal trio's lavish’’. Finally, I present the experience of Ermioni and how it is celebrated in Greece. ‘‘Saint Nicholas is called in Greek Άγιος Νικόλαος. In Greece we are celebrating Saint Nicholas on 6th of December. For our traditional Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors. Additionally, he is the patron saint of town Agios Nikolas on Crete. Even if for many countries Saint Nicholas is connected with Santa Claus and Christmas. According to our tradition, Santa Claus is linked with Saint Vasilios’’.

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ST. NICHOLAS

What do we really know about this bearded old man who gives out gifts? By Marien Cuesta Garcia

In many countries all over the world is celebrated the arrival of a man called St. Nicholas but we know that the celebration is made in different ways in some countries. We will know who is Nicholas and his evolution over time from the beginning to the present famous white-bearded old man who wish us merry Christmas having a coke. About St. Nicholas Nicholas of Bari, known as Santa Claus was born in the fourth century in Patara, a city of Lycia, nowadays, Turkey. Little Nicholas was the son of a family of wealthy merchants dedicated to the shoe trade. His uncle who was the bishop of Myra took care of his education. When he was young, he hesitated to opt for the mercantile vocation like his father or to dedicate himself to the priestly life as his uncle. The catastrophe that produced a plague at that time not only ended with the majority of the population, but also with the family of Nicholas. Moved by the family disaster and the general situation, Nicholas decided to distribute all his inheritance in the most solidary and altruistic way.

St. Nicholas and the three women One of the action that is most remembered to Nicholas and that more relate to some aspects of the celebration is about the three women. Nicolas learned of an old and sick gentleman who could not marry his daughters for lack of dowry and would prostitute them. One night he left a bag with gold coins inside the gentleman’s house. With this money it might be possible to marry one of his daughters. The next night he left another bag with gold coins for the second daughter and finally when he went to deposit the third bag was surprised by the father. Even do that Nicholas didn’t want the fact to be know the new was spread throughout Patara. After sharing his inheritance among the poor people he returned to Myra to form himself as a bishop, as his uncle did. St. Nicholas Bishop When his uncle died, Nicolas was finally named bishop. As a bishop he carried out many actions against any kind of the injustice. One of the best known is the salvation of three innocents from death. Possibly Nicholas participated in the Council of Nicea in the year 325, where the Arian Heresy was condemned because it put in doubt the divinity of Jesus Christ.

In the forests of the Basque Country, a giant called Olentzero come with gifts and also is accompanied by coal-men, elves and peasants with a white beard.

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His name does not appear on the lists of bishops who participated in the council, but St. Methodius affirms that thanks to the teachings of Nicholas, the city of Myra was the only city in which the Arianism did not triumph and also carried out severe measures against paganism. Also, he will be known to defend the mystery of the Holy Trinity, raising the divinity of Christ against the Arians and beating in the name of Christianity the remains of the pagan cult of Artemis and Apollo. So much was his defence of the Holy Trinity that it is said that Nicholas at birth remained standing for three hours. Nicholas died on December 6, 327. Italian sailors removed his body from the place where he was buried and was transferred to Bari in 1087 because the people there no longer practiced Christianity. They had converted to Islam. Asimilation of the pagan traditions In ancient times, in Rome and Greece were celebrated religious festivals in honor of Saturn and Chronos in winter. In mid-December, one of the most popular ceremonies was one in which authority relations were reversed. Women became men and children became parents. At the end of the festival, the children received gifts from all the people. In the sixteenth century the children use to leave a shoe by the fireplace because the fire was the symbol of the bond between Gods and humans in ancient times. They believed that the Gods would come and go to them through the fire and that therefore St. Nicholas also used that mean as a conduit to reward

ÂŠ By Aleksa Petrov (Wikimedia Commons)

children with gifts. Italian children, for example, receive their gifts from a good witch named Befana. She was sweeping her house when the Three Kings passed to the manger of Bethlehem and invited her to go with them. She said not and for not accompanying them, the Befana goes out every year to distribute gifts in search of the child of God, as an act of repentance.

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The memory of the miracles of Nicholas among the Christian faithful replaced the pagan figures bearing gifts. Metamorphosis in Europe In Europe, there was a parallel process in the creation of the figure of Santa Claus. The reformist Lutheran tradition was very solid. In 1847 it appears a personage similar to St. Nicholas dressed in a kind of habit of monk in Germany.

From the middle of the thirteenth century, St. Nicholas distributed gifts and toys during the night of December 5th and 6th, but after the Catholic counter-reform in 1545 it appeared another character, Christ-kind, the child Jesus. Luther replaced the carrier of gifts by the child Jesus. It achieved its purpose partly, because in Germany the figure went from being a child to a woman in white robe and black veil who distributed gifts on December 25th. The popularity of the tradition of the gifts of the child Jesus, forced St. Nicholas to come to deliver his gifts on the 25th as well. Little by little it was disappearing. St. Nicholas only would survive in Holland who was dressed, wearing ecclesiastical ornaments with a white beard, riding a donkey and carrying a sack or a basket with gifts for good children and a bunch of bars for the disobedient children. Later, in the seventeenth century, he used to arrive in a Spanish ship with a white horse. Always he was accompanied by his faithful servant Zwarte Piet, a smiling character who wore a sack full of sweets which was large enough. In this way, when the sack was empty he could put there, all the children who had behaved badly during the year and once inside they were taken to Spain. A horrendous punishment for the time because in the Netherlands there are a War against the Spanish sovereigns and the Duke of Alba was doing atrocities in the Flemish territories. The character of Zwarte Piet was an Ethiopian orphan who St. Nicholas bought from pirates to release him. However, as the servant was constantly at his side, St. Nicholas decided to take and educate him. From Holland to New York About 1624 the Dutch emigrants founded a city called New Holland that later became known as New York, they brought the Sinterklass tradition with them. Later on, when New Holland passed into English hands became Santa Claus. And with this name the tradition spread throughout the North American continent. In this transpass, Zwarte Piet stayed in the European continent because he is disappeared from the celebration. Metamorphosis in EEUU Washington Irving, a lover of European folklore, wrote his History of New York in 1809, which describes the arrival of the saint, without bishop's clothes and abandoning the white horse for a flying steed on January 6th. The story was so popular that even the English settlers celebrated the Dutch celebration.

