Renowned Greek singer Glykeria has been stranded in Israel since last Friday, when war broke out between Israel and Iran.
She had travelled to perform on June 17 at the Meridiano Festival in Ashdod—a visit that drew reactions in Greece.
According to protothema.gr, Glykeria and her team are safe and in good health, though they’ve endured days of confinement and anxiety.
A2 CNN reports that they have remained in their hotel, rushing to a shelter with each siren. With Israeli airspace closed for the past 24 hours, Glykeria had no way to leave.
Her return to Greece is expected tomorrow, pending developments. She has reportedly travelled overland to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula before flying home.
The singer was seen on a Greek evacuation mission bus departing Tel Aviv. Footage from journalist Thanos Vagios shows her in the front seat, visibly shaken, after a nearby area was hit roughly 200 km before reaching the border.
Several other Greek musicians, including bouzouki virtuoso Manolis Karantinis, singer Kostas Karafotis, and folk artist Areti Ketime, were also in Israel for concerts with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
Initially welcomed warmly by emotional audiences, their experience quickly turned dangerous.
“Our audience had lost loved ones, some had relatives held hostage,” Karantinis told protothema.gr. “They cried listening to the zeibekiko.”
As the conflict escalated, Tel Aviv airport shut down, forcing the group to flee by taxi toward Jordan. Assisted by the Greek embassy in Amman, they crossed the border under tense conditions.
They flew to Larnaca with Royal Jordanian Airlines as Iron Dome systems intercepted Iranian missiles overhead.
From Cyprus, the artists returned safely to Athens.
Despite the ordeal, Karantinis remains committed to cultural outreach: “Music has no borders. What we offered was more than entertainment—it was emotional support. That’s the power of Greek music.”
