| Related Resources |
|
• Greek Tour Packages • News From Greece • Holidays and Events in Greece • Greek Gods and Goddesses • Shop for Greek Products On Line |
Before I began travelling in Greece, I devoured guidebooks, quizzed friends, and soaked up information like a Kalimnos sponge. I even learned to read the Greek alphabet and a few words of Greek. So what was the biggest and potentially disastrous surprise? Discovering that the roadsigns, travel guides, and transportation listings don't match what's on the map. Never mind the Greek letters - it's the varied methods of transcription into the Western alphabet that cause problems. Here are some examples. What do Egina, Aegina and Aigina and Egine all have in common? The Dodecanese islands and Dhodhekanisos? They all are common spellings for the same places, easy to confuse or miss entirely when planning routes. And don't count on recognizing them while driving in Greece, looking for roadsigns, and trying to do quick translations while the signs themselves whizz by in a blur.
Here are some other common variants of popular destinations.
Chania, Xania, and Hania
Crete, Creta, Krita, and Kriti
Delos, Dilos, and Diles
Heracleion, Heraclion, and Iraklio
Hydra, Ydra, and Idra
Ioaninna, Yanina, Gianina
I looked at many map books in Greece, and the only one which seemed to use exactly the same spellings as the roadsigns was the blue, spiral-bound "Greece Road and Tourist Maps" published by Dourakos. This book is not usually available in the tourist shops - keep an eye out for it in a rack at the BP gas stations. What you see is what you get - you can compare this book's maps with the signs and confirm that where you think you're going really is where you're going! Its only drawback is that the English descriptions of tourist sites, while adequate, are sometimes unintentionally amusing. Categories of tourist attractions include the "Interesting", the "Very Interesting", and my favorite, those that are listed under "Much too interesting". Ignore or, better, smile over these colorful errors.
The Dourakos guide also provides detailed descriptions of coded traffic signs, some of which are not immediately obvious. The symbol for an uneven road looks like an upside-down moustache, and a giant exclamation point doesn't mean a point of interest or remarkable sight - it means the cryptic and scary "Other Danger"!
Abbreviations are another potential source of confusion. "Porto" is usually abbreviated to just "P" - this almost took us to the modern Port of Epidauros some miles away instead of the ancient archeological site of Epidauros.
Agia or Ayia is shortened to Ag; in the Greek letters on roadsigns, this looks like Ay. Agia means "Saint" so be aware that for popular saints there are often multiple towns with the same name, often within the same region.
Nea, or "new", is often abbreviated to an "N" and put in front of town names. Tip: archeological sites are often at the "old" version of the city, while the "new" version holds the businesses and tourist facilities.
On city maps and in listening to directions, streets named after famous dates may be referred to by the date - so 28th street (for 28th Octovriou) will not be tucked in neatly between 27th street and 29th - they won't even exist. Streets named after royalty - "vasilissos X" or "vasilissa X", abbreviated "vas" - will usually be referred to by the last word in the name. The many streets named after famous Greeks will also usually be referred to in conversation or directions by the last name. It's so routine for the locals that they won't realize the potential for confusion.
While getting (slightly!) lost can be a great pleasure at times, it can also be a vacation-wrecker. I hope these tips help ensure that all your wanderings will be wonderful ones!
