96-469: The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( Greek : Εθνικός Δρυμός Βίκου–Αώου Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou ) is a national park in the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece . The park, founded in 1973, is one of ten national parks in mainland Greece and is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of the city of Ioannina in the northern part of the Pindus mountain range. It is named after the two major gorges of
192-505: A stratum ( pl. : strata ) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as either bedding surfaces or bedding planes . Prior to the publication of the International Stratigraphic Guide, older publications have defined a stratum as being either equivalent to
288-577: A basis for coinages: anthropology , photography , telephony , isomer , biomechanics , cinematography , etc. Together with Latin words , they form the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary ; for example, all words ending in -logy ('discourse'). There are many English words of Greek origin . Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient language most closely related to it may be ancient Macedonian , which, by most accounts,
384-559: A depth of 200 m (660 ft)–700 m (2,300 ft) they consist of a stratum from the Campanian era, while below 700 m (2,300 ft) they consist of Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone. In the deepest layers, grey Jurassic dolomite is dominant. Sedimentary and lithological investigation in the Voidomatis basin revealed that the innermost alluvial deposits consist of limestone-derived material, carried by
480-537: A depth of 408 m (1,339 ft), one of the deepest worldwide, was first discovered in 1965 by British speleologists of the Cambridge University Caving Club , and has since then been surveyed by a large number of expeditions. The nearby Chasm of Epos , with a depth of 451 m (1,480 ft), drains the water coming from the surrounding plateaus. Mt Tymphe represents a series of uplifted fault blocks and faulted escarpments and
576-558: A fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts . The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): In all its stages, the morphology of Greek shows an extensive set of productive derivational affixes , a limited but productive system of compounding and a rich inflectional system. Although its morphological categories have been fairly stable over time, morphological changes are present throughout, particularly in
672-560: A faster, more convenient cursive writing style with the use of ink and quill . The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase ( majuscule ) and lowercase ( minuscule ) form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used in the final position of a word: In addition to the letters, the Greek alphabet features a number of diacritical signs : three different accent marks ( acute , grave , and circumflex ), originally denoting different shapes of pitch accent on
768-436: A few millimeters to several meters or more. A band may represent a specific mode of deposition : river silt , beach sand , coal swamp , sand dune , lava bed, etc. In the study of rock and sediment strata, geologists have recognized a number of different types of strata, including bed , flow , band , and key bed . A bed is a single stratum that is lithologically distinguishable from other layers above and below it. In
864-540: A foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, " Homeric Greek is probably closer to Demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English ". Greek is spoken today by at least 13 million people, principally in Greece and Cyprus along with a sizable Greek-speaking minority in Albania near
960-455: A high number of them are characterized by biologically active ingredients. A collection of 2,500 dried species of local plants and herbs is exhibited in the local natural history museum in the village of Koukouli . The Vikos–Aoös National Park preserves one of the richest mountain and forest ecosystems in terms of wildlife diversity in Greece. Numerous species of large mammals such as wolves , foxes , wild horses, and roe deer are found in
1056-423: A major center of folk medicine . In recent decades, ecotourism is seen as a remedy to the economic decline of heavily depopulated local settlements, while preserving the natural environment and local architecture. The Vikos Gorge is located on the southern slopes of Mt Tymphe . Its main part is located between the villages of Vikos and Monodendri and attains a depth of about 1,000 m (3,281 ft), with
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#17327575306991152-510: A network of communities of chamois biotopes. The Vikos–Aoös National Park is a natural tourist attraction, with high ecotourism and agrotourism potential. The local tourism industry has been favored by national and European funds and provides modest accommodation and tourism services, respectful towards the local tradition and culture. Characteristically, the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe (FNNPE) stated that "the need for
