Sparta

The 36th Spartathlon race was completed last weekend as Japanese runner Yoshihiko Ishikawa finished first with an impressive time of 22 hours, 55 minutes and 13 seconds.

Japanese runner Yoshihiko Ishikawa was the winner of the 36th Spartathlon, one of the most challenging and historical ultra-marathon races in the world, hosted in Greece.

Florin Ianculescu, commander of the C-27 J Spartan aircraft dispatched by Romania to extinguish wildfires in Greece, says he was unpleasantly surprised by the magnitude of the fires in the vicinity of Athens.

He told the Romanian public radio broadcaster on Thursday that that the Romanian Air Force's aircraft already participated in containing outbreaks in western Athens.

The Minister of Defense Krasimir Karakachanov believes that the Bulgarian Army performs its duties conscientiously, despite the lack of money.

Parts of downtown Athens near the Panathenaic Stadium (Kallimarmaro) and sections of the national highway linking the capital to the Peloponnesian town of Sparta will be intermittently closed off to traffic on Saturday for the 29th Spartakiada.

Lithuanian runner Aleksandr Sorokin won the 35th edition of Spartathlon, one of the most challenging and historical ultra-marathon races, in Sparta on Saturday.

Sorokin, 36, touched the feet of the statue of ancient Spartan King Leonidas in the center of Sparta before dawn around 5.00 am local time, covering non stop 246 kilometers from Athens in 22 hours, 4 minutes and 5 seconds.

Athletes smile for the camera at the starting line of the 35th Spartathlon, beneath the Acropolis, early on Friday morning. The grueling 246-kilometer ultramarathon celebrating Pheidippides, the Athenian messenger who was sent to Sparta in 490 BC to seek help against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, is this year being attempted by 400 athletes from around the world.

The Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil in the Peloponnesian city of Sparta offers fascinating insights into the history of olive cultivation and olive oil production in Greece from prehistoric times to the early 20th century, from their roles in mythology, religion and the economy to art, culture and cuisine. The museum is open every day except Tuesdays and holidays between 10 a.m.

The Trump White House isn’t known as a hot spot for Ivy League intellectuals. But last month, a Harvard academic slipped into the White House complex for an unusual meeting.

BY MARIANNA KAKAOUNAKI