We are inextricably linked to the Peloponnese. In our many years of touring we have travelled countless kilometres on roads and paths, in the countryside and in cities, in plains and mountains, beaches and small islands, famous caves, great archaeological sites and traditional settlements.But no matter how much we feel the huge body of the Peloponnese, we always discover hidden corners, hidden treasures. Or, again, we feel the greatest happiness to see beautiful places, beloved from the past. Like this spring, in the southern edges of Messinia and Laconia.

Coasts of Laconia and Messinia

As the altimeter readings continue to rise, we feel more and more immersed in the inner soul of the Taygetos. At some point the altimeter stabilizes at 1,260 meters. We are already at the highest point, at the neck of the legendary mountain route which, until a few years ago, was the main road connecting Kalamata with Sparta. This is where the tavern “Taygetos” is located. It is the ideal spot for a relaxing, tasty stop, before we take the downhill to Kalamata and complete our seven-day tour of the southern coast of the Peloponnese. We inhale deeply the light, ethereal air of Taygetos, scented with unseen herbs, resinous fir and pine trees. We quench our thirst with the crystal clear water of the stone fountain. With this water and not with alcohol we accompany the tomato salad with plenty of oil, the spicy Taygetou feta cheese and the salted pork that Kostas puts on our table.

Two hours later, from the highlands of the mountain we are at sea level, at the small, “family” airport of Kalamata. It is dedicated to the memory of the pioneering visionary – investor of the place, the captain Vassilis Konstantakopoulos. As if no time had passed since last Monday afternoon, on 13 May, when we landed at the same airport on a direct flight from Thessaloniki’s Macedonia airport.

In the city of Kalamata

In the spring of 2006 – 13 years ago – our friend and colleague Mary Belogianni (1), had written an excellent article about Kalamata, which was published in issue 50 of the magazine. In the subtitle of the article, she described Kalamata as a “City to live in”. We see this from the first minutes of entering the city as we are surprised to find that 9 out of 10 – or is it 10 out of 10? – drivers stop their cars, while a pedestrian is simply expressing his intention to cross a street vertically (2).

This attitude towards pedestrians extends to the overall driving behaviour of Kalamatian drivers, which hardly resembles the competitive and almost neurotic way of driving that generally prevails on the roads of Greece. This is helped by the excellent road layout, with the Hippodamian System (3) in force in most of the city centre.

Even more tranquillity and pleasure is obtained by walking on the wide, pedestrian-friendly pavements, sometimes on long, central streets, and sometimes on narrow streets, which as a rule cut vertically through the major roads. In these streets we discover many charming details, with a variety of small shops that have stood the test of time since the middle – or even earlier – of the last century.

It is impossible to resist the charm of one such small shop, the traditional coffee shop ‘Spinos‘, which has existed in Kalamata since 1926! With five different blends of its own composition, intensity and aroma, Spinos, with its extremely friendly and polite staff, is a reference point for every Greek – and not only – coffee enthusiast. And the white, thick cups with the logo and the brilliantly imprinted, colourful finch, are the most beautiful timeless memory of this iconic coffee shop at 5 Germanou Street.

Attractive is the scent of the coffee roasting in the premises and the blossom owl, at 7 Valaoritou Street, a place of excellent aesthetics, much younger than Spinos but with breakfast and dessert proposals that can tempt even the most restrained.

Two iconic all day cafe restaurant bars, “Bistroteca” and “Platea“, dominate King George Square. With the impressive exterior of the buildings, the refinement and elegance of the interiors and the high quality of the products and services offered, these two businesses of Kalamata could stand worthy of the most famous capitals of Europe.

We could not leave out the historical family business of pastry “Athanasiou“, which has been operating since 1938. We leave the impressive buildings, the glittering shop windows and avenues and head northwards to the “Historic Centre” of the city.

As the long Aristomenes Street (4) reaches its end, the symmetry and geometric discipline of the intersecting horizontal and vertical streets disappears – as if by magic. Already, a sweet anarchy is beginning to prevail in the building fabric of the city, a picturesque crowding of alleys, squares, dead ends and narrow streets. Among them, competing for a good place in the neighbourhood, are hovels, small shops selling various products, traditional family businesses that still survive from the last century, from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

A dominant position in the business activity of the Historical Centre is occupied by all those shops that have flooded Greek cities in recent years: young bars and cafes, tsipouradika, taverns and tavernas, offering home cooking or a quick meal of pita, souvlaki and gyros. Tickling smells pour from everywhere, how can you resist!