1248-621: A single bed or composed of a number of beds; as a layer greater than 1 cm in thickness and constituting a part of a bed; or a general term that includes both bed and lamina . Related terms are substrate and substratum (pl. substrata ), a stratum underlying another stratum. Typically, a stratum is generally one of a number of parallel layers that lie one upon another to form enormous thicknesses of strata. The bedding surfaces (bedding planes) that separate strata represent episodic breaks in deposition associated either with periodic erosion , cessation of deposition, or some combination of
1344-475: A southeast–northwest direction. The landscape of the 20 km (12 mi) long gorge, 12 km (7 mi) which belongs to the park's core zone, presents a diverse relief and is characterized by abrupt changes in altitude. At one point the gorge measures 900 m (2,953 ft) deep and 1,100 m (3,609 ft) wide from rim to rim, and as a result is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as
1440-574: A sustainable form of tourism has never been greater in the area". The rivers in the Vikos–Aoös area are a destination for rafting and canoe - kayaking enthusiasts. Additional forms of adventure sports include climbing , hiking and mountain biking along local paths in order to observe the area's natural features and architecture. Popular trails in the region include the crossing of the Vikos Gorge, which lasts approximately six to seven hours and
1536-506: A tributary of the Aoös . The Voidomatis is mostly seasonal, with year-round flow occurring only in the lower part of the gorge. Due to its nature, the area of the gorge is precipitous and impassable most of the year. As the Vikos Gorge is a deep cross section of the mountain, its slopes expose a series of rock formations of various ages. The upper layers, at a depth of 0–200 m (660 ft), consist of relatively young Eocene limestone , at
1632-463: A variety of natural habitats and ecosystems that rank it among the most valuable parks for nature conservation in Greece. The first evidence of human presence in the area is dated between 17,000 and 10,000 years ago. The area of the park has been sparsely populated throughout historical times, however from the 17th to the 19th century the local communities of Zagori acquired an autonomous status, flourished economically due to increased trade, and became
1728-690: A wider zone. The Vikos-Aoös area also contains a variety of suitable habitats that support dense populations of amphibians and reptiles. Vipera ursinii lives in the subalpine meadows and is considered a threatened taxon. The amphibian alpine newts ( Triturus alpestris ), living in the alpine lakes of the Tymphe region, mostly in Drakolimni, are associated with local folktales of dragons and dragon battles. Yellow-bellied toads ( Bombina variegata ) are also common in that same area. Numerous fish, such as brown trout , roach , and barbel are to be found in
1824-536: Is 4.95 m (16 ft), while its surface covers 1 ha (2 acres). A number of vertical caves and precipices are found in the area around the village of Papingo , which lies near the Gamila and Astraka peaks. Some of them bear names inspired from mythology , such as the Hole of Odysseus and Chasm of Epos . These are being studied and explored by caving enthusiasts. The cave of "Provatina" ("Ewe's Cave"), with
1920-804: Is also found in Bulgaria near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Greek is also spoken worldwide by the sizable Greek diaspora which has notable communities in the United States , Australia , Canada , South Africa , Chile , Brazil , Argentina , Russia , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and throughout the European Union , especially in Germany . Historically, significant Greek-speaking communities and regions were found throughout
2016-773: Is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece , Cyprus , Italy (in Calabria and Salento ), southern Albania , and other regions of the Balkans , Caucasus , the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor , and the Eastern Mediterranean . It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system
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#17327575306992112-479: Is an Indo-European language, but also includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before the arrival of Proto-Greeks, some documented in Mycenaean texts ; they include a large number of Greek toponyms . The form and meaning of many words have changed. Loanwords (words of foreign origin) have entered the language, mainly from Latin, Venetian , and Turkish . During
2208-405: Is characterized by the annual distribution of precipitation , high in the winter months and experiencing a drought period of two to three months in summer. The continental climatic element is attributed to the high amplitude of annual temperature variation, to such a degree that the difference between mean maximum and mean minimum annual temperature, exceeds 40 °C (104 °F). The climate of
