Explore Greece

Location:
Greece

Currency:
euro (EUR)

Communications:
The telephone code for Greece: + 30

About:
Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations.

In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between supporters of the king and Communist rebels.

Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years.

The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. In 1981 Greece joined the EC (now the EU); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.

Greece, the site of the 2004 Olympic Games, is about the size of the U.S. State of Alabama.

It's almost totally surrounded by the blue-green waters of the Mediterranean, including the Aegean, Crete, Ionian and Thracian Seas.

The country includes over 2,000 individual islands (most uninhabited), and many quite small.

Long a favorite of travelers, these ancient islands (dating back to the Bronze Age), present a beauty and culture unique to the planet.