From the rooftop of an apartment building in Ilioupoli you can see the whole of Athens from one end to the other this sea of concrete is a vast garden brimming with flowers of every kind bees take off daily from the two hives placed there by beekeeper Nikos Chatzilias squares and parks – making stops on the rocky slopes of Hymettus for thyme – before returning to their hives to produce golden 100% urban and named after its place of origin These two rooftop hives are just a small part of the 120 colonies Chatzilias has scattered across various neighborhoods in Athens each producing its own distinct honey: “Glyfada,” “Petralona,” “Vyronas,” “Zografou,” “Agia Varvara,” “Kifissia.” Last year alone his urban beehives yielded 500 kilos of honey as more and more people – mainly young city dwellers – offer him their rooftops or balconies hoping to introduce their children to a bit of nature within the city or simply out of sheer curiosity Born and raised on the island of Lesvos in the eastern Aegean Chatzilias has always been drawn to nature in all its seasonal transformations “I grew up with a forager’s mindset,” he says a project dedicated to introducing city residents to the world of urban beekeeping If you listen closely during your next stroll through your neighborhood you might be surprised by their buzzing presence The city provides an abundance of food for them with notes of bitter orange and thyme from Mount Hymettus Glyfada honey carries the essence of bitter orange and eucalyptus but in different proportions than Ilioupoli’s Although the distances between neighborhoods may be small the taste of honey varies noticeably depending on the prevailing vegetation “Each honey has the flavor of its neighborhood,” says Chatzilias He entered the field with the encouragement of Vassilis Paissios a veteran of urban beekeeping who began 15 years ago by producing honey from hives in various locations in Athens “There are flowers in the city you won’t find in the countryside Each neighborhood has its own dominant bloom It is the color of vanilla cream and has strong crystallization that makes it opaque and solid enough to be cut with a knife A dessert honey with a robust character and a strong aroma that overwhelms the palate but the devastating wildfire that broke out there last summer caused total destruction These hives have been relocated to Halandri Paissios’ friend Nikos Kalyvas also keeps his 10 hives Kalyvas has set up a small urban farm with chickens “I plan to place hives in other urban areas as well,” says Kalyvas “Since beekeeping isn’t my main occupation I can’t practice migratory beekeeping outside of Athens due to time constraints Urban beekeeping suits me because it fits well alongside my other work,” he explains offers everything the beekeeper needs and helps him produce excellent quantities of honey The production isn’t affected by weather conditions and the bees always find an abundant food supply the harvest is plentiful and offers a wide variety,” says Paissios I don’t have the costs of migratory beekeeping in the countryside Modern urban beekeeping in Greece is a relatively new practice though it has been established worldwide for many years Bees are found on the rooftops of iconic buildings around the globe visitors can purchase an expensive honey from hives on the roof of the Paris Opera while after the fire that destroyed the Notre-Dame Cathedral it was considered a “divine miracle” that 200 hives also situated at the highest points of the building Dozens of hives are located on the rooftop of the Waldorf Astoria in New York with the honey served to guests at breakfast Hives can be found in both public and private buildings where the municipality subsidizes urban beekeepers beekeeping in urban areas has been known since ancient times excavations uncovered a large beekeeping facility dating back to the 10th century BC at the heart of a bustling city of that time,” says Georgios Mavrofridis a beekeeper and archaeologist specializing in ancient beekeeping He is also a PhD candidate at the Laboratory of Biogeography and Ecology in the Geography Department of the University of the Aegean and a member of the Hellenic Beekeeping-Sericulture Scientific Society’s board of directors He adds that a similar situation existed in many ancient Greek cities excavations uncovered a large number of hives in the Ancient Agora supporting the theory that urban beekeeping was likely common practice Solon introduced the first recorded legislation in history regarding beekeeping he established regulations about the distance between beekeeping sites This demonstrates how advanced the practice was thousands of years ago to the point that it was subject to legislation,” explains Mavrofridis the obvious question for many citizens is: How safe is it to place a hive on one’s balcony or rooftop but with ambiguities and unclear provisions that require immediate revision Residents who host hives on their properties report that no one is disturbed the bees fly at different levels from where people are active so they neither disturb nor are disturbed,” explains Mavrofridis “This has been the case since ancient times they head to flowers and return directly to their hives without interacting with human activities,” he adds “There is still a lot of fear of insects and a lack of familiarity with them,” says Paissios “I try to combat this fear by inviting children to visit the hives so they can see that the bee is a friend – it