2304-511: Is considered of medium difficulty, as well as hiking around the peaks of Mt Tymphe . Several lookouts that offer panoramic views of the Vikos Gorge, such as the Oxya and Beloe lookouts and the 15th century Monastery of Saint Paraskevi , are accessible only by foot. Greek language Greek ( Modern Greek : Ελληνικά , romanized : Elliniká , [eliniˈka] ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνική , romanized : Hellēnikḗ )
2400-514: Is largely composed of Palaeocene - Eocene limestone, with some exposures of Campanian - Jurassic dolomite and limestone on the northern scarp. The lower slopes are dominated by younger flysch rocks, which consist of thin beds of graded sandstones intercalated with softer, fissile siltstones . Extended glacial conditions prevailed on the uplands of Mt Tymphe during the Late Quaternary period, ca. 28,000 years ago. The glacial landscape
2496-405: Is part, is considered one of the most underdeveloped regions in Greece. Tourism constitutes the principal source of revenue for the local economy, although it has a highly seasonal character. Intense development in terms of accommodation and tourism infrastructure occurred in the 1980s, mainly through state initiatives. The Vikos–Aoös area was designated as a National Park in 1973, in an effort by
2592-519: Is protected and promoted officially as a regional and minority language in Armenia, Hungary , Romania, and Ukraine. It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The phonology , morphology , syntax , and vocabulary of the language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to
2688-836: Is sometimes called aljamiado , as when Romance languages are written in the Arabic alphabet. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Greek: Transcription of the example text into Latin alphabet : Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern Stratum In geology and related fields,
2784-526: Is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey , and the many other countries of the Greek diaspora . Greek roots have been widely used for centuries and continue to be widely used to coin new words in other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary . Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around
2880-763: Is still used internationally for the writing of Ancient Greek . In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point (•), known as the ano teleia ( άνω τελεία ). In Greek the comma also functions as a silent letter in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι ( ó,ti , 'whatever') from ότι ( óti , 'that'). Ancient Greek texts often used scriptio continua ('continuous writing'), which means that ancient authors and scribes would write word after word with no spaces or punctuation between words to differentiate or mark boundaries. Boustrophedon , or bi-directional text,
2976-650: Is the Greek alphabet , which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary . The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin , Cyrillic , Coptic , Gothic , and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with
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3072-499: Is well-developed, especially on the southern slopes of Mt Tymphe , across the Astraka-Gamila plateau, and in the upland terrain above the villages of Skamneli and Tsepelovo , where lateral and terminal moraines form major landscape features. Additional forms of glacial deposits, which extend down to 850 m (2,789 ft) above sea level, include rock glaciers and limestone pavements . There are four villages inside
3168-495: The Eastern Mediterranean , in what are today Southern Italy , Turkey , Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Egypt , and Libya ; in the area of the Black Sea , in what are today Turkey, Bulgaria , Romania , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan ; and, to a lesser extent, in the Western Mediterranean in and around colonies such as Massalia , Monoikos , and Mainake . It
3264-649: The Greek Government to conserve the richness of the local fauna and flora and the geological formations of the area. The administration and management of the Vikos–Aoös National Park belongs to two district forest offices, supervised by a forest directorate at the prefecture level. Moreover, the office of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the village of Papingo plays an essential role in management issues. Apart from government efforts, incentives have been given to local management organizations and
3360-516: The Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ), but little definitive evidence has been found. In addition, Albanian has also been considered somewhat related to Greek and Armenian, and it has been proposed that they all form a higher-order subgroup along with other extinct languages of the ancient Balkans; this higher-order subgroup is usually termed Palaeo-Balkan , and Greek has a central position in it. Linear B , attested as early as
3456-492: The nominal and verbal systems. The major change in the nominal morphology since the classical stage was the disuse of the dative case (its functions being largely taken over by the genitive ). The verbal system has lost the infinitive , the synthetically -formed future, and perfect tenses and the optative mood . Many have been replaced by periphrastic ( analytical ) forms. Pronouns show distinctions in person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), number (singular, dual , and plural in