The next step of the final transformation of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus occurred on December 23rd, 1823, when a poem appeared in a New York newspaper entitled "An account of the visit of St. Nicholas." In 1862, it was learned that Clement C. Moore had written it. In this poem was extolled the magic component of the San Nicolas of Irving and made it more believable. He changed the sled pulled by a flying horse by one pulled by reindeer. He was described as a cheerful, chubby guy of small stature, assimilating him to a gnome. And finally the most decisive thing was that Moore placed the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. The image of Santa Claus was detailed by the cartoonist Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist who published Santa Claus illustrations in the Harper's Weekly magazine from 1860 to 1880.

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He added details such as locating Santa's workshop at the North Pole and his vigilance about the good and bad children from all over the world. Thomas Nast was inspired on the European winter lords since it had little relation with St. Nicholas of Myra or Bari. Father Christmas was born At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of 20th century, the new St. Nihcolas transformed in New York, was extended all over Europe. It founded his bases in Great Britain, calling himself Father Christmas and from there to France being called Père Noël from which it derives the Papa Noel as it is known in Spain and South America. Coca-Cola redesigned Santa Claus The latest transformation in the iconographic evolution of Santa Claus took place with the advertising campaign of the beverage company Coca-Cola during the Christmas of 1930.

The company published an image of Santa Claus listening to requests from children in a shopping center. Although the campaign was successful, the company's marketing managers asked to Chicago painter, Haddon Sundblom, to remodel Nast's Santa Claus. The artist who took Lou Prentice as the first model to a retired salesman, made him lose his gnome look and win in realism. Santa Claus became taller, thicker, with a cheerful and kind face, gnarly and kind eyes and a red dress with white ribbons that were the official colors of Coca-Cola.

The character was released successfully in 1931. The drawings and paintings that Haddon Sundblom painted between 1931 and 1996 were reproduced in all the Coca-Cola Christmas campaigns and after the death of the painter, his work has continued to spread constantly.

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Επέτειος του όχι By Georgina Smith

If you’re lucky enough to be in Greece on October 28th, you will witness a proud and united country celebrate one of its most welcomed anniversaries. This annual event, known as Oxi Day, is commemorated each year with military and school parades. The day represents Greek values and the courage that was seen many years ago. In 1940, former military general and Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas said “No” (Oxi) to the Italian ultimatum made by Mussolini, that would allow Italian forces to occupy specific areas throughout the country as strategic locations during the Second World War. Metaxas addressed the Greek people with these words: “The time has come for Greece to fight for her independence. Greeks, we must now prove ourselves worthy of our forefathers and the freedom they bestowed upon us. Greeks, fight now for your father land, for your wives, for your children and the sacred traditions. The struggle is now for everything.” Although it has been said that when faced with this ultimatum, the Greek Prime Minister replied with “Alas, c’est la guerre” – meaning “then, it is war” in French, the Greek population was reportedly shouting “Oxi” through the streets whilst preparing for war and were ready to arm themselves and protect their land. Metaxas is noted as a deeply controversial figure in Greek history, however, his actions on this day contributed to the downfall of the Nazi empire. The Greeks fought a long and difficult battle to prevent an Italian invasion, for many months they prevented the Italian army (who were trying to impress Hitler and his military) from advancing. Winston Churchill said about this victory; “until now we would say that Greeks fight like heroes, from now on we will say that the heroes fight like Greeks.”

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Thessaloniki, along with many other towns and cities on Greece, showed its solidarity and gratitude towards this day. The streets were lined with people in celebration, and many buildings were decorated with the Greek flag. October 28th is not just a public holiday, it’s a time for the country to get together and celebrate the nations bravery 76 years ago. The parades in the city, both on Thursday with the school parade, and Friday with the Military, were highly publicised. Throughout Friday people living within the city could hear the jet engines and helicopter blades as they flew over the city in the air display, a magnificent event for many people, whether they see it every year or it is the first time.

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TAF (THESSALONIKI ANIMATION FESTIVAL) By Borja Blanco Babarro

Animation is the process of creating the illusion from simple images. This audiovisual technique is much older than Thomas Edison’camera. In fact, animation can be found in the paintings in the caves from the Palaeolithic era, more than 35,000 years ago. These ancient hunters and illustrators, for example, drew numerous legs in animals, to demonstrate the great speed at which they moved; "Multiple Image" is the name we give today to this kind of animation technique, very popular in comics. Thessaloniki Animation Festival held its second edition between 20 and 23 October, in Melina Mercouri Theatre, located in Kalamaria. This festival is organized by the AddArt organization and the municipality of Kalamaria, is completely free and these days have presented projections from all around the world. Different styles, different situations, different animation techniques, cheerful, comic, sad stories ... But also workshops for children, and master class. Different guest from the animation world have attended this edition of TAF. Including Ana Grgic, prominent woman in the film and audiovisual world, president of the Balkans Cultural Center, who gave a master class "Κίνηση στην Ύλη" (Movement in the field) on the strategies and visual effects to attract the interest of the viewer. Giannis Texis made a master class on creating characters and their elements when modelling them. Moreover, Anggelos Rouvas, who organized the first section of animation in the Greek national television and has been artistic director of advertising for UNICEF Greece, made a presentation of his latest project "Mentor" with which he won the sponsorship of the European program Media Development.

