The first image of Sfaktiria surprises our vision. Its shape is totally unusual: a tongue of land, as elongated as a spear, with shorelines that are salted, steep and sharp. They stand proud and forbid the view of the open horizons of the Ionian Sea. This annoying obstacle to vision, however, is the permanent protector of Navarino Bay, the most effective natural breakwater against the winds of the sea: the pünende, the maestro, the garbi. Only the south wind has the privilege of entering freely and disturbing the calm of the bay. But even he, when he gets tired of the closeness, goes back out to sea, disguised as a north wind. Some such weather, north winds and south winds, are responsible for our failure in recent years to visit the Sfaktiria.

ISLAND “PYLOS”

–Today we are lucky, says our captain Takis. After so many days of turbulence the weather is booming, it will let us go to Sfaktiria.

We jump on “SANTINO”, a fast eleven-metre boat. We leave the port of Pylos in a W-SW direction. In the bend of the bay, off the southern end of Sfaktiria, is the little island of Pylos or Tsichli Baba or Fanari, unguarded and exposed to all weathers.

-We don’t come here without good weather, says the captain, as we approach the islet. But it’s the first, necessary stop before we continue on to the Sfaktiria. For at the top of Fanari is the French Monument.

Already the details of the micro-island are clearly visible. At its highest point and roughly in the centre, the white monument of the French is visible. A little to the north, the solid mass forms a narrow, wide opening in the open Ionian Sea.

-This hole is why we called it “Tripito”, explains Katerina, Takis’s sister and assistant on the cruise.

-And those two rocks, after Tripito, are called “Koutsounes”, explains Takis. The narrow passage, between Koutsounes and the “Kypri” cape of Sfaktiria, is the “Ares Channel”.

We observe the dangerous, trap-filled narrow passage with admiration. Through this “eye of the needle” the ship “Aris” of the navigator Tsamados managed to pass in an incredible way and escape on April 26, 1825. Earlier, Aris had caused great damage to the frigates and brigs of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet, which was besieging Nyokastro of Pylos. Already, however, our ship is already barking at the “Fanari” mole. A steep staircase with 134 steps harnesses the steep slope and takes us 40 meters above the surface of the sea, to the high points of the island. 20 metres away, the stunning marble monument of the French dominates. On the NE side of the monument overlooking Pylos, some phrases are beautifully carved in French in memory of the 185 Frenchmen who were wounded or killed on 20 October 1827 in the Battle of Navarino. It was then that the much smaller allied force of the English under Vice Admiral Codrington, the French under Vice Admiral Derigny and the Russians under Vice Admiral Hayden, consumed Ibrahim’s Turkish-Egyptian fleet. Yannis Biris mentions about the naval battle.

“From 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the cruel Battle of the Battleship, the losses were one-sided: 174 dead and 475 wounded from the Allied fleet with no ship losses. By contrast, Ottoman losses, according to Codrington, were 6,000 killed and 4,000 wounded, with 60 ships still ‘gracing the seabed on the east side of the Sphere to this day! The spectacle after the Battle was one of the rarest in history: 27 ships destroyed and 89 wrecked!”

The result of the Battle of the Battleship is certainly a brilliant moment in Modern Greek History, since it imposed the international recognition of the Greek State.

The Greeks celebrated the great victory at Navarino with rapture, as did the Philhellenes throughout Europe, especially in Petersburg and Paris. Some others, however, did not greet the outcome of the Battle of Navarino with the same feelings. Thus we read (2) that:  “On the contrary, in London the news was received with coldness, and the Wellington government described the naval battle as a ‘terrible event’, while public opinion was divided, because many felt that the blow against Turkey would open Russia’s way to the Mediterranean… Emperor Francis of Austria regarded the destruction of the Turkish-Egyptian fleet as “murder” and Metternich as the beginning of a reign of chaos. However, the number of articles in European newspapers is characteristic of the impact of the battle. Note that the largest island in the Land of Fire, now belonging to Chile, is called Navarino and that the Russians gave this name to a cape that closes Anantir Bay in the Bering Sea.”

