Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-07-07

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Konitsa, the springboard for Mt. Smolikas, the Dragon Lake, and rafting in Aoos River

[02] Decline at ASE opening

[01] Konitsa, the springboard for Mt. Smolikas, the Dragon Lake, and rafting in Aoos River

Fanning out amphitheatrically on the slope of Mt. Smolikas, the second highest mountain in Greece after Mt. Olympos and the highest peak of the Pindos mountain range, and overlooking the valley where the Aoos and Voidomatis Rivers meet, Konitsa is an excellent starting point for visitors who want to explore the Pindos mountains, go rafting in the Aoos, or go parapenting (paraskiing).

One of the most beautiful alpine routes in Epirus is the round trip from Konitsa to the Vassilitsa ski center and back to Konitsa, which passes through the Aoos Gorge, the Smolikas Dragon Lake and through exceptional settlements of stone buildings and offers a majestic view of nearby Mt. Tymfi.

Konitsa is built according to the traditional style of Epirote architecture with stone buildings, old mansions dating from the period of the Ottoman rule, beautiful churches and monasteries, cobbled roads, stone fountains, traditional stone bridges and countless cultural monuments, in an absolute harmonization of the past and present.

It is also a good starting point for visits to the Vikos-Aoos National Park, the Vikos Gorge, the famed Aoos stone bridge, the sulfur baths of Kavasila, the monastery of Stomio in the Aoos Gorge, and the Zagorochoria, a group of small mountain villages, while sights in Konitsa itself include the 17th century church of the St. Apostles (Agioi Apostoloi), the chapel of St. George with 120 icons by hagiographers from Chionades, the local Folk Art Museum, the town library, the 16th century mosque of Sultan Suleiman, the mansion house of Chamko, mother of Ali Pasha, and the 1412 Byzantine country church of Kokkini Panagia ("red" Virgin Mary, which takes its name from the red color of the bricks with which it is built) and the 14th century wall paintings in its sanctum.

[02] Decline at ASE opening

Individual sector indices were mixed, with the biggest gains in Health, up 2.37 percent; and Mass Media, up 1.67 percent.

The biggest losses were in Chemicals, down 1.49 percent; and Oil & Gas, down 1.13 percent.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 0.77 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was up 0.18 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 0.41 percent.

Of the stocks traded, 32 were up, 36 were down, and 24 were unchanged.

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