helps provide our food nature and have an open mind are usually the ones who accept hosting hives – often friends who know me and trust what I say.” Chatzilias shares a similar experience: “In recent years there has been a fortunate shift in perception with the public now seeing bees as friendly insects due to their immense importance to the environment and human survival through pollination.” A key concern regarding urban beekeeping is the safety of honey produced in what is a generally acknowledged polluted urban environment and the only way to ensure consumer safety is through laboratory tests which every beekeeper must provide upon request it sacrifices itself and doesn’t bring it back to the hive in order to protect the colony,” explains Paissios we conduct tests in certified laboratories Mavrofridis emphasizes that “laboratory tests are essential It depends on factors such as the area where the bee collects nectar and the type of plant providing the nectar or pollen Some plants are more resistant to pollution than others It’s true that cars today produce much fewer pollutants than in the past while the pollen and nectar from flowers might be fine the bee might have consumed contaminated water in the city,” he explains concluding: “I recommend urban beekeepers send their honey for testing at the Sericulture and Apiculture Laboratory of the Aristotle University is recognized as a world leader in the field.” – “Astiki Melissa” – Nikos Chatzilias (astikimelissa.gr) tel 6997.005.796 (you can find all of his honey and beekeeping products as well as get information about educational activities such as courses on making beekeeping cosmetics This article first appeared in Kathimerini’s K magazine Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox The smoke caused by the fire which broke out in Varnavas on Sunday afternoon in Varnava and quickly spread throughout northeast Attica with an adverse impact on the health of people with pulmonary issues The strong gusts in the area from the outset of the fire start caused the smoke to move more than 300 kilometers from its original source as documented by the European meteorological satellite Meteosat-11 and presented by the National Observatory of Athens’ meteo.gr The force of the winds resulted in the dispersion of PM2.5 particles The microparticle values reported by the Panacea National Research Infrastructure’s air quality monitoring network reached levels that are hazardous to human health particularly from Sunday night to Monday night on Monday the air quality had deteriorated significantly the atmosphere in Glyfada in southern Athens was suffocating with values exceeding 200 micrograms per cubic meter The dispersion of microparticles in the southern suburbs “The cloud of microparticles was sliding along the backbone of Ymittos pushing the values of particles up to 200 micrograms per hour,” said Nikos Michalopoulos professor and director of research at the National Observatory of Athens and coordinator of the Panacea research Other measuring sites in eastern Attica (Vrilissia Vyronas and Ilioupoli) recorded microparticle concentrations of up to 70 micrograms per cubic meter The World Health Organization (WHO) has set an average daily acceptable limit of 20 micrograms the Health Ministry issued health guidelines urging people to seek medical assistance in case of prolonged coughing This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The Landscape Institute Awards celebrate work across the professional and academic spectrum in the field of landscape architecture it focuses on outstanding projects that combat climate change promote biodiversity and “level up” local spaces at a global scale. The Landscape Institute is the chartered body for the landscape profession and is the professional home for all landscape practitioners including landscape architects landscape planners and urban designers.  The two student categories (Student Dissertation and Student Portfolio) are open to undergraduate and postgraduate students on courses accredited by the Landscape Institute Alexandra was presented with her award by landscape architect and Landscape Institute Fellow Nick Harrison at a ceremony in London She is the first Bartlett Landscape Architecture student to receive a Landscape Institute Award since the programme’s founding in 2018 Alexandra’s final project studied Mount Ymittos on the outskirts of Athens whose wildfires pose a threat to the communities in its vicinity The proposal creates a protective and nurturing ebb and flow between the human world and the Mount inviting residents to engage in stewardship of the land's firebreak resulting in a metropolitan landscape that hosts social practices and promotes the ideals of pyrodiversity Describing the relationship between her project and her dissertation “The dissertation sums up the research and theories that lie behind the design presented under the methodology of a 'topographic practice'.” Her dissertation 'Flourishing through the Ashes; Mount Ymittos as a Landscape Ruin' invites the reader to join in a walking exploration of the Mount beginning at the edge of the city and crossing into the terrain of Ymittos before discovering the traces of past wildfires and the landscape of the mountain Alexandra provided QR codes and physical artefacts to enable the reader to experience interactive media the reader can experience the mountainous landscape for themselves Alexandra studied Landscape Architecture MLA in Design Studio 9 and her thesis was supervised by Tom Keeley while her design tutors were Tim Waterman and Emma Colthrust She is now a landscape architect at London-based practice Alexandra Steed URBAN Lead image: Paul Upward PhotographyProject images: Alexandra Souvatzi Despite constant announcements from officials at the Ministry of Infrastructure saying that some extensions to Attiki Odos will be completed as public projects the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have stated that they will not finance road projects special projects within the urban network can be financed through tolls in the next two years we might see a tender for the new contract of the main Attiki Odos road (and the Western Peripheral Ymittos) along with a separate tender for extensions the Infrastructure Ministry keeps pushing back the tender for the extension of Kymi Avenue to the Kalyftakis junction on the Athens-Thessaloniki highway The ministry wants proceed with the contract as a public project Infrastructure Minister Kostas Karamanlis had announced that the expansion of the Western Regional Ymittos to Vouliagmeni Avenue would proceed as a public project in recent weeks the ministry seems to have changed opinion Top ministry officials now say that a final decision on whether it will be implemented with a concession contract or as a public project will be taken in 2022 market watchers believe that the most probable solution for the implementation of the two extensions as well as two others (extension to Rafina and Lavrio) will be through concession contracts The implementation of some extensions is even necessary in order to decongest Attiki Odos about 30,000 drivers a day will dodge the Metamorfosi junction where thousands of drivers who have even paid 2.80 euros on Attiki Odos suffer daily A 20-year-old man was arrested late Wednesday for driving 200 kilometers per hour on the Ymittos Ring Road near the northeastern Attica neighborhood of Pallini exceeded the 80 km/h limit and posed a danger to other drivers The driver was charged with dangerous driving and issued administrative penalties He was referred to a prosecutor by the Northeast Attica Traffic Department Major regerneration schemes are planned in coming years that will change the image of Athens Among the projects that stand out is PYRKAL project the double renovation on Alexandras Avenue and the Botanical Garden as well as the development of the former royal palaces in Tatoi These large projects are seen leading to major changes in the real estate market One of the most important changes is the renovation of the old PYRKAL factory in the area of Ymittos which includes the transfer of ministries and the creation of a park of 80 acres as announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis a few days ago the state will save more than 1 billion euros in the long run The project is expected to be delivered in about five years and the relocation of public services is expected to take place in the period 2025 - 2026 The investment will be made through PPPs and is estimated to amount to 250 million euros the development of the property allows for the substantial upgrade of many public services which are currently scattered in 141 rented buildings The annual operating costs and rents of the ministries and services that will be moved to the new park exceed 33 million euros while in many cases the facilities that are rented do not meet the current environmental criteria The renovated complex is located a very short distance from the "Dafni" Metro station which means that there will be no traffic congestion while the plans for the new Line 4 provide for the construction of another station in the area 175 million euros will be raised to support this double regeneration project that has been a topic of discussion in recent years without having managed to enter the implementation phase the financial committee of the Municipality of Athens sent a request to the Ministry of Environment for financing the new stadium of Panathinaikos in Votanikos With the new landmark park on Alexandras Avenue the opportunity will be given for changes to be made to the Refugee quarters and connections to free existing spaces as provided by the current Presidential Decree According to an analysis by the president of the Panhellenic E-Real Estates Network Themistoklis Bakas the real estate market in the Attica region seems to be facing a series of new investment opportunities in the midst of a pandemic due to the major regeneration and infrastructure projects already planned the renovations as a whole will approach billions of euros of investment and will upgrade areas that for years were seen as being forgotten or degraded emblematic buildings in the center of Athens that for many years had housed historical newspapers and / or hotels remained closed and sought the right buyer - investor for decades have now begun to be used and are helping shape a new image for the Greek capital Construction groups’ proposals for new projects (mostly highways) are increasing but the Ministry of Infrastructure is expressing strong reservations The officials at the ministry view the addition of other large infrastructure projects unfavorably given that the construction industry is already called upon to implement the largest construction program of the last decades which seem to have embraced the new institution of maturation and tendering of projects projects that concern a large