3552-470: The 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language . Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages . The Greek language is conventionally divided into
3648-486: The Greek alphabet since approximately the 9th century BC. It was created by modifying the Phoenician alphabet , with the innovation of adopting certain letters to represent the vowels. The variant of the alphabet in use today is essentially the late Ionic variant, introduced for writing classical Attic in 403 BC. In classical Greek, as in classical Latin, only upper-case letters existed. The lower-case Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes to permit
3744-425: The Greek language are often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to the extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than
3840-495: The Greek language was the Cypriot syllabary (also a descendant of Linear A via the intermediate Cypro-Minoan syllabary ), which is closely related to Linear B but uses somewhat different syllabic conventions to represent phoneme sequences. The Cypriot syllabary is attested in Cyprus from the 11th century BC until its gradual abandonment in the late Classical period, in favor of the standard Greek alphabet. Greek has been written in
3936-629: The Greek verb have likewise remained largely the same over the course of the language's history but with significant changes in the number of distinctions within each category and their morphological expression. Greek verbs have synthetic inflectional forms for: Many aspects of the syntax of Greek have remained constant: verbs agree with their subject only, the use of the surviving cases is largely intact (nominative for subjects and predicates, accusative for objects of most verbs and many prepositions, genitive for possessors), articles precede nouns, adpositions are largely prepositional, relative clauses follow
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4032-685: The Greek-Albanian border. A significant percentage of Albania's population has knowledge of the Greek language due in part to the Albanian wave of immigration to Greece in the 1980s and '90s and the Greek community in the country. Prior to the Greco-Turkish War and the resulting population exchange in 1923 a very large population of Greek-speakers also existed in Turkey , though very few remain today. A small Greek-speaking community
4128-465: The Vikos–Aoös National Park, and an additional nine near the borders of the peripheral zone. All of these settlements, in the western part of the Zagori region, are sparsely populated with a total population of 1,515 people. The villages have a nucleus-like form, with the houses situated around the central square and interconnected by pathways paved by slate or cobblestone. Historically, all the villages of
4224-443: The Voidomatis river from higher elevations by glacial action about 30,000 years ago. The subsequent (middle) deposits are the product of de-glaciation and the extended run-off from the uplands about 20,000 years ago, while the outer unit is attributed to human activities associated with pastoralism , which caused extended deforestation and soil erosion. The Voidomatis basin contains evidence for three major phases of glaciation , with
4320-536: The Zagori region were connected by a system of paths or small roads and they functioned more like a single entity rather than as separate communities. The economic affluence of Zagori's past is still reflected in the architecture of the villages, while today the preservation of the local architectural legacy is enshrined in a law which dictates that all buildings in the area must be constructed with local traditional materials and in compliance with local architecture. One of
4416-404: The acute during the late 20th century, and it has only been retained in typography . After the writing reform of 1982, most diacritics are no longer used. Since then, Greek has been written mostly in the simplified monotonic orthography (or monotonic system), which employs only the acute accent and the diaeresis. The traditional system, now called the polytonic orthography (or polytonic system),
4512-402: The ancient language; singular and plural alone in later stages), and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and decline for case (from six cases in the earliest forms attested to four in the modern language). Nouns, articles, and adjectives show all the distinctions except for a person. Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree with the noun. The inflectional categories of
4608-547: The area and encompasses 12,600 hectares (31,135 acres) of mountainous terrain, with numerous rivers, lakes, caves , deep canyons , dense coniferous and deciduous forest. The park is part of the Natura 2000 ecological network and one of UNESCO Geoparks and spans an elevation range from 550 to 2,497 meters (1,804 to 8,192 ft). Over 100,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including rafting, canoe-kayaking, hiking and mountain biking. The core of