The same reference to the French fallen sailors and soldiers, but in Greek, is inscribed in 1890 on the opposite, SW side of the monument. We are heading towards the southern part of the island. The terrain is stony, rough and gently sloping, dotted with scrubby schist and a few wild olive trees. Among them, trying in vain to raise their low trunks, are a few trees of rough pine. None of them are standing. All are leaning submissively to the fierce pelagic winds that many days a year sweep the small island. There’s a chubby wild rabbit darting from the bushes. It’s probably the island’s most massive permanent resident. There’s the ruined lighthouse further down, and a well-built well or cistern.

After about 200 metres we reach the southern end of the island. Return to the monument and take a smooth path in the opposite direction. After almost 150 metres we reach the northern end of the island. Just below, the “Ares Channel”, with its two hostile and dangerous Koutsounes, is looming impressively below. The landscape has a rare wildness to it, which will, in stormy conditions, become particularly dramatic.

THE SECRETS OF SFAKTIRIA

On board again, we set sail for Sfaktiria. After the southern cape of Kypri, the coastline becomes steep and rocky. Above the line of successive rocks the ground is literally taken over by such dense bushes and pine forests that we can barely make out the second monument among them. It is the one erected in 1959 in honour of the Greeks who died in the “Battle of Sfaktiria”, with the names of Sahinis, Anagnostaras and Tsamados.

The small pier with shallow waters does not guarantee the safe approach of the large vessel to the shore. So we continue further north and a few hundred meters later we come across the Monument of Santarosa. It is the marble column erected by the Italian state in memory of the great Italian philhellene Count Santarosa, who fought as a simple soldier named Derossi and lost his life on the side of the Greeks on April 26, 1825, in the Battle of the Sfaktiria. The monument with the figure of the philhellene and the relief statue of Victory with the laurel wreath on the wild rocks, just two metres above the surface of the water, is shocking. It is exactly here, where about 190 years ago, the lifeless body of the great but so passionate Philhellene Italian was found floating after the battle. His memory remains eternal, as does the gratitude of all Greeks.

We continue to sail along the rocky coastline. A little further up, like an unexpected parenthesis between the rocks, a small sandy beach with an opening of about 30 meters emerges. Above it are vertical rocks, the so-called “high rocks”. They are solid red-grey limestones at least 40 metres high. With proper preparation and marking, an ideal climbing area could be created on this historic island. Beneath the rocks the sea is completely uncontaminated, a huge natural pool of greenish-blue water, perfectly clear.

Salty, rocky ever shore, it continues in an almost straight line. A few minutes later we arrive at a large, manicured pier, roughly in the centre of the island. We come ashore. A wonderful cobbled lane, shaded by towering eucalyptus trees, leads us in a minute, first to the chapel of Analipsi (Ascension), with much external damage. According to C. Biris (op. cit.), it was built with the Liberation, on the site of an old Byzantine nave, which during the events of 1825 was used as a powder magazine. At the end of the battle, the Roumeliote fighter Kirtsalis took refuge there and like another Samuel was blown up together with his fellow fighters. Next to it is the Monument of the Russians, built by the Russian Queen Olga in 1872. Near it there is, since 1997, the Russian-style chapel of St. Nicholas, built from tree trunks. It was erected for the 170th anniversary of the Battle of Navarino, at the expense of the expatriate Tsakhov Michael, in cooperation with the Russian Embassy in Greece and the Municipality of Pylos.

After the monuments of the 19th century in Sfaktiria, it is time to look for the remnants of the ancient past of the island. We start from the Monument of the Russians in a southerly direction. At first the path is wide, grassy and shady, under eucalyptus, olive trees, olive trees, cherry trees, foliage, oleanders and cypresses. It is a true oasis. In 2 minutes we turn right uphill. Already we’re heading west-northwest. There’s a rather unusual black orchid and lots of wildflowers. On 28 March, spring in Sfaktiria is in full bloom.

