The cities – Chania, Ioannina and Kavala
This Community Ambassador spotlight focuses on one Ambassador who graciously volunteered to take the lead in mapping multiple cities across Greece.
Kavala, a medium sized city 160km from Thessaloniki, is located in the Bay of the same name in the northeast of Greece. The city was founded by settlers from the island of Thassos, at the end of the 7th century BC. The Thassians founded Kavala, then named Neapolis (or new city), to exploit the gold and silver mines in the surrounding Pangaion mountains. The city buildings and homes of the inhabitants have been built in an amphitheatrical style on the Symvolo mountain, which give residents a spectacular view of sea. Kavala is famous for its many cultural events that take place during the warm summer days. One of the most renowned is the festival of Philippi, which takes place annually over three months, from July to September, and boasts many theatrical performances and music concerts.
Chania is the second largest of the cities on the island of Crete and is located on the northern coast of the island. The island was first settled around 100 BC by the Dorians (one of the ancient distinct Greek ethnic groups) who arrived from the mainland. More recently since 1898, Chania has evolved into a meeting point for European and middle eastern cultures, which is reflected in the local architecture. Today the city has two distinct areas, the old town on the harbour and the modern city that has grown around the ancient harbour. The urban sprawl caused by the growing population, currently at around 110,000, continues to push the city’s boundaries further south. Today the city’s economy is supported by agriculture and tourism.
Ioannina, the capital of the Epirus region, located in the North West of Greece, around 40km from the border with Albania. The city has a population of around 115,000 and has a long and rich history. Evidence from the Stoa Louli Arcade, a covered market area in the old city center, confirms that Ioannina was a multicultural hub. Christians, Muslims and Jews worked and traded together there throughout the Ottoman Era. More recently, during the 18th and 19th centuries Ioannina was also a major center for the Modern Greek Enlightenment movement. The city is located on the western edge of the stunning Lake Pamvotida. The natural beauty of this lake, the city’s rich history and the region’s delicacies, such as feta cheese and Baklava continue to make Ioannina popular with visitors.
The Ambassador – Konstantinos
Konstantinos joined the Moovit Community in September 2015 and admits it’s in his nature to be active and get involved in many things. Amongst his other hobbies, he is currently learning to code HTML and studying French. This can-do attitude could be why he enjoys participating in the Moovit Community. Konstantinos is from the northern city of Kavala, studies in Ioannina and was happy to help build the public transport system in Chania in Crete when he found a good information source. The multi-city Ambassador tells us that, “I discovered Moovit by accident. I was planning a trip to Belgrade and Moovit was recommended by an online article when traveling abroad.” Back in 2015 no one had yet completed mapping Kavala, but Konstantinos took to the mission upon himself. He informs us that he had previously sought other ways of mapping his city, “But I am yet to discover a mapping platform that could do as good as a job as the Moovit platform.”
The Ambassador describes why he felt such a sense of pride when Ioannina was completed and and he saw the words we are thrilled to welcome Ioannina to Moovit! on the Google Play Store. “It was the moment that I felt my efforts could help many of my fellow citizens to better understand our urban transport and they could move more easily.”
Continuing with Konstantinos’s personal feelings of pride towards the Moovit Community and its impact on many local transport sectors, he has words of wisdom for new recruits. “The best advice that I can give to new members starting out with the mission of mapping their town is – Always remember that their personal contribution is helping thousands of other people.” Whilst his perspective is one of dedication, he acknowledges that, “The greatest challenge to the Community is to succeed in convincing even more people to actively participate in it.” Looking forward this Ambassador has grand plans to map as many cities as he can and continue to perfect all the cities he has already taken a leading role in mapping so far. Konstantinos reports jovially that, “My activity on the Editor platform has now become a great hobby for me and I am proud to represent Greece as an Ambassador in the global Community!”