4704-502: The area belongs to the humid zone with cold winters. The park's varied geology and topography have resulted in a unique variety of flora and fauna . There are three main habitat zones: (1) Sub- mediterranean woodland which mainly consists of deciduous broadleaf forests and woodlands and extends up to an elevation of about 1,500 m (4,921 ft). (2) Combined areas of agricultural land with tree hedges and various woodlots , in addition to semi-open shrublands and rocky sites of
4800-519: The area is dated to between 17,000 and 10,000 years ago. During this period, favorable climatic conditions prevailed that permitted the hunting of the ibex and the chamois on a seasonal basis. Important epipaleolithic artifacts have been unearthed from a rock shelter on the banks of the Voidomatis. During the 9th–4th centuries B.C., a small Molossian settlement existed between Monodendri and Vitsa , including stone houses and two cemeteries that have yielded important findings. However, for most of
4896-457: The area is quite unique due to the complex relief, variation in altitude, and the position of the area with regard to the Ionian Sea coastline. The mean annual temperature and annual precipitation are 11.9 °C (53 °F) and 1,100.9 mm (43.34 in) respectively. Extremely low temperatures occur in the area during the winter months. Compared to Mediterranean bioclimatic divisions,
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#17327575306994992-460: The area year-round. Otters and wild cats live around the area of Mt Tymphe , with the latter being quite rare. The Pindus range, of which Vikos–Aoös is part, is home to the endangered brown bear and lynx , and is also the southernmost point of their European habitat. One of the park's special attractions is the existence of the chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ), a rare species that lives at higher altitudes far from human activity, especially on
5088-552: The basis for further evaluations and impact analysis. The objective of the present state and regional policy is to carefully combine tourism development in the area with the preservation of its natural and cultural heritage. Ecotourism poses an ideal solution, since it has the potential of bringing about the desired balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection. Specific objectives of ecotourism development include reviving traditional activities such as small-scale farming and stock-raising, as well as establishing
5184-462: The borders of Greece. The plants used in these recipes include the lemon balm Melissa officinalis , Tilia tomentosa , the spearmint Mentha spicata , the gas-plant Dictamnus albus , St John's Wort Hypericum perforatum , absinth Artemisia absinthium , the very popular Sideritis raeseri , known colloquially in Greece as “mountain tea”, and the elder bush Sambucus nigra . A chemical screening of these native plant species has shown that
5280-464: The characteristic features of the National Park is its stone bridges, which were the only connection to the outside world until roads were built in the 1950s. Sixteen of these stone bridges and seven churches in the region have been listed as protected historical monuments. The climate of the Vikos–Aoös National Park is Mediterranean , transitioning to continental . The Mediterranean character
5376-473: The classification hierarchy of sedimentary lithostratigraphic units, a bed is the smallest formal unit. However, only beds that are distinctive enough to be useful for stratigraphic correlation and geologic mapping are customarily given formal names and considered formal lithostratigraphic units. The volcanic equivalent of a bed, a flow, is a discrete extrusive volcanic stratum or body distinguishable by texture, composition, or other objective criteria. As in case of
5472-475: The deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width, though some gorge lobbyists contest that claim. Steep slopes and precipitous rocky cliffs dominate in the middle and higher zones respectively. Numerous gullies dissect both sides of the gorge and the weathering action of water down its walls creates extended screes . The Vikos Gorge has been carved over millions of years by the Voidomatis river,
5568-404: The early 19th century that was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, after having incorporated features of Katharevousa and thus giving birth to Standard Modern Greek , used today for all official purposes and in education . The historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of
5664-618: The epics of Homer , ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon . Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science and philosophy were originally composed. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world , the Greek texts and Greek societies of antiquity constitute
5760-415: The erosion of local stream beds. A number of alpine lakes are found in the high-altitude zone of Mt Tymphe , surrounded by alpine pasture, which are home to several rare amphibian species. The biggest lake of the National Park, Drakolimni ("Dragonlake"), a formation that was created after the retreat of the glaciers , is located at a height of 2,000 m (6,562 ft) on Mt Tymphe . Its maximum depth
5856-452: The following periods: In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia : the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki , the vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa , meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek developed in
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#17327575306995952-519: The historical period the local population was sparse. The land was mainly used for pastoralism and supplying firewood. In the era of Ottoman rule, and especially from the 17th to the 19th century, the local Greek Orthodox communities were granted special privileges by the Ottoman authorities. At that time the area of Zagori acquired an autonomous status inside the Ottoman Empire , whereby
6048-412: The human activities in the area and their impact on the ecosystem . An analysis has begun by taking a detailed picture of the territory covering at least the following items: orography and slopes, road networks, land cover and use, human settlements, and tourist sites. The use of remote sensing and geographic information system techniques is of essential value for the park's management and constitutes
6144-439: The infinitive entirely (employing a raft of new periphrastic constructions instead) and uses participles more restrictively. The loss of the dative led to a rise of prepositional indirect objects (and the use of the genitive to directly mark these as well). Ancient Greek tended to be verb-final, but neutral word order in the modern language is VSO or SVO. Modern Greek inherits most of its vocabulary from Ancient Greek, which in turn
6240-467: The late 15th century BC, was the first script used to write Greek. It is basically a syllabary , which was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick in the 1950s (its precursor, Linear A , has not been deciphered and most likely encodes a non-Greek language). The language of the Linear B texts, Mycenaean Greek , is the earliest known form of Greek. Another similar system used to write
6336-540: The local architectural style. It is characterized by the great number of secondary gullies and currents, while the southern part of the gorge is steeper than the northern part. Deep and steep ravines within the perpendicular walls carry down into the Aoös large quantities of material resulting from limestone-weathering. The compact dolomites that lie on the bottom of the gorge date to the Early Jurassic period and are
6432-402: The local flora and fauna. Another issue is the impact of tourism in recent decades. On the other hand, extreme geophysical conditions make the construction and maintenance of the necessary infrastructure network, mainly access routes and telecommunications, difficult. The vast area of the National Park and the present lack of road infrastructure make remote sensing the only means for monitoring
6528-508: The local population to participate in the protection of the park. Forestry activities, grazing, hunting, and fishing are prohibited by law in the park's core. There are no such restrictions in the peripheral zone but the Forest Service can take any necessary measure for the realization of the aims of the park. Apart from the above-mentioned activities, dangers to the park include land erosion , landslides , and wildfires which threaten
6624-400: The locals were exempt from the heavy taxation that affected the lowland communities. During this period large groups of villagers emigrated to metropolitan centers. Many among them became members of successful professional classes before finally returning to their home villages, endowing the region with wealth and building luxurious mansions. In such an environment, the art of herbal healing by
6720-487: The lower and middle slopes near human settlements. (3) Uplands with subalpine grasslands and rocky cliffs. This habitat is found above 1,500 m (4,921 ft) altitude and hosts rare bird species such as the Mediterranean golden eagle . The forests are composed of diverse species of deciduous and coniferous trees and a great variety of wildflowers . An important element of the region's flora, apart from
6816-640: The membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages . Greek is recognized as a minority language in Albania, and used co-officially in some of its municipalities, in the districts of Gjirokastër and Sarandë . It is also an official minority language in the regions of Apulia and Calabria in Italy. In the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , Greek
6912-441: The modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because, in all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows a mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and
7008-528: The non-vascular flora recorded the presence of about 150 moss species in the area of the national park, including one newly described taxon . Many herbs of the Vikos Gorge and other areas within the park were regarded to have medicinal properties and were once harvested by local healers, colloquially referred to as " Vikos doctors " ( Greek : Βικογιατροί , " Vikoiatri "). These herbal healers used special recipes that were often copies of ancient Greek recipes of Hippocrates or Dioscorides and became famous beyond