©Borja Blanco Babarro

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©Borja Blanco Babarro

This festival is a perfect opportunity for the city and its people to know the animation world. Melina Mercouri Theatre was a meeting point to share ideas, meet animators, improve the quality of the characters, learn from the different animations and experience this old technique. TAF creates a connection between us, the audience, technology and art. Through few minutes of animation movie we can see and we can feel the emotion and the motivation of the artist who made that small piece of artistic treasure. It said that one picture worth more than one thousand words, and it’s true! From scratch to the story, the animation is amazing, because one idea becomes alive!

©Jorge Andres Rodriguez Acevedi

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THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL AS A FEAST By Ebru Sener

November started with feast for film lovers in Thessaloniki. The Thessaloniki Film Festival faced new audiences with new management from November 4th to 13th. The 57th Thessaloniki International Film Festival opened with Jim Jarmusch's latest work, poem “Paterson” and the closing will be with Stephanie di Giusto's "The Dancer / La Danseuse". 72.000 spectators watched their movies in Olympion, the largest hall in the city, which can be host close to 1000 people, with the door opened to the the biggest square facing the sea, or in the four warehouses at the port. The festival features two competitions as an international and national, also there are large part of the hit film segments consisting of highlights from Cannes, Venice and Berlin festivals, reconnaissance episodes of current world cinema, small thematic sections and a Balkan Survey dedicated to Balkan cinema. Furthermore there was a festival-in-festival situation with the title of the Greek Film Festival, which includes other current examples of country cinema which give a chance to get close to Greek cinema for audiences. PARK directed by Sofia Exarchou is very good example. Park is a strong and aesthetic film that was connecting the buildings, structured outside of Athens due to the Olympic Games in 2004 but nowadays with not different from a ghost city, with the Greek youth disappearing because of the economic crisis and living conditions and feeling of aimlessness Every good thing finishes very fast like Thessaloniki Film Festival. Ten days passed on the lines for ticket, watching sea after movies... Now waiting for next year, but before I had a chance to have small interview with TIFF's General Director. There have been changes in the management cadre after the festival's former manager and artistic director Dimitri Eipides leaving the retirement. Elise Jalladeau began her career as a general director.

How was the festival this year? The 57th edition of TIFF was a successful one and we are very pleased with the results. A significantly increased number of spectators attended the event this year, while the feedback we got by festival guests and spectators from many parts of the world, is an absolutely positive one, rendering TIFF’s impact stronger, both local and international level. Do you think economic crisis effect the participation? One of TIFF’s main goals is to continue supporting and promoting Greek cinema. Without doubt, the Greek film production keeps thriving, despite the circumstances imposed by the crisis in Greece, which cannot of course be ignored. This year 16 Greek films had their premiere in the 57th TIFF, a number considerably big that makes us optimistic about the local cinema. We thank the filmmakers very much for entrusting us with their work. How is the feedback from the audiences? TIFF’s audience is indeed a very enthusiastic one; people embrace each edition by showing their constant support to the event, attending the screenings and participating in the parallel events (masterclasses, parties, exhibitions, etc). 72.000 spectators attended this year’s 57th TIFF, which is almost 10% more than last year and we are of course very happy for this, aspiring at the same time to further enhance our relations with the audience. Regarding the later, and especially the movie-goers of Thessaloniki, as noted above, we are able to showcase a rich annual activity available to all. Which movie was the one that you like most? The quality of the films that participated in the 57th TIFF was indeed high. Ιf I was to choose one of my favorites, I would say it’s this year’s edition opening film; Patterson by Jim Jarmusch, for the modesty combined with the exceptional strength of the directing.

I want to say thank you to Elise Jalladeau allowing time to interview and to Alexandra Kolia for her helps about to communicate Elise Jalladeau. Can you give us a short information/profile about the festival? The Thessaloniki International Film Festival is a multifaceted organization of international character, dedicated to the celebration of global cinema, featuring a wide range of activities all year long. TIFF is many things. First of all, the two main large annual festival editions; the Film Festival held in November and the Documentary Festival held in March. In addition, TIFF includes the Museum of Cinema of Thessaloniki, the Thessaloniki Cinematheque, the Film Library and the internationally unique HELLAFFI Collection, declared as Cultural Heritage Monument by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports. Furthermore, 25,000 children participate each year in TIFF’s educational programs, while TIFF’s 4 cinema theatres with first-run films welcome the audience throughout the year.

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Â© Ebru Sener

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GREEKING OUT WITH CHRISTMAS KALANDAS By Kasper Jepsen

Triangles and carols everywhere! So begins the Greek version of Jingle Bells known as “Trigona, Kalanda.” If you are lucky enough to be in Greece around Christmas, chances are that this is exactly what you will experience. It refers to one of the most important Christmas traditions in Greece, the Kalandas. Every year on the day before Christmas, the 24th of December, Greek children walk from house to house and ask “na ta poume” – can we sing it? The person answering the door will almost definitely welcome the children and listen to their singing accompanied by a triangle shaped percussion instrument made of metal. Usually the homeowners have prepared in advance and reward the children for their singing with coins or small treats. This is the essence of the Greek Kalanda tradition. A custom that goes back to before Christian times according to Marina Nikolakopoulou of the Music Library of Greece: “In Ancient Greece, there were various texts comparable to the contemporary Kalanda, which contained praises for the landlord and good wishes for the prosperity of the household. At that time, children sang carols while carrying boat models in honor of the God Dionyssos. Sometimes they carried branches of olive or laurel upon which they hung their tips and gratuities.”

