Final Project: Greece

Located in the southern part of the Balkan peninsula, Greece is made of a mainland and several hundred islands. Continually adding more islands throughout the second half of the 19^th century and the early 20^th century, the country is constantly adding new culture while holding on to the centuries of history.

The geography of Greece is not only made up of islands. The mainland consists of mostly mountainous terrain and is surrounded on three sides by the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Ionian Seas, where the islands are located. The climate of Greece is Mediterranean, mild and wet winters, as well as hot, dry summers.

The history of Greece is lengthy and vibrant. Starting with the Stone Age hunters in prehistoric times, Greece is one of the oldest countries in the world. It started out as a group city states in about 500BC. There were not many historians in Ancient Greece, so most of the history comes from what modern historians can learn from the buildings and sculptures. Greece went from being a city state to being a country and was ruled by many different leaders. It stayed alive throughout the centuries, and in 1830 became its own country, separate of the Ottoman Empire. After this, Greece started acquiring islands after this, eventually attaining approximately 1,400 islands. The Greek government has swung between being a monarchy and a republic. Currently it is a parliamentary government.

Some attractions in Greece would be the ruins, such as the Parthenon and the Acropolis. Also, Greece was the site of the 2004 Olympic Games, so Olympic Stadium can be seen. There is a National Garden, which was laid out by Queen Amalia and was the only open park until recently.

In Greece, manufacturing is the number one income, over agriculture. Food, beverages and tobacco bring in 25% of the country’s income. Another 25% of the country’s income is metal and metal manufactures.

The people of Greece are a diverse group of people. One thing that bonds them is the fact that 98% of the population practices the Greek Orthodox religion. The population is 10.8 million, 93% of this number are Greek, there are many immigrants from the other countries in the Balkan Penninsula.

Greek food is known for being high quality and being rich in taste. There are some dishes that are common for the whole country, but other dishes are specific to certain region. Some common spices from Greece are basil, thyme and fennel. Some common vegetables are eggplant, potato, tomato, green pepper, green beans, okra and onion. Honey is a common ingredient; it is usually made from the nectar of fruit. Goat and sheep are more common as meat than beef and pork. Also cheese and olives are commonly used.

The meal starts with the meze, or appetizer. Small pies and fresh vegetables are commonly found in this course. They are usually accompanied by ouzo, a Greek alcohol. Next comes the salad, the Greek salad is most common, but there are other salads such as the Melitzanosalata which is an eggplant puree with garlic and olive oil. After that is the soup, then main dish. Lamb, potatoes, and lasagna are all commonly found in this course. Also, vegetarian dishes are common. Finally come the desserts. Baklava is the most common dessert, it is made of phyllo pastry, filled with nuts and “drenched in syrup” (Wikipedia).

I am making two dishes. The first is lamb kebabs with couscous. Lamb is a very common meat in Greece It is cubed lamb skewered onto kabob sticks. Kabobs are traditional to this part of the world. Couscous is a staple food in Greece. So this is a dish of very common and traditional foods wrapped into one entré. The second dish I am making is warm goat cheese in phyllo. As I stated before, cheese is a food traditional to Greece, especially goat cheese. Also phyllo is what makes baklava, it is a pastry that is used throughout Greek cooking. This dish is also a mix of common Greek foods put into one dish.