Ideal stopping points for a cool beer and gyro are the shops with outdoor tables, spread out on the 23rd of March square. It is a historic date for Kalamata, since on that day, in 1821, Kalamata was the first Greek city to be liberated from the Turks, with the entrance of the top chieftains Kolokotronis, Nikitaras, Petrobeis Mavromichalis and Papaflesas.

In this square, in front of the Church of the Holy Apostles, (5) the priests blessed the flags of the fighters. A few hundred metres further on, at the end of Ypapanti Street and always in the Historical Centre, the Church of Ypapanti of the Saviour dominates with its imposing architecture. Its architectural type belongs to the cruciform inscribed church with a large-sized dome, narthex and double bell tower. It was founded in 1860 and consecrated in 1873, very close to where, until 1770, the old church stood.

In its ruins was found, according to tradition, the famous icon of Ypapanti. The church celebrates on 2 February with a procession of the icon, which has been held every year since 1889.

An important peculiarity in the square of the church are the marble busts of eight Metropolitans of Messinia, from the oldest Joseph (1833-1844) to the last Chrysostomos Themelis (1965-2007). Finally, the interior of the church is equally impressive.

Another monument dominates a little higher than the Church of Ypapanti. It is the Castle of Kalamata, at the top of the rocky pine-clad hill. Its long history dates back to 1500 BC, with the ancient citadel and the city of Farai, founded by the mythological hero Faris. In the years that followed, the castle was successively occupied by the Byzantines, the Franks, the Knights of Navarre, the Venetians and the Turks, until it was finally deserted in 1715.

Already, after a short time, we find the wide concrete bed, with the rapid flow of the Nedon River (6). We come out again at the beginning of the great street of Hypapanti. Here, at the suggestion of local friends, we find the café/small-plates tavern “The Thiasos“. In the warm afternoon we are greeted by two old plane trees, with round iron tables and wicker chairs on the paved floor, in the shade.

The tavern dates back to 1914 (!), as do the two plane trees, planted by the great-grandfather. We find the perfect little table, on the rota of the cool stream coming down from the castle. We take a look at the patrons, Greeks and foreigners alike. They are all smiling, chatting animatedly, looking happy. Equally smiling and extroverted are the two young owners of the shop.

-A nice lady sent us here, Anna tells them. She even said that if we sit down, potatoes and pork chops will be brought to the table.

-If you order it, it will come, they reply, laughing.

The “gourounopoula” arrives with meat that melts in the mouth and a skin that is browned and crispy, the most delicious we have ever tasted. Equally amazing are the Kalamatian baked potatoes and the local tomato, in plenty of oil, of unparalleled taste and fragrance. The latter flavours have increased sugars, they are oenomelo and semolina halva, both delicious.

In the Historic Centre we don’t have time to discover images from the old days: “Kastoras” (Beaver) tavern from 1923, and next to it the “Koudounis” tavern from 1920, almost century-old businesses, from generation to generation. In the souvlaki “Tzimis” eyes wander through the old advertisements. Here’s a commercial from 1898, while the oldest is the beer “Mamos” from 1876.

On the evening of the same day, the “Thiasos” is again at the centre of our interest for reasons not mainly gastronomic but “music and acoustic”. As it is Tuesday – as well as on Sunday evenings -, live rebetiko music is featured in the theatre. It is a small ensemble: guitar, bouzouki, violin and three voices, one female and two male. White organic Chardonnay, “sfela” (7) saganaki and tomato and musical moments of rebetiko, melodic, that fill us with nostalgia for an authentic era that has been definitively lost.

The visitor can spend hours pleasantly strolling around the city of Kalamata, in the friendly streets, squares and alleys. One point of the city, particularly attractive for pedestrians, but also for the whole family is – undoubtedly – the Municipal Railway Open-Air Park. It can be found at the end of Aristomenes Street, where the Fallen Firemen’s Memorial and the one-way street Plato’s Street are located. Already, at the entrance of the Park, we are impressed by the exceptional sculptural creation of the renowned sculptor Theo Papagiannis, a statue with two oversized figures made of grey-white solid marble (8). Facing south, in the direction of the sea, we start a pleasant walk along the pedestrian streets of the Park. It is a flat, parallelogram area of 54 acres, which was the site of the railway station “Kalamata Limin“. Today it is the only open-air museum of its kind in Greece, known to many railway enthusiasts around the world.