©Origin Uknown

Today the Kalandas are typically about Christmas themes like the birth of Christ and how the Three Kings bring him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Kalandas are also sung on New Year’s Eve and the Eve of The Epiphany and they vary from region to region. “Christmas carols are sung all over the country and are distinguished by several regional versions such as carols from Aigina, Thrace, Crete, Samos, Cyprus, Cycladic islands, Byzantium and the carols of Pontos. With individual wordings and melodies, they offer their own viewpoint of Christ’s Birth, which is their central theme. Invariably Christmas carols praise the home, and the family with good wishes for the household and its prosperity,” Nikolakopoulo writes. Here follows one of the most popular Kalandas in English translated by Marilyn Rouvela. The theme of the birth of Christ and a reference to the homeowner are both present in the lyrics.

©Maria Michalinos

Good evening ,noble folk If you so command I will tell your noble household Of the birth of Christ Today Christ is born in Bethlehem And the heavens rejoice Along with all of nature Yours truly will be prepared for Christmas Eve with coins and sweets and I suggest that you should do the same if you find yourself in Greece. Chances are that you will not be able to say no if you are asked “na ta poume”.

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CHRISTMAS BREAKFASTS ONCE UPON A TIME ON THE BALKANS... By Iva Veneva

I love Christmas. This period in my associations is connected always with funny parties for the end of the year, noisy open markets and a long process of choosing presents for the dearest ones. But we also spend a lot of time at home. Just remember this time of the year in the childhood! Waking up late. The hair is messy. Walking around with the pajama and the breakfast is in the middle of the day. But what did your mom prepare for Christmas? Let me show you some examples for the traditional breakfasts on Christmas from Bulgaria and Greece. ÂŠDeena Nicole

BANITSA - SOFT DELICIOUSNESS FROM BULGARIA Actually, there is no season for banitsa because it is so traditional and loved by Bulgarians that they eat it all the year. No matter if they grab it from the nearest bakery on the way to work or prepare it at home. It is always a pleasure to eat it hot, with cheese, spinach, or sweet. The cooking of the homemade banitsa could take between 30 minutes to some hours (depending if you prepare by yourself phyllo dough sheets or not), so it is usually cooked during the weekend or around the winter celebrations when we spend more time inside, as a part of the traditional meals on 25th of December.

Try the following recipe for banitsa with cheese you will not feel sorry! INGREDIENTS 16 sheets phyllo dough, thawed 2 cups feta cheese 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup butter (melted) 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, (a glass Pyrex pan works great for this recipe) brush melted butter all over bottom and sides of baking pan. 2. Mix salt, cheese, milk and eggs in a bowl, combine and stir ingredients well. 3. Put down 5 sheets of phyllo dough down in buttered pan and brush over with melted butter. You can also put down one sheet at a time and butter separately. 4. Pour enough of the mixture to cover phyllo sheets and top with 3 more sheets. 5. Continue to repeat the process: put down 3 sheets and make sure to brush them well with butter, then layer with mixture until all the mixture is done, and cover with at least 2 sheets. I prefer not to put butter the top sheets as they tend to get very hard after the banitsa is done baking. 6. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden, make sure mixture is cooked in the middle by cutting into banitsa. When the mixture is cooked, it will not be runny. 7. Once banitsa is done, cover it with either a towel or the lid to the pan and let it sit and cool before cutting it or serving. Covering it, lets the steam soften the phyllo dough sheets.

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SESAME BAKLAVA FROM GREECE A NEW USAGE OF THE TRADITIONAL BAKLAVA In order to the Greek Orthodox faith, the forty days that lead up to Christmas Day are a time of fasting. Restricted foods include anything that comes from animals meat, dairy products, and eggs. Following the tradition, the Greek people have created a number of treats that are not made with the egg and dairy that is so common in most holiday pastries. One of these treats comes in the form of the sesame baklava, or baklavas sousamenios. Made strictly with olive oil, phyllo dough, sugar, and toasted sesame seeds. If you want to feel the Greek mood of Christmas, try it! DIRECTIONS 1. Note: This recipe works best in a non-stick or oiled deep baking or roasting pan measuring approximately 14.5 X 10.5 inches (about the size of a medium lasagna pan). 2. Preheat oven to 350F (about 178C). 3. Place 3 sheets of phyllo in the bottom of the pan. Trim or fold in to fit. Brush the top sheet with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, paying attention to edges. Sprinkle evenly with 1/3 - 1/2 cup of toasted sesame seeds. Sprinkle with a very little cinnamon (small pinch) if desired. ÂŠ https://mademoiselleistanbul.com/2010/04/04/les-meilleurs-baklavas-de-turquie-gulluoglu-baklava/

INGREDIENTS 12 sheets of phyllo dough 1 2/3 to 2 1/2 cups of toasted sesame seeds 3/4 cup of olive oil ground cinnamon

For the Syrup 2 cups of water 2 cups of sugar 3 slices of lemon peel (about 1 inch X 1/4 inch)

4. Place 2 sheets of phyllo on top, brush the top sheet with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with 1/3 - 1/2 cup of sesame seeds (and optional cinnamon). Repeat until 3 sheets of phyllo remain for the top. 5. Place 3 remaining phyllo sheets on top, brush with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with 1/3 - 1/2 cup of sesame seeds. Score the top without cutting all the way through to the bottom into 8 pieces (down the middle and into 4 parts down the length of the pan). 6. Bake on the rack just below the middle of the oven at 350F (about 178C) for about 40 minutes, until top is nicely golden. 7. When the pastry is almost finished, make the syrup. Combine water, sugar, and lemon peel in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to make sure the sugar dissolves completely. Boil for 6-7 minutes, remove from heat, and set aside. 8. As soon as the baklava comes out of the oven, remove lemon peel from syrup and pour evenly over the pastry, making sure to get the edges. Caution: The pan will be hot and the syrup may spatter and boil. Take necessary care. 9. Note: When pouring the syrup over the baklava, the sesame seeds on top may get displaced. As soon as the syrup is in the pan, gently redistribute them evenly, taking care not to disturb the phyllo. When the syrup has been absorbed and cools, the seeds will remain in place. 35