As it climbs the path becomes stony but always pleasant and passable. Coming out of the forest vegetation, the horizon opens up, revealing at a distance of about 300-400 meters, the western coastline. It is completely rocky but almost flat, with no differences in altitude. The area of land between the coast and the shore is also flat. It is covered with scattered bushes and pine forest of rough pine.

Noon. The mercury is rising. We wonder what the conditions are like in summer. We are approaching the highest point of the Sfaktiria. Among the bushy vegetation we see the remains of the ancient fortification. The path becomes completely rocky, with a wall on the outer side. It seems to be part of the fortified enclosure of the ancient citadel of the island.

40 minutes after leaving the Russian Monument we are at the top of the Sfaktiria, at an altitude of 151 meters. It is a true bliss of sight. The view is magnificent, to the east across the vast bay of Navarino, to the south across the entire elongated body of the island and to the west across the vast horizon of the sea. The most spectacular picture, however, one of the most thrilling that our eyes have ever beheld in Greece, is low in the direction of the north. There our eyes are captivated by the stunning view of the narrow channel of Sykia, with its absolutely serene, shallow and clear waters (3). Just above it rises the steep hill with the walls of Paleokastro. Further back, the extensive Lagoon of Yalova and part of the perfect curve of the legendary Voidokilia stretch out. We feel literally captivated by the visual revelations of the Sfaktiria, not knowing what to gaze at first, photograph, admire. So, with a relaxed and pleasant 40-50 minute walk, we have the maximum privilege of being at one of the top viewing points in Greece (4).

We are looking at the long and quite smooth ground of the acropolis. This is enclosed by the fortified enclosure, or rather by its remains, which are preserved almost only at the foundation level. All of the above-ground masonry has collapsed into stone piles on the steep slopes. The site has great historical significance and is a reference point for the dramatic and – possibly – most humiliating defeat in the history of Sparta. It was during the Peloponnesian War, in 425 BC, when the Athenian general Demosthenes (5), with a force of Athenians and Messenians, blockaded the island. Thus began the siege of the 420 fortified Spartans, who were later forced to surrender and be taken prisoner.

We return from the acropolis to the pier at a brisk pace in exactly 25 minutes. There we find Katerina and Takis again. We are already setting off for the Monument of the English on the little island of Chelonaki or Chelonisi, which is located in the centre of the bay of Navarino. The lilliputian rocky island, with a sparkle at the southern end, does not exceed a height of 4-5 meters from the water surface. On its scant soil grow a few pines, olive trees and grills, all twisted by the winds. We jump on the comfortable mola and in half a minute we reach the English Monument. It’s marble, embedded in a large grey and white rock, and reports: “To the English officers and sailors who died at Navarino on October 20, 1827”. The inscription ends with the phrase: ‘GREECE EVGNOMONOUSA’ (trans.: Greece is grateful).

4 hours after our morning departure we are back in the port of Pylos. There are so many, fascinating and varied images that have passed through our eyes that we have the feeling that we have spent much more time at the Navarino Monuments.

NOTES:

1. ‘LAND, GATE, METHANE’ ATHENS 2005
2. Encyclopaedia ‘PAPYROS, LAROUSSE BRITANNICA, volume 38, p.272
3. The channel of Sykia separates Sfaktiria from the opposite Cape Korifasio. Its maximum width is 150 metres and it is not navigable for large ships. As C. This mouth of the bay of Navarino was rendered useless by the laying of damaged ships and other materials by Ulutz Ali after the Battle of Nafpaktos in 1571. Thus, the bay of Navarino has since then had only one entrance, from the southern end of the Sfaktiria
4. Unfortunately, very few visitors take advantage of this opportunity, as most are content with a short and uncrowded walk from the easily accessible monuments of the Sfaktiria.
5. General Demosthenes was born in 457 BC. He became one of the most skilled military leaders of the Peloponnesian War and was the grandfather of the famous orator Demosthenes