The park was initiated by the Municipality of Kalamata and was inaugurated in 1986 but, due to the earthquake in September of the same year, it was not opened until 1990. We find a wide variety of shade trees and shrubs, grass, benches, playground, volleyball and basketball courts, Messinian Amateur Theatre, Elementary School with loud children.

During our walk, the Park’s exhibits are gradually paraded: a railway line with switching keys and lanterns, two dreadnoughts (9), a manual crane of 1890, four boarding platforms, a water tower, three steam carriages with steering wheels, a 28-metre-long metal footbridge. The dominant features are seven steam wagons from the 1885 period and, a diesel locomotive, three first-class passenger cars, five first- and second-class cars from 1885, and eight freight cars of various types from 1885 to 1947. Not missing, of course, is the restored two-storey station house with its traditional architecture, which serves as a refreshment room on the ground floor. A very pleasant surprise is the coincidental opening, these days, of the annual flower show, which is held every May and lasts for 10 days.

Crossing this feast of colours and aromas we exit the Railway Park and very quickly reach the port. In front of us, as far as the edge of the horizon, stretches the blue vastness of the Messinian Gulf. To the east is a gentle coastline of about two and a half kilometres, with sand and pebbles, which forms the beach of Kalamata, the popular, mainly summer part of the city, with countless places of entertainment and catering. I don’t know of many cities in Greece that offer their residents the privilege of swimming, two steps from their homes, in such wonderful waters.

West of the harbour are the extensive facilities of the marina of Kalamata, with hundreds of fishing and pleasure boats and several tasty haunts dotted around the waterfront. After the Marina and the built environment, nature takes the baton, with the picturesque sandy beach, home to the narrow mouth of the Nedon estuary. We could say a lot more about the city of Kalamata, its Museums, the 5th International Documentary Festival and – most importantly – the Kalamata International Dance Festival, which this year, from 19 to 28 July, celebrates its 25th anniversary. In the end, whatever we say about Kalamata, we will end up with the words of Mary Belogianni: “Kalamata is a city to live in”.

Tour in Messinia 

With Kalamata as our ideal base, we’re putting together a plan of targeted excursions in the southern part of Messinia that will reveal the incredible touring possibilities of this place. A place that can fascinate, move, fascinate to the highest degree even the most demanding traveler.

We decide to follow a circular route, first north and then west, south and east, until our return to Kalamata. Our first stop is Ancient Messini, next to the present-day village of Mavrommati.

Messini was founded at the foot of Mount Ithomi, in the winter of 370 BC, by the Theban general Epaminondas, after his victory over the Spartans at the battle of Leuctra. The city was named after the mythical queen Messene, daughter of the king of Argos, Triopas. Its main settlers were fugitive Messenians who had scattered to various places after the Messenian Wars. The Goths of Alaric and Slavic populations followed, while the city, as a large settlement, continued to exist until the Late Middle Ages.

An amazing wall, with a perimeter of 9 kilometres, surrounds the city which, already in the time of Pausanias, was entirely stone-built. At regular intervals it is reinforced by two-storey square and round towers. It had two monumental gates, the ‘Laconian‘, which has not survived, and the ‘Arcadian‘, on the north-western side of the fortified enclosure. On either side of the gate, the wall is in very good condition, with massive carved brackets reaching up to the ramparts. This masonry was admired and described by the traveller Pausanias when he visited the city in the 2nd century AD.

In 1831 the first, limited excavations were started by a French mission and continued by the Hellenic Archaeological Society, with the most famous excavator being Academician Anastasios Orlandos. Since 1986 until today, the soul of the excavations and the general promotion of Ancient Messina is Professor Petros Themelis.

In the large archaeological site we admire the Asclepieion, the Theatre, the sanctuary of Isis and Sarapis, the sanctuary of Zeus the Savior, the Fountain of Arsinoe, the Gymnasium and the Stadium. We end up in the small but remarkable Museum. When we leave the place we are fully convinced of the importance and glory of the ancient city.

