20 THURSDAY 13 AUGUST 2009 NEWS IN ENGLISH Ï Êüóìïò Ancient Cypriot enters major league - ’s an- need to do something to bring momentus 1363 Feast of the cient Com- on a par with Five Kings in the City of other European ,” said London. King Richard the mandaria is going up- Giorgos Hadjiafxentis, senior Lionheart of England, who market from early 2010, officer for the promotion of married in Cyprus, is said to export of agricultural products have enjoyed it so much at with a selection of its at the Commerce Ministry. his wedding feast in 1191 that more mature in A starting price of 50 euros he pronounced it the “wine stylish bottles aiming for ($71) for a 10-year vintage is of kings and the king of anticipated compared to the wines.” a more discerning con- modest 12 euros ($17) for a 75 “Our aim is to boost Com- sumer. ml (2.640 fl oz) bottle at pres- mandaria’s image,” Panayides This undated handout photo shows wine jugs ent. said. Some 1.4 million liters on display in a in Erimi, Cyprus. hought to be the With a Protected Designa- (369,800 U.S. gallons) of Com- world’s oldest wine in tion of Origin, Commandaria mandaria was produced in Tcontinuous produc- Andreas Panayides, who or- sugar density before the wine must have a 22.5 percent total 2008, with exports as far as tion, Commandaria was first ganizes an annual fair on is aged in barrels for at potential alcohol level. Japan and Australia. Data from described in 800 BC by the Cyprus to honor the wine. least three years. It is produced exclusively by the Cyprus Wine Products Greek poet Hesiod as a popu- A sweet wine, Commandaria Traditionally found in a 14 villages some 400-800 me- Council showed that last year lar tipple with the ancient is still produced on the squat, brown bottle, the am- ters high on the southern s- Sweden topped the export list Greeks. Its present name was Mediterranean island in the ber-colored drink will soon be lopes of the Troodos moun- at 22.806.00 liters. bestowed by 12th century cru- same way as in antiquity. sold in a variety of stylishly de- tain range, which formed the “Consumption has risen by saders. “The aroma of Com- Made from two types of in- signed bottles by the four main headquarters of the Knights over 80 percent since 2002 mandaria cannot be made just digenous Cyprus — wine distilleries on the island. Templar, known as the across Cyprus,” Panayides anywhere, the specific altitude Xynisteri and Mavro — the “The style of the bottles “Grand Commanderie.” said, mainly due to a growing and the limestone soil are overripe grapes are laid out in used have been the same for Legend said Commandaria awareness and appreciation of what make it unique,” said the sun to further increase the the past 30 years at least. We was the wine of choice at the local produce. Pacific crewman All aboard for a Greek adventure on hijacked ship reek Cafes were once the Gsocial hubs of western The crew of a ship hijacked by Somali pirates - Queensland towns and next week who include at least one man from the Mariana is- (August 18) UQ PhD student lands in the Pacific - say they are running out of food Toni Risson will board the Q150 and water. They have been reduced to catching con- train to embark on a journey of densation from air-conditioning units to drink. Fam- multicultural discovery. ilies know their condition because the pirates al- The University of Queensland- lowed the captain to make a call to his family - the sponsored Q150 Steam Train de- only crew member allowed to do so. The brother of parted Ipswich in April, under- a Radio Australia reporter in the Marianas, Gemma taking a five-month journey to Casas, is among the captives. She told Radio Aus- more than 30 Queensland com- In 2007, Ms Risson published a and important aspect of our past. tralia’s Pacific Beat that her brother, who is an em- munities. book about the Greek café but is “The Belle Vue Cafe in War- ployee of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari- The heritage-listed Steam now working on a second publi- wick is one of the few still in op- ana Islands (CNMI), took six months leave to work Train’s trip is part of a year-long cation that includes more eration, although no longer as a ship’s master electrician. He had been seeking a celebration of Queensland’s Queensland establishments. owned by Greek-Australians, but change from his usual job and his decision to sail was 150th anniversary of becoming a “My hope is that long-time resi- most, I expect, will be like the taken on a whim. But he is now one of the captives state. dents and local councils and li- Paragon Café in Dalby or the Red on the Greek-owned MV Irene Em, which was hi- Ms Risson will board the train braries, if they have old photo- Rose Cafe in Mitchell, nothing jacked by Somali pirates along the Gulf of Aden in on its sector six travels through graphs of cafes, will get involved but a distant memory.” April. The self-governing Marianas are an Ameri- Queensland’s west – including with the project as this second Ms Risson said the Greek Cafe can-administered territory in the western Pacific. the towns of Mitchell, Warwick, publication will celebrate and pro- was a shared chapter in the histo- Families believe the pirates taking the Irene Em Stanthorpe, Chinchilla, Roma, mote towns in western Queens- ries of Greece and Australia, and wanted to prove the US action was just a temporary Dalby, Charleville and land,” she said. was not only the social hub of its setback in their work. Ranson demands have been Toowoomba – where she intends “I expect to find that country community, but enabled genera- made. Gemma Casas said family and friends are be- to document, through the help of Greek cafes have long gone, but tions of Greek immigrants to es- coming increasingly concerned, one reason being locals, the legacy of the iconic in rural areas buildings may re- tablish themselves in their adopt- the intense emotional ordeal for the crew. Greek café. main as a testament to this rich ed homeland. “People flocked to them be- cause, in the days before refriger- ators, supermarkets and Black Dog ride shire stopover processed foods, people pur- chased cold drinks, ice-creams FOUR weeks after his fourth child was born, Steve Andrews’ mother took her life. That was more than 15 years ago, and lollies at the local Greek but Mr Andrews will always regret that he did not know of his mother’s struggle with depression, often referred to as the Black Dog. He said she might still be alive if he and she, and family and friends, had known more about depres- cafe,” she said. sion. His mother’s suicide and that of a friend gave Mr Andrews the impetus for a 15,000-kilometre motorbike rise “Our now-popular Mediter- around Australia to raise awareness of depression. He set out from his home in Busselton, Western Australia, on ranean diet entered Australian Sunday, July 26, and hopes to be back there on August 20. Mr Andrews was in Cronulla last week, a third of the way life through the kitchens of through his journey, on which his only companion is his stuffed black toy dog Winston, named after Sir Winston Greek cafes where waitresses, Churchill, who called his depression his ``black dog’’. The licensee of Northies Cronulla, Rob Stanley-Jones, present- who were local girls, first tasted ed Mr Andrews with a cheque for $500 on behalf of Miranda Liquor Accord, an organisation that represents local yoghurt and olive oil, and across licensed premises. Rydges Cronulla gave Mr Andrews free accommodation, and he was welcomed by Sutherland backyard fences where neigh- Shire-based counsellor Toni Langford, who stressed the need for people to be made aware of depression. bours smelled the strange aromas of garlic and basil.”