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INDONESIA ON A MOTORBIKE By Tula Necker

©Tula Necker

I graduated from high school in June and I always wanted to go to Asia, so I worked for 3 months to gain money to go there. I did not really have a plan and as I had only one month until my EVS in Thessaloniki would start, I had been looking for a place to travel to which isn't too big to be discovered in a month. I did some research and found the Island Bali in Indonesia, which is said to be religious but also very friendly to visitors and especially a safe place for women to travel to. I booked my flight with a friend from my former school class and we made a route to go through the country. Our plane took off at Amsterdam Schiphol and we arrived 18 hours later in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, after a quick stop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

©Tula Necker

After we finally changed our euros to rupiah (1:15.000) we got into the cab and drove to the little fisher village called Jimbaran, located in the south of Bali, 20 minutes from the airport. It was close by the sea and was a nice place to stay as we had just arrived. When we went out for dinner at 11 pm the village was asleep, we decided to have rice with vegetables and chicken satay. We stayed another 4 days where we met a German girl who was volunteering in an orphaned house nearby. As she already knew many people in the neighbourhood she took us to a motorbike rental so we could inform ourselves about the prices and motorbikes. We decided to rent a Scoopy for the month. The temple called Uluwatu was impressive because of it's amazing location on top of a coast. There were many wild monkeys that tried to steal our things, following us all the way up to the temple. It was a touristic but also traditional place, where Balinese were praying and having their processions going on. We also noticed they were busy with preparing offering to their gods: Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva; but we never saw a procession before and it was a great experience to be invited by the Balinese to come and sit with them during the procession.

©Tula Necker

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Â©Tula Necker

TRAVEL

©Tula Necker

We got onto our motorbike to go to Ubud to follow our route up into the northern part of Bali. It took us 2 hours on the motorbike to get there and we realized it hat a purpose Balinese people were wearing masks during the ride. The pollution was horrible. Ubud was crowded with tourists because the hostel was right in the middle of the market, where you could buy all kinds of accessories, but you must be able to bargain. From Ubud we went to different places: rice terraces, a volcano, food markets and temples of course. One of the Temples we visited is the Besakih temple, the most important temple to Hindus from all over Asia. There are usually big processions going on by full moon but when we went there during the daytime we also met a lot of people praying. We bought offerings to go into the huge garden where the temple was located and got to learn about the offerings: The ancients are for the god of the fire; the holy water is for the god of the water and finally a hand sign like a wave in the air symbolizes the god of air. We learned that Hindus were praying to 3 gods (there are more but these are the most important ones) because each of them had their own task. Brahma is said to be the first one on earth and the author of our being. Shiva is said to be the destroyer but also the one who makes place for new lives on earth, so he is also a kind of creator. Shiva is the most adored of the three gods the Hindus pray to. The last of the three gods is Vishnu. Vishnu is said to be our guardian and his main task is to fight evil. It was always quite a struggle to find our way because Bali doesn't really have a lot of signs and if there are signs they only tell the way to the big cities in the south: Denpasar, Kuta and Klungklung. From Ubud we wanted to go to Padang Bai in the East and then take a boat to the Gilis, small islands which belong to the country Lombok. We got lost on the way, and asked a deafmute for the way, after hours of driving in 36 degrees he finally realised we wanted to go somewhere else and he bought us water as an apology. We finally found our way to Padang Bai and when we found a hostel to stay for the night we realized we were red and black at the same time. Red from a strong sunburn on our legs and arms and black from all the pollution during the ride. ©Tula Necker

TRAVEL Almost everybody wanted to sell us tickets for a speedboat to go the Gillis. We went to Gili Trawangan, a small island you could easily circumnavigate in an hour. On Gili T (short form) all vehicles with motors are forbidden so it was a little break from all the pollution. The only way to go around on the island is to rent a bike or horse-drawn vehicle or by feet of course. As Gili T belongs to Lombok and not to Bali it is not really characterized by Hindiusm but by the Islam. We rented a homestay on the Internet when we were still in Ubud and hadn't had any problems to find it, because obviously, the Island is very, very small. As the island is mostly Muslim orientated there are just a few temples and many mosques. It is also a very touristic place with many parties going every day, but still also very traditional. It is a very nice mixture of cultures in the clubs. When I asked locals whether they feel uncomfortable about all the tourists coming to their island for parties and drinking, they told me it was a pleasure for them to meet so many people and they said it was fun for them to watch the people go crazy.

©Tula Necker

We made boat trips to the other Islands called Gili Air and Gili Meno, which were about the same size but more quiet. We went snorkelling and saw colourful fishes and swam with tortoises. It was a beautiful place to stay at and we really enjoyed watching the sunrises at the coast. The big food market which was held in the centre of the island every night and all the good small restaurants, called 'Warung’, that sell fresh juices for 10.000 rupiah each. We finally left the island to go back to the main land. We decided to go back to Ubud to relax for some days. We found a restaurant called Black beach and turned it into our regular. They had a big terrace and we were watching great movies on the terrace 2 nights a week because it turns into a public cinema on Wednesdays and Thursdays. We really enjoyed it and got friends with the servants of our homestay.

©Tula Necker

TRAVEL

©Tula Necker

We never experienced something bad in the country because everybody was so friendly and welcoming towards us but on the last day before we would leave my phone was stolen at the traffic light. A man drove his motorbike next to us and took it out of my hand, my friend was angry and tried to follow him. The adrenaline made her forget we were on a main road and that it was quite dangerous to follow him. She finally admitted that we could not catch him because he was a good driver and that it was safer to go home. When we went back to the hostel in Jimbaran the servants told us that it must have been somebody from the islands around Bali like Java because Balinese people would never commit crime. They have a strong belief in karma and would never risk to harm anybody. We finally understood why everybody was so friendly and welcoming. They'd never risk karma to pay them back. The Hindus also believe in reincarnation, so when we visited a funeral, the whole event was quite jolly. Bali was a great experience and whole new world to me as I had never been to Asia before. Balinese people are all about 'Sama Sama' which means 'you are welcome' and we felt very welcome and people kept telling us that they appreciate us to come back and to enjoy the Island. I would recommend everybody to go there to learn about Hinduism and different world sights and habits. At some places, it is also a very dirty and poor country and the pollution is awful but it is worth to go there and meet the many crazy Balinese people who are happy even though they only have little money. It was always strange for me to know that everyone I had talked to during our stay would've never leave the island to come and visit Germany. Everything was very traditional and back to the roots. Also, the toilets. But you get taught to adapt to the circumstances and it was a great decision to go to Bali!