We return to the small town of modern Messini and then head west. We go to meet another monument, this time of nature. It is the complex of lakes and waterfalls that develops between the mountains “Lykodimos” (960 m) and “Maglavas” (712 m). It is, of course, the famous “Polylimnio Haravgis“. Known only to the locals a few years ago, it later became famous and beloved not only in Messinia but also outside the borders of the Peloponnese and Greece. We were lucky enough to meet Polylimnio in its first still hesitant steps on the… red carpet of publicity. It was the summer of 2003 and our Kalamatian friend Takis Katsiras was sure that the Elliniko Panorama Magazine would not resist the charm of an unknown gorge, endowed by nature with successive waterfalls, lush vegetation, small lakes with crystal clear waters. He was not wrong. Our acquaintance with Polylimnio was for us a real ‘aquatic revelation’ (10).

Today, 16 years later, our footsteps bring us back as pilgrims to Polilimnios, which once again enchants us with its exuberant beauty. A pleasant surprise is the improvement of some of the infrastructure in the area, such as the access road and the parking area. Very important for visitors is the operation – in recent years – of the tavern “Kataraktis” (Waterfall), as well as the wonderful wooden refreshment room, strategically located before the gorge.

After the magnificent nature of Polylimnio we head northwest to meet a monumental, though ruined, building complex of the distant past, known as the Palace of Nestor. It is believed to have been built in the 13th century by King Nestor.

The palace is located at the top of the hill of Epano Eglianos, at an altitude of 150 meters and occupies an area of 170 x 90 meters.  Excavations by Carl Bleggen in 1939 and from 1952 to 1964 brought to light some 1,000 Linear B tablets (11), as well as many artistic objects dating from 1300 BC. Impressive is the steel canopy that covers the entire palace and allows us – through the elevated metal walkways – to get a complete floor plan of the palace rooms. We do not fail to visit the archaeological museum of Chora from which – unfortunately – for security reasons, the famous gold objects that have been found have been removed.

We descend from the Palace of Nestor and the mainland and, very quickly, we reach the western coast of Messinia. It is not an ordinary place. It contains – and in fact successively – one after another, some of the most stunning sights, geophysical and historical. And first the unique Voidokilia, the world-famous for its all-round shape of the beach, which strongly resembles the capital greek letter “Ω“. This aquatic, huge natural Ω is usually calm, sheltered from almost all weather. The only communication between Voidokilia and the open waters of the Ionian Sea is the narrow channel to the west.

A narrow strip of dunes is the boundary between Voidokilia and the adjacent, peaceful lagoon of Yalova. Covering an area of 6,000 hectares, the lagoon, also known as “Divari”, is a very important wetland, as it is the first stopover for migratory birds during their long journey from Africa.

Mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish are the permanent inhabitants of the wetland. The most important, however, and particularly rare and endangered bushman is the African chameleon (12), a harmless and lovable reptile that we have had the extraordinary good fortune – once and only once so far – to encounter and photograph. The top view of Voidokilia, that incredible floor plan that is famous the world over, exists in a single spot in this area. It is the Paleokastro Navarino, which from an altitude of 135 meters, overlooks the great curve of Voidokilia in a dominant and total way. Here, at the top of the Koryfasios Peninsula, there was in classical antiquity, the Acropolis of ancient Pylos, where in 425 BC Demosthenes fortified himself in the winning war against the Spartans. Around the 6th century AD the castle was occupied by the Avars, from whom the name “Navarino” was derived. In its present form, of course, the impressive Messinian castle was built in 1278 by the Flemish Nicholas II St. Omer.

It takes us no more than an hour to cover the route to the castle, first through sand dunes and then uphill to the ramparts. A shorter, circular route leads us again to the sandy beaches of Voidokilia. If we continue moving from the southern end of the Koryfasi Peninsula inland along the coastline, we will find ourselves on the extensive sandy beach of the bay of Navarino. Observing its circular shape, we find that it resembles a much enlarged Voidokilia.

The Bay of Navarino is inextricably linked to the famous Battle of Navarino. It was 20 October 1827 when the much smaller Allied naval force of 27 ships, the English with Codrington, the French with Derigny and the Russians with Hayden, overwhelmed Ibrahim’s 89-ship Turkish-Egyptian fleet. By 6 p.m. it was all over, the Allied loss was 654 dead, and the Turkish-Egyptian loss 6,000, including 60 ships that ended up forever at the bottom of the sea, east of the steep island of Sfactoria. This was the last major naval battle in history to be fought entirely with sailing ships. It is also worth noting that never before in a sailing ship battle have so many ships been found clashing in such a confined space, with such firepower.

