111 Cultural Post #3

[Daniel Matthew Kunath]

Greeks are some of the most strong-willed people the world  probably has when it comes to their culture. I find this somewhat ironic, that they will stiffly resist anything from Turkey, but many of their words, recipes, coffee, and place names are of Turkish origin. Most of these influences come from Constantinople, while Greeks adamantly refuse to call the city Istanbul as the Turks do. Theirs is not necessarily flag-waving patriotism so much as an insistence on the integrity of their culture. This comes as no surprise, since Greece has a holiday on the 28^th of October sometimes called Όχι Day, literally “No!” Day, celebrating the Greek Prime Minister in 1940 refusing to be coerced into a compromising agreement with Italy, which then started their role in World War 2.