part of the population (and therefore also have a significant social and economic benefit) focusing on easing the traffic problems in Athens The standard proposals of the manufacturers concern projects with a budget of more than €1.5 billion Standing out among them are the extension of the Attiki Odos highway to Rafina and Lavrio and the Ilioupoli Tunnel that will connect the Western Ymittos highway with Vouliagmenis Avenue given the burden on the road network from the Elliniko development Snow storms and gales lashed much of the eastern Mediterranean yesterday forcing Turkey to close a key shipping route and disrupting flights traffic and power supplies from Greece to Egypt Ships queued outside the Bosphorus straits as blizzards raged in Istanbul drastically reducing visibility in the busy shipping lane that winds through Turkey's largest city Maritime officials closed the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles channel further north - the only outlet for the oil industry in Russia and other Black Sea states Tankers carry some 2.5 million barrels a day of crude oil and oil products through the two straits Municipal officials said 80 per cent of the city's European side was without power and could not say when supplies would be restored "International and domestic flights are delayed by at least one or two hours and domestic flights to some airports have been cancelled," said an official at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport knocking minarets off mosques in the southern city of Antalya while rescue teams tried to reach the crew of a small cargo ship that ran aground near the Mediterranean resort of Kemer Snow storms and gale-force winds also pounded much of Greece grounding flights and causing some local blackouts The centre of Athens was gridlocked and all ferry services from the nearby ports of Piraeus and Rafina were cancelled with the Meteorological Service saying it did not expect a break in the weather till today A spokeswoman at Athens airport said 25 flights had been cancelled The weather spared Cairo's international airport but Egyptian authorities shut four regional airports and seven ports because of sand storms and heavy rains Storms prevented Algeria from reopening the country's main oil port of Skikda on the Mediterranean coast The port shut earlier this week after an explosion at a nearby gas plant killed 30 people and halted exports In Serbia 120 accidents were reported on the ice-covered roads of Belgrade after a sudden snow storm swept the city "The best advice would be for people to stay at home," the city's taxi dispatcher told B92 radio Though tornadoes whipped through the Mediterranean island's coastal regions raising hopes that authorities could stop the desalination of seawater at great expense to relieve an acute water shortage at least," said Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou please register for free or log in to your account The public-private partnership (PPP) project for the relocation of ministries and state agencies to the facilities of former PYRKAL factory in the suburb of Ymittos is about to be proclaimed providing for the relocation of some 14,500 civil servants out of the center of Athens and other areas with an initial budget of 600 million euros The so-called Andreas Lentakis Government Park will house the ministries of Finance A 55-year-old Greek national was arrested by officers of the Attica Traffic Police Directorate specifically from the Road Accident Prevention and Control Teams (O.E.P.T.A) after being caught speeding excessively on the Ymittos Ring Road The incident occurred late on the night of Wednesday while the maximum speed limit on that stretch of road is 80 km/h The speeding violation was detected by a radar device and the excessive speed posed a serious risk to both the driver and other road users Even more concerning was the presence of two minor children in the vehicle which led authorities to also charge the man with endangering the welfare of minors A case file has been opened against the 55-year-old for dangerous driving and child endangerment and he has been subjected to the appropriate administrative penalties The arrested man was brought before the relevant Prosecutor for further legal proceedings Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr congestion is reported on Athens Avenue from Palataki to the Aspropyrgos refineries as well as on Schistos Avenue toward Skaramangas Significant delays are also observed on the northbound Kifissos Avenue while low speeds are recorded on Attiki Odos especially on the Ymittos Ring Road heading toward Elefsina traffic is moving with increased flow but no major problems on the Athens–Corinth and Athens–Lamia National Highways 30,635 vehicles had passed through the Elefsina tolls and 23,807 through the Afidnes tolls 48,268 vehicles traveled toward Corinth and 37,576 toward Lamia — higher figures than the same period last year a total of 381,901 vehicles have left Attica Traffic Restrictions:A ban on trucks over 3.5 tons is in effect today from 15:00 to 22:00 and on Good Friday from 06:00 to 16:00 on outbound lanes of national roads The port of Piraeus is packed with travelers with bookings indicating 22,190 passengers are sailing today According to port authority data for Thursday a total of 39 ferry departures are scheduled from Piraeus Passenger traffic is expected to peak on Good Friday and authorities recommend travelers arrive early due