Greece is bringing in visitors to more than a hundred archaeological sites, historical sites, museums and monuments, across the nation under the moonlight as it marks the August full moon.
A series of events were organised for the evening of 19 August (Local Time), taking place at over fifty archaeological sites and museums with a similar number staying open to the public with free admission.
The program included musical and theatrical performances, star observation, storytelling and guided tours.
The events were organised by the services of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage and by the General Directorate of Restorations, Museums and Technical Projects, many in collaboration with local government and local associations.
The Full Moon celebrations came amid significant lightning strikes that afflicted Greece overnight.
The Meteo weather service of the National Observatory of Athens reported nearly 32,000 lightning strikes in the span of 24 hours up to Monday evening local time.
The majority of the 31,828 strikes in total took place at sea (amounting to 27,922), mainly across the country’s northwestern coastline.
The other 3,906 occurred over land with the strikes accompanied by heavy rainfall in many areas.
One of the parts that registered the most rainfall was Paxos, getting 45 millimetres up to 7pm, while the rain also poured heavily in certain areas of Larisa, Karditsa, Corfu (Kerkyra), Achaia and Arcadia.
The severe number of lightning strikes adds another dimension to the difficult weather conditions currently in Greece, which has also been suffering from the effects of significant wildfires this summer.