Although the Battle of Navarino was not the last conflict of the Greek Revolution (13), it was the one that marked the beginning of the independence of Greece from the Turks. And it is truly a unique experience to be able today, 190 years later, to visit by boat the steep rocky islets and the island of Sfaktiria and to pay tribute and gratitude to the monuments of the fallen English, French and Russians.

Equally fascinating is the experience of crossing the elongated ridge of Sfaktiria, with a slightly uphill walk that, after about 45 minutes, will take us to the northernmost tip, the top of the island. There, in the ancient Acropolis, of which only the remains survive, were fortified in 425 BC by 420 Spartans who, after a siege, surrendered to the Athenian general Demosthenes. The view from this extreme point of the Sfaktiria towards the opposite Paleokastro, Yalova, Voidokilia and the spectacular channel of Sykia is, quite simply, breathtaking.

Methoni Castle and Sapienza Island

We leave behind us the peaceful vastness of the enclosed bay of Navarino and, after almost 12 kilometres, we reach the southwesternmost tip of Messinian land. Here dominates the “amphithalassos” Methoni, where the waves of the Ionian and the Aegean meet.

A point of reference for the state of Methoni is its castle, whose fortification is one of the best preserved in the Mediterranean. The city’s history, from antiquity to the Turkish occupation, is very important. Spartans in the late 8th century BC, Macedonians of Philip II in 338 BC and then the Achaean League and the Romans. A period of prosperity during the Byzantine years and later the Venetians, who fortified it with its mighty castle and turned it into an important commercial centre. In 1500 the city fell to the Turks, in 1686 it was captured by the Venetian admiral Morosini, and in 1715 it was again under Ottoman rule. In 1825 Ibrahim established his headquarters in Methoni, and in 1829 General Maizon finally liberated it, along with other cities in the Peloponnese that were subject to the Turks.

But if Methoni is of great historical interest, the opposite, uninhabited island of Sapienza is of equal interest, both from a naturalistic and ecological point of view. We wrote in issue 35 of September October 2003: ‘From the first moment of our arrival in Methoni, we have been struck – just a mile away – by the folds of the terrain, the verdant slopes, the contours of the mountain range with its peaks and ridges, the rocky coastline of Sapienza’ (14).

But how did the name Sapienza come about and what does it mean? First of all, the name Sapienza is of Italian origin and means “Wisdom”. Since ancient times, a phrase, an exhortation to sailors who sailed the seas of Sapienza, was known in the region: “to sail wisely, with wisdom”. (Navigare con Sapientze). This admonition was perfectly justified because ‘unpredictable currents, strong currents, treacherous reefs and shoals were the dangerous enemies of the ships which, since ancient times, have attempted to sail the waters of Sapienza. Thus, many shipwrecks have occurred since ancient times and – in calm conditions – are visible from the surface, scattered on the seabed’.

One of the wrecks contained the columns from the great peristyle built by Herod in Caesarea, Palestine, in the 1st century AD, while another contains important Roman sarcophagi. South-west of Sapienza is the deepest point in the Mediterranean known as the ‘Trench’ or ‘Oinousses Fresco’ at a depth of 5,121 m (15).

There are many peculiarities of the island. To discover them, it is necessary to spend some time and hiking effort in selected parts of Sapienza. Thus, if we disembark at Porto Loggo, in the south of the island, we can cover in almost 30 minutes the uphill and – in places – rough path of about 1,500 metres to Faros, at the southern end of the island.

The lighthouse was built in 1885 by English technicians at the request of Queen Victoria of England. It is an octagonal building with an excellent masonry of chiselled spines, with a tower height of 8 metres and a focal height, i.e. height from the sea level, of 110 metres. Until 1989 the lighthouse was manned by lighthouse keepers, its mirrors were illuminated by asbestos lamps and its range was up to 50 miles! After 1989 the mechanism became automatic, powered by solar cells, and its beam was limited to 27 miles. Another peculiarity of the island is its evergreen broad-leaved vegetation (16). Such species include holly, phylloxera, chicory, wild olive and holly. In Sapienza they have grown to such a density and height that they form a High Virgin Forest, in which the foliage and bushes are more than 12 metres high! