Feature: Greek port cleared of last refugees, welcomes tourists with cultural events

Piraeus port has been cleared of the last group of refugees and migrants this week, and turned page at the peak of the summer tourism season, welcoming visitors with a series of cultural events.

The port now tried to highlight a new profile of vibrant cultural destination with the cultural events.

Piraeus has set sail to be transformed into a major shipping, trade and cultural hub, a local official told Xinhua on Friday.

Since early 2015, more than one million people landed on Greek shores, reached Piraeus and continued their journey to central Europe, seeking refuge away from warzones and misery.

Following the closure of the Balkan route last winter, the Piraeus port sheltered for several months as many as 6,000 people out of the 57,000 migrants and refugees currently stranded in Greece.

The refugees and migrants had set up an informal camp in one of the passenger terminals since February there.

Despite the tragic conditions in the makeshift tent city, most desperate people were reluctant to move into state-run refugee hospitality centers, hoping in vain that they could somehow find a way to continue the trip to other European countries.

The gradual evacuation operation at Piraeus which lasted several weeks ended smoothly this week, Greece's Refugee Coordination Crisis Management Body announced.

On Monday, a total of 1,039 people were still living at the port. By Friday, they had all been peacefully transferred to organized accommodation centers across Greece. A clean-up operation had been finished.

In Greece, a country with rich cultural heritage, culture is always a strong vehicle of progress which is not overlooked.

Irene Daifas, deputy mayor of Piraeus in charge of culture, and CEO of a shipping company with long history, told Xinhua in an interview Piraeus'culture of civility and solidarity with the refugees, as well as ongoing efforts to make the city an exciting cultural hub as well.

"In front of this human misfortune, nobody in the city of Piraeus stayed idle. Volunteers, the Support Initiative of All Piraeus, along with the local authorities at all levels, stood by the side of these people...Ordinary people showed humanity in all possible ways," Daifas said.

"What makes me feel really proud is that in moments difficult for all, Piraeus did not lose this culture of civility and solidarity," she stressed. The vision for a bright future is based on such values, tradition and innovation, she said.

As part of plans to transform Piraeus into a modern shipping, trade and culture hub, the Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) in cooperation with the Municipality of Piraeus has organized dance, music concerts and theater performances this summer to welcome passengers of huge cruise ships docking at the port.

A total of 346,252 people reached Piraeus on board cruise vessels from January to July this year, according to the Greek National Tourism Organization.

The idea is to reintroduce Piraeus as an open stage for cultural dialogues and exchanges. The aim is to offer visitors reaching the port a first glimpse into Greece's culture on the docks through plays inspired by ancient Greek theater drama and Greek poetry such as the "Climbing the Sea" performed by artists of the Piraeus Municipal Theater.

The renovated Piraeus Municipal Theater, one of the architectural jewels of the city, holds a leading role in these plans to bring local people and foreigners closer through innovative art projects, Daifas explained. Endit