©Tula Necker

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4x4 MUSIC

Blue & Lonesome by The Rolling Stones Well, well, well. It’s so nice to hear one that of the greatest Rock Legend’s made a new album. Despite their ages, they are rocking like first day. Personally I’m a big fan of Keith Richards and of course Mick Jagger. Watch the official music video called ‘’ Ride 'Em On Down’’ and you can decide.

California by Blink 182 During their punk career they were challenged with many ups & downs. But as a group and friends they always tried to stand up. California album is going to give you what you need if you are fan of fast punk. Get up, stand up and enjoy it!

22, A Million by Bon Iver Is it windy outside? Is it rainy, and warm inside your home? Are you bored of watching, reading, and cooking? Lay down on your bed, open this relaxing album and start to think. You are welcome.

Blackstar by David Bowie Well it’s been a hard year, humanity lost many talents. I don’t know you guys but I lived and grew up with David Bowie when I was a kid. He showed me differences, love, respect and music. Also, he was a great friend when I met with beer. It’s a great album like his other albums. Rest in Peace loved one.

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ART

Rhaidestos – Thessaloniki. Antiquities in a refugee journey 37 "sculptures-refugees" which tell the journey to safety. The artworks, carried by refugees through Thrace, are in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki until the end of January.

“The Museum without a home” Amnesty International in Greece and Oxfam have created this special exhibition in Athens. It has neither a specific location nor opening hours: the objects are not works of art, but things that the Greeks offered to people who needed protection and support and that played an important role in their everyday lives.

Georgy Litichevsky – Hypothetical Dances The State Museum of Contemporary Art oh Thessaloniki is hosting the works of Georgy Litichevsky, a creator who, through his artistic practice, reveals the unlimited possibilities of comics. You can see important people dancing with a hybrid and bizarre shapes.

Delacroix and Philippoteaux at te Teloglion Fine Arts Foundation The Greek War of Independence, the Siege of Paris in 1870 and the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. An exhibition based on the french-greek connection.

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MOVIES

Captain Fantastic By Matt Ross Ben and Leslie live together with their six children in a wooded area, remote from towns and humanity. Ben is particularly against the policies of the United States and the social norms. They gave their children all kinds of education in order to survive in difficult nature conditions.

Panic in Needle Park By Jerry Schatzberg The film tells the story of a group of heroin addicts in Needle Park, New York, focusing on the tough love of Bobby and Helen. Bobby is a small pickpocket around the neighborhood and Helen is connected to both heroine and Bobby in a short time. Panic in Needle Park allows Al Pacino to be discovered and take on Godfather's role.

Snowden By Oliver Stone Edward Snowden, an ex-CIA worker, talks about his career and experiences in the CIA. Edward Snowden is a computer programmer genius, he created many programmes for the CIA database. During his work, he overcomes many inside ethical problems. Movie is a type of memoir, telling the story of Snowden’s life.

Before the Flood By Fisher Stevens One of the world’s greatest movie stars takes action for one of the planet’s greatest dangers. In September 2016 DiCaprio was elected Ambassador of the United Nations for climate change.DiCaprio spent two years exploring the planet and investigating climate change issues andpossible solutions to these problems.

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BOOKS

Ocean Sea – Alessandro Baricco In this very poetic book, the Italian writer Baricco drives you in a parallel world where everything is possible. Starting from the Almayer Inn going directly into the deep Ocean, many characters will tell you their endearing stories

Alexander Lowen Bioenergetics Have you ever thought that your body can talk about yourself more than as you can do with the words? This is the main base for this book that introduce you into a new therapy called Bioenergetics that uses the language of the body to heal the problems of the mind.

Ο κόσμος ο μικρός ο μέγας A collection of poems of the great Odisseas Elitis with the music of Ghiorgos Kurupos. This short commemorative anthology is published by Ikaros in five languages: Greek, Spanish, Italian, French and English.

Living Loving and Learning Leo Buscaglia Did you know that the author of this book was the first professor who did a course about “love”? In this book, Leo Buscaglia has collected many lectures that he had at the University. A chance to reflect, open your mind and yourself.

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FLASHBACK by Georgina Smith

Christmas 1916 was half way through the First World War, it was plagued with food shortages and the worst weather in more than 30 years, news was eagerly waited for and the Christmas truce of previous years were no longer acceptable. Nearly everything in society was focused on the war effort, including Christmas. For many it was difficult to celebrate the festive season with loved ones fighting for their country or the fear of attack, but also lack of money and food meant celebrating Christmas was difficult for the lower working class families. The British and American Federal government mandated that Christmas shopping be done early, to support the war effort as a conservation measure. With adverts in local papers and magazines reaching out to shoppers to buy their gifts early, and in good time to be able to send those to the soldiers and sailors. Although this could have been problematic for many families who were struggling for money whilst the men were away. News had also been released by the Home Office that there was restricted leave to as many soldiers as possible, this was only made public nine days before Christmas. Although the soldiers who were on furlough from the front would have been given the priority in going back home on the railways.