7104-399: The noun they modify and relative pronouns are clause-initial. However, the morphological changes also have their counterparts in the syntax, and there are also significant differences between the syntax of the ancient and that of the modern form of the language . Ancient Greek made great use of participial constructions and of constructions involving the infinitive, and the modern variety lacks
7200-536: The objects of study of the discipline of Classics . During antiquity , Greek was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world . It eventually became the official language of the Byzantine Empire and developed into Medieval Greek . In its modern form , Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union . It
7296-706: The older periods of Greek, loanwords into Greek acquired Greek inflections, thus leaving only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from the 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected; other modern borrowings are derived from Albanian , South Slavic ( Macedonian / Bulgarian ) and Eastern Romance languages ( Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian ). Greek words have been widely borrowed into other languages, including English. Example words include: mathematics , physics , astronomy , democracy , philosophy , athletics , theatre, rhetoric , baptism , evangelist , etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as
7392-458: The oldest rock formations in the Park. Their age has been determined by means of sea fossils found inside them. Between the two gorges lies the Tymphe mountain range. Its highest peaks are Gamila 2,497 m (8,192 ft), Astraka 2,436 m (7,992 ft), Ploskos 2,400 m (7,874 ft), and Lapatos 2,251 m (7,385 ft). A unique feature of this area is natural pools formed by
7488-426: The park's peripheral zone. The park's remoteness and relatively small human population, combined with the great variation of biotopes and microclimatic conditions favors the existence of a rich variety of flora (1,800 species) in the area. Vikos–Aoös National Park supports a wide diversity of fauna, with a plethora of large mammals such as the brown bear , for which the park is one of the last European strongholds, and
7584-400: The park's rivers. Regarding invertebrate species, due to the structural complexity of the forests and the close proximity of various small biotopes, i.e. streams, ponds, forest openings, rocky sites, dead trees, old pollards, and coppices , a very diverse fauna exists, especially at the various ecotones , which often includes very specialized species. The first evidence of human presence in
7680-446: The park, an area of 3,400 hectares (8,402 acres), comprises the spectacular Vikos Gorge , carved by the Voidomatis river. The gorge's main part is 12 km (7 mi) long, which attains a depth of 1,000 meters (3,300 ft), and has a width ranging from 2500 m to only a few meters at its narrowest part. The Aoös gorge, Mt Tymphe (2,497 meters (8,192 ft) at Gamila peak), and a number of traditionally preserved settlements form
7776-487: The rich variety of plant species, is the high degree of endemism in Balkan (23%) and Greek species (5.8%). Recent studies on the flora of the National Park counted 873 vascular plants , including more than 250 medicinal, aromatic, and poisonous taxa . The park's forests are abundant in species associated with the cool local climate, such as Wych Elm , Nettle-leaved Bellflower , Horse-chestnut and Large-leaved Linden . In
7872-456: The river channel network because much of the upland limestone terrain was covered by ice, and many conduits in the karst would have been choked with sediment or permanently frozen. As a result, the glacier snouts came close to the modern valley bottoms. In contrast, during interglacial and interstadial periods, more effective coupling occurred between the surface drainage network and the internal karst drainage system. Since limestone dissolves as
7968-513: The rocky cliffsides of the gorges, for example in Megas Lakos , a secondary ravine of the Vikos Gorge. A total of 121 bird species have been observed in the park, with twenty-six of them being considered of conservation priority. The area hosts fifteen raptor species and populations of bird species with limited distribution in Greece, such as the hazel grouse , Tengmalm's owl , wallcreeper and willow tit . Two bird communities that inhabit
8064-439: The so-called Vikos doctors developed and flourished. This was accompanied by an impressive cultural and intellectual life that produced many renowned scholars and benefactors of Greece. The area is nowadays sparsely populated as the result of urbanization after World War II . Many of the dwellings now remain shut, while abandonment of the traditional rural economy has affected the cultural landscape. Epirus , of which Vikos–Aoös