to the high turnout Weather conditions remain favorable for safe sailings A similar picture is seen at the Kifisos and Liosion intercity bus terminals with an additional 160 special routes added to meet increased demand The Panhellenic Federation of Intercity Bus Operators (KTEL) reports a 20% increase in passenger traffic compared to Holy Week in 2023 — a reflection of people’s strong desire to celebrate Easter away from the city A quite important tool for the prevention of fires in the forests of Rhodes is the ICT system installed by Nova in the Butterfly Valley area of Rhodes was in Rhodes for the launch of the Smart Forest Rhodes project (installation of an ICT fire detection system in the area of “Butterflies”) in the framework of Nova’s Corporate Responsibility actions together with the South Aegean regional governor Alexandros Koliadis and the head of the Forestry Department were briefed by the CEO of Nova Panagiotis Georgiopoulos and other executives of the Company The briefing took place in the Valley of Butterflies in Rhodes and according to what was made known it is a 9-meter pillar that has been installed in the area as part of a pilot project A similar installation has been made by the Company in Ymittos and now in Rhodes This pillar covers a radius of 15 kilometers and its height is such that it can achieve this range Above it there is an environmental station that measures environmental data and climatic conditions it has cameras that are both thermal and electrostatic (a combination) which means that even at night it can detect the occurrence of a fire this array of sensors is in place to have the ability to cover the entire range of locations whether it’s night or day This pillar – as explained by Nova executives – is connected to a “smart” operational center to which both the Fire Department and anyone else indicated by local authorities This is quite an important tool for the prevention of fires in our forests with which the fire can be detected in its genesis And this is because it is possible to detect even a small amount of smoke that will congregate to be able to identify the source of the fire in time and send the teams that will operate it was known that these systems are tested in European forests in the field and have a track record of more than 15-20 years as false alarms are reduced and their efficiency and performance increases Minister Skylakakis expressed his satisfaction for this project for the “smart forest” in his statements that it is “one of the pilot projects that are starting here in Rhodes on the initiative of the private sector with which we are cooperating The goal is early prediction and early intervention It is very important to use these new technologies that are now mature to reduce the possibility of fires getting out of hand the climate crisis makes them deadly dangerous That’s why we need to prevent them as close to the event as possible we need to have fuel removed from the forest so that we can contain them,” the minister concluded spoke of “a very useful and important project for the benefit of the landmark and the destination in general” and thanked Nova for this offer “In one of the most emblematic places of Rhodes I address my thanks to Nova for Smart Forest Rhodes a very useful and important project for the benefit of the landmark and the destination in general The government and the Ministry of Environment with Minister Theodoros Skylakakis the Municipality of Rhodes and local stakeholders together with private initiative are joining forces again towards a common path: a sustainable tomorrow and turning Rhodes and the South Aegean Region as a whole into a wonderful example of how sustainability and sustainability issues are not only the subject of discussions in workshops and conferences but actions and projects that make a difference in practice.” Mayor Koliadis referred to a very important initiative and said that “he has asked for help for other parts of the island “It is very important to have private initiative.” The central state and the state shows every day the struggle to protect not only the environment but all of us but the company NOVA deserves congratulations for its initiative because it is an important pilot project I have been briefed in detail on exactly what will be done in Butterfly Valley and have asked for help for other parts of the island which she accepted but that is something we will discuss again because this initiative can only do good to our place and these actions and collaborations of the state and the private sector help to resolve issues and also prevention so that events like the ones we experienced last year do not happen.” expressed his satisfaction that small trees have already started to grow in areas that were destroyed by the big fire on the island last summer “We are very happy to see the completion of the anti-corrosion works and the first pine trees that have begun to untangle because of this intervention that has been done We are here in the Butterfly Valley where we will be putting artificial intelligence into place so that we can better protect something as unique as this valley is What it does (referring to the program): it has smart cameras it has sensors and a monitoring center so that we are given real-time data so that we can harness it for more immediate prevention with this artificial intelligence project that has already been installed in Ymittos and will now be installed in Rhodes as well.”