1916_US_Christmas_Seal

The conditions in France during Christmas 2016 were horrendous, bitter cold and beyond freezing conditions. In a diary written by a soldier during this time it is written “A violent wind was blowing and some of the shattered tree trunks threatened to come down at any moment… Even my tin hat was blown into the mud. We were working till 12 in the reserve trench and then came back to a good dinner. Rabbits, potatoes, carrots, turnips, beans, sauce, plum pudding, fruit and custard, oranges etc. Captain Hartley said a few words and the CO.” There was also an expenditure of 130F on beer, so although the soldiers were fighting hundreds of miles away from their family they presumably enjoyed what little time they had to themselves on Christmas day. King George issued his Christmas message directed to the war effort: “Good Wishes for the fighting men – the King has sent the following messages to his soldiers and sailors and the sick and the wounded: I send you, my sailor and soldiers, hearty good wishes for Christmas and the New Year. My grateful thoughts are ever with you for victories gained, for hardship endured, and your unfailing cheeriness. Another Christmas has come around and we are still at war. But the Empire, confident in you, remains determined to win. May God bless and protect you.”

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SOURCES mymerrychristmas.com/what-christmas-was-like-100-years-ago/ Middle Class Providence, 1820-1940, John S Gilkeson Jr (2014) Bacup Home Front, WA Lord (2014) Diaries of a Stretcher-bearer 1916-1918, E Munro (2010) Bully Beef and Biscuits: Food in the Great War, John Hartley The Times December 26, 1916 outofbattle.blogspot.gr/2009/12/christmas-1916-king-george-v.html

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HOROSCOPE NEW YEAR: HOW WILL YOU WELCOME IT? By Burhan Köse

Aries: Those moves are repeating themselves like your previous New Years Eve celebrations. Dance, dance, dance.

Taurus: Responsibly hedonistic. Clubbing. With friends.

Gemini: You always have the bad reputation. Throughout the year, you’ve been raving wild. Now it’s time for you to take it easy, and be despised yet again, for being the way you are.

Cancer: Cancers, whom are known for their appreciation of family time, also during the New Year’s Eve, will be with their families.

Leo: You don’t need gifts or anything as long as you’re club-hopping.

Virgo: Snow is your thing, so is skiing. Also, there are some cool events going on around the bar of your hotel.

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Libra: You’re pretty alternative, so you will be doing alternative stuff with your alternative friends until very alternative hours.

Scorpio: Most likely to participate in an event that is already organized.

Sagittarius: You’re among those who are going to spend the day with the family. You like your peace of mind, don’t you?

Capricorn: Live music is your thing. You will be having a 5-star all-inclusive live show. It’s going to be an unforgettable night.

Aquarius: You’re so slow life. Tranquillity is your friend. So are your friends, so you’ve got to make a little bit of sacrifice by going out with them.

Pisces: It’s going to be a night full of love.

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WHY SHOOT FILM? By Jack Cowles

Switching from digital and returning to well trusted film format photography is not an easy step, but it will improve aspects of your manual photography work. The most important to improve within your work is your methodical approach that you use as this will show in your images more than what camera or lens brand you use. Changing your method from time to time will allow your mind to explore other ways to create superb images with techniques you may not normally have thought about. You should consider using film in the beginning of your photography journey especially if you have the tendency to shoot hundreds of the same image on digital to get the exposure or composition right. Film is limited and will enable you to control how many frames you can capture and is usually 24 to 36 exposures. Being given this small amount of images you will find yourself wanting to use two or three exposures for each scene which pushes you to use the theoretical knowledge of photography to correct an image before you have even taken it rather than shooting for joy with hundreds of the same shots for composition. Formats of film can also last hundreds of years before deteriorating if washed and stored correctly, as proven over the time that has already passed, and film is a real physical form image whereas digital is still unknown on what length of time it will last for.

Dynamic range Represented in stops, dynamic range is the difference in exposure values of the highlights and shadows which can successfully captured without detail loss. Film has a great dynamic range along with high end digital cameras. The dynamic range of a film or digital sensor is the difference between the lightest and darkest values of the image that are captured with no loss in detail. A high dynamic range would mean that the film or digital sensor can capture an image with a larger exposure difference between highlights and shadows and a lower dynamic range would mean that it’s highly likely to wash out the highlights and shadows until they are black and white blobs. A dynamic range of 13 stops would mean that a film or digital sensor can capture a scene where the exposure value between the highlights and shadows is 13 stops or less. To capture this well you should meter for the highlights and the shadows and stay somewhere between these exposure values. Resolution Every photographer loves their images to be the biggest and sharpest they can be but resolution is hard to buy with digital. A 35mm Fujifilm Velvia 50 produced a resolution equivalent to 16 megapixels which is much lower than the average 35mm DSLR, however there have been cases where 35mm film has been printed for billboard sizes so it depends on the film you use. Medium format films are much higher resolution with some medium format films producing 400 megapixel equivalent images before being scanned and produce just 80 megapixels which is still very high. Larger formats can produce 200 megapixel equivalents after scanning which is the same as a $40,000 digital medium format camera today and are used by professionals a lot even in the digital age.

