The gesture called Mountza, which is indeed simply showing your palm to somebody. Even if I come from a neighbouring country, I had never heard about the offensive meaning of this gesture.

While I was bargaining for a souvenir in street market, I tried to emphasise on the price I insited (15 Euros) via supporting it making a gesture, showing “five” using my my palm as below. I can’t forget the bewildered face of the vendor and later him getting involved in two other vendors’ laughters. I was clueless and trying to figure out what was going on (what was wrong with me) and the man explained me the historical background of the gesture. However, maybe everything happened just in a minute, my T-shirt was almost wet with sweat due to being disgraced and stressed at that moment.

Here is the explanation of Mountza .

At least, heavenly, I was also pre-informed about the meaning of “thumbs up” gesture in Athens , before ever performing it to show my appreciation for a tasty dish in a restaurant.