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Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-02-19
CONTENTS
[01] Clean Monday celebrated throughout Greece
[02] Light earthquake in north-central Greece
[01] Clean Monday celebrated throughout Greece
Clean Monday, the beginning of 40-day period of Lent ahead of Easter,
was celebrated throughout the east Mediterranean country with tens of
thousands of urban dwellers again heading to the provinces and
countryside for a three-day weekend complete with traditional meals of
Lenten foods and kite flying.
Traffic police were expectedly on alert over throughout the long
weekend around the country's national highways to facilitate drivers
and excursionists in view of religious holiday exodus. Traffic measures
were being taken in central Athens and the suburbs, ports, railway and
bus stations and airports to facilitate traffic.
Trucks were not allowed on the roads from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday
and from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Clean Monday as motorists faced mostly
rainy conditions on their return.
On his part, Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis went to Philopappou Hill,
a traditional site for Athenians to spend Clean Monday over the
decades, where he announced that three hectares of new green space will
be created in the congested Greek capital from running current metro
lines underground in the Sepolia district.
Caption: Thousands of Athens residents flocked to the Acropolis-area
Pnyx and Philopappou Hills on Clean Monday, Feb. 19, 2007, to mark the
beginning of Lent in the predominately Eastern Orthodox country. The
decades-old tradition of kite flying on the specific religious holiday
also unofficially heralds the coming of spring in a few weeks' time.
ANA-MPA / S. Pantzartzi.
[02] Light earthquake in north-central Greece
A light earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was recorded at
8:23 a.m. (06:23 GMT) on Monday, with the epicenter pinpointed near the
Tempi Gorge area of north-central Greece. According to reports, the
tremor was felt in the central Greece cities of Larissa and Katerini,
although no damages were reported.
Caption: A file photo shows the Tempi Gorge in north-central Greece.
ANA-MPA / V. Paschali.
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