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NEW TECHNOLOGIES CRITICAL YEAR 2016 by Burak Dimli

day more and more. Even some cities in Germany there are people who are using many electric cars; there are charge points every 50 meters. I also saw one village in Netherland, people stopped to use car totally and everybody was cycling. Other step - solar energy. There are so many companies giving this opportunity for people to use. You can change all of your electric system to solar in one week and you will only pay for setup. After you will have free energy. Okay it seems a bit fantasy for you I know. I don’t own a flat, I didn’t settle anywhere yet. But if I could have family, home I would do it directly. At the beginning you will pay for let’s say big amount of money but think about free energy and your total coil electric bills. You can see the logic after while of thinking about that. If you still have some doubts, I recommend you to watch documentary called ‘’Before the Flood’’. History, our grandchildren’s will define us as wise ancestors or they not going to define us because they not going to be here. Hey my fellow tech lovers, cute nerds, science enthusiastics… Well this is the Christmas edition of our lovely magazine and I have to be optimistic, right? Because it’s Christmas, Santa time, stories, hope, gifts… Well, I will try to do my best but 2016 wasn’t that good, was it? We witnessed a bunch of massive crimes for humanity, wars, obsessive behaviour in governments, and political change to right wing. And unfortunately in technology area we saw less than that. The biggest problem of our generation is Global Warming. There are many facts and natural threats caused by global warming this year and humanity saw it with open eyes. Unfortunately, if we are going to behave like same as the past, our and animal species are going to vanish. Because this year was critical, and humanity reach the maximum Oxygen-carbon dioxide balance limit. Netherland, Florida, some parts of Indonesia and many other places are under threat of massive floats. Even the documentary crew of ‘’Planet Earth 2’’ witnessed at the end of November, while they were shooting footage, and 150,000 antelopes died in front of them in Central Asia. What can we do? What can I do to make small differences? First of all its Christmas time; stop this consumption MADNESS! Think about yourself, do you really need

this piece of material? And also stop using capitalist companies. Read. Second: buy from your local bazaar not from supermarket. It’s healthier. Start to recycle in your home and stop using plastic bags all the time. If you go to supermarket, refuse it; use your own bag long term. Believe me it’s not that hard to do recycling, reader please. You can put your waste vegetables normally; just when you see glasses, papers, plastics, metal cans put that in one corner of your house. When it bothers you separate all and go to recycle points. Lately there are many recycle points created so there should be one close to your house. Right now let’s go to next step of what can we do more? As start you can stop to eat red meat and stop using deodorants. I know it seems so big for you. But there are many other options if you compare with red meat. It’s more healthy and cheaper. Consumption of red meat force producers to use more fields, less productivity on soil and finally fields of nature becomes dryer and unavailable. I’m not going to criticize your life choices but if you are using gasoline cars, just think about it. Public transportation gets better when more people start to use it well. You can use bicycle for short distances and it’s also a workout, good for your body. Electric cars not so far away to use; I have still got hope for humanity. TESLA company working every-

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News of Technology and Useful Applications Google’s one of the most excited project ‘’Google Ara’’ is dead. It’s a sad day indeed my tech lovers. This smartphone project was a big hope for industry to change all aspects from total. They worked so much for new hardware module. If you want to know more about ARA, you can visit website of (http://www.knowyourmobile.com/) and search in engine as ‘’Google Ara Is Dead’’. Oculus company announced ‘’Oculus Rift’’. Which is a mental VR game console. In console you are experiencing %100 of gaming. You have visual in your eyes, you have to sensor in your hands and depends on foots. It gives you to opportunity of be in a game. It’s a groundbreaking stuff guys. For more information; start to research! You have internet you have all the opportunities! Jesus! Microsoft announced and introduced Surface. I was very interested and made many researches about this beautiful computer. Design is so delicate and offers lots of quality which I find hard too understands. It gives you option of touch screen and also it’s a perfect design combination for painters, architects, artists… It’s one of the best excited personal computers I have ever seen in last years.

Enjoy…

LEGION

#ForçaChape By Georgina Smith

On 29th November 2016, the football world was in mourning. A plane carrying the Chapecoense football team along with journalists, crew and other members of the public crashed in Colombia. The plane carrying 77 passengers (was originally 81 but 4 did not board) crashed on way to Medellin, and 71 of the people on board have sadly died. It is believed two members of the football team survived the crash – defender Alan Ruschel and goal keeper Jackson Follmann. 21 of the passengers were journalists, with only one surviving the crash. The cause of the crash and the pilot’s actions are likely to become clearer once air crash investigators have assessed the scene and looked at the aircrafts black boxes (which record key information from the plane, including voice recordings and mechanical statistics.) “The Colombian accident investigation authority has requested the assistance of the UK AAIB and BAE systems” the Air Accidents Investigations Branch said in a statement. Pilot Miquel Quiroga was flying the plane when it crashed after initial suspected electrical faults, however new information has become apparent, and the cause now is aimed at the lack of fuel after taking off from the Bolivian airport. Quiroga, can be heard saying there was a "total electric failure" and "lack of fuel" according to a recent leaked tape.

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This is not the first plane accident known to the footballing community, perhaps the most wellknown is the Munich air disaster in 1958. When the Manchester United team, along with reporters and fans were passengers on British European Airways Flight 609, when it crashed after an attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport, West Germany. There was a total of 23 fatalities and 21 survivors in the crash, after slush on the runway slowed down the aircraft on take-off. Others include Superga air disaster, 1949, when Torino football team, who were giants of Italian football crashed in to the superga hill. All 31 on board were killed including the 18-strong squad. Also, the Alianza Lima Air Disaster, 1987, where 16 players from Peru giants Alianza Lima, plus club officias, were among 43 killed in the plane crash.

SOURCES http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38178673 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/01/ bolivia-suspends-licence-airline-behindchapecoense-crash-emerges/

Authorities in Chapeco declared 30 days of mourning and cancelled the official festivities planned for Christmas and New Year. Brazilian President Michel Temer declared 3 days of national mourning for victims of the plane crash. Hundreds of distraught fans gathered outside the Conda Arena, the home stadium of the Chapecoense football club, saying prayers and leaving flowers and messages of condolence. Also, on twitter, the hashtag #ForçaChape (or “be strong Chapeco”) was the highest trending topic. A poster celebrated, in a child’s handwriting, the team’s meteoric ascent into the football league, it read “They never tired of climbing and now they’re all in heaven.” The football team has had an amazing season climbing to the league finals. According to Brazilian Sports Journalist Thiago Suman, Chapecoense will be crowned Copa Sudamerica champions “in the next few days” after this awful tragedy.

AFP ©

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