8160-437: The stressed vowel; the so-called breathing marks ( rough and smooth breathing ), originally used to signal presence or absence of word-initial /h/; and the diaeresis , used to mark the full syllabic value of a vowel that would otherwise be read as part of a diphthong. These marks were introduced during the course of the Hellenistic period. Actual usage of the grave in handwriting saw a rapid decline in favor of uniform usage of
8256-462: The subalpine and forest ecosystems are considered among the most complete in Greece: The first community includes species that nest and feed in the subalpine area, like the alpine chough , shore lark , western rock nuthatch and alpine swift , while the second comprises birds of prey like the griffon vulture , Egyptian vulture , peregrine falcon and common kestrel , that search for food in
8352-478: The town of Konitsa , the Aoös river passes through channels formed by the bulges of the nearby mountains of Trapezitsa 2,022 m (6,634 ft), Mt Tymphe and Raidovouni 1,957 m (6,421 ft), creating the Aoös Gorge that is 10 km (6 mi) long. It has an east–west direction and features numerous stone single-arched bridges from the 17th to 19th centuries, as well as monasteries built in
8448-555: The two largest and earliest taking place during the Middle Pleistocene . The final phase of glacial activity probably occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum , between 22,000 and 20,000 ago. A special feature of the limestone, resulting from its weathering by water, is its karstic nature. During the large Middle Pleistocene glaciations, surface runoff from glacial meltwaters would have fed directly into
8544-497: The two. Stacked together with other strata, individual stratum can form composite stratigraphic units that can extend over hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of the Earth 's surface. Individual stratum can cover similarly large areas. Strata are typically seen as bands of different colored or differently structured material exposed in cliffs , road cuts, quarries , and river banks. Individual bands may vary in thickness from
8640-548: The valley of the Vikos Gorge, Platanus orientalis form an azonal gallery forest along the banks of the Voidomatis. The woodland in the mountain area around the village of Papingo is characterized by the predominance of different juniper species , such as Juniperus communis , foetidissima , oxycedrus and excelsa . In the upper hills Juniperus foetidissima dominates, with exceptionally high (more than 10 m (33 ft)) trees. At higher altitudes, pure conifer forests of either pine or fir are found. Studies on
8736-400: The water percolates through its pores, an extended underground drainage system has developed, with caves and channels that enlarge with time when their roofs collapse, producing rocky exposures and perpendicular slopes, which is also the reason why the water is scarce. Only when an impenetrable stratum is met, does water appear on the surface. In the northern part of the Park, and very close to
8832-574: Was a distinct dialect of Greek itself. Aside from the Macedonian question, current consensus regards Phrygian as the closest relative of Greek, since they share a number of phonological, morphological and lexical isoglosses , with some being exclusive between them. Scholars have proposed a Graeco-Phrygian subgroup out of which Greek and Phrygian originated. Among living languages, some Indo-Europeanists suggest that Greek may be most closely related to Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian ) or
8928-568: Was also used as the official language of government and religion in the Christian Nubian kingdoms , for most of their history. Greek, in its modern form, is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish ) and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (alongside English ). Because of
9024-557: Was also used in Ancient Greek. Greek has occasionally been written in the Latin script , especially in areas under Venetian rule or by Greek Catholics . The term Frankolevantinika / Φραγκολεβαντίνικα applies when the Latin script is used to write Greek in the cultural ambit of Catholicism (because Frankos / Φράγκος is an older Greek term for West-European dating to when most of (Roman Catholic Christian) West Europe
9120-580: Was under the control of the Frankish Empire ). Frankochiotika / Φραγκοχιώτικα (meaning 'Catholic Chiot') alludes to the significant presence of Catholic missionaries based on the island of Chios . Additionally, the term Greeklish is often used when the Greek language is written in a Latin script in online communications. The Latin script is nowadays used by the Greek-speaking communities of Southern Italy . The Yevanic dialect
9216-673: Was written by Romaniote and Constantinopolitan Karaite Jews using the Hebrew Alphabet . In a tradition, that in modern time, has come to be known as Greek Aljamiado , some Greek Muslims from Crete wrote their Cretan Greek in the Arabic alphabet . The same happened among Epirote Muslims in Ioannina . This also happened among Arabic-speaking Byzantine rite Christians in the Levant ( Lebanon , Palestine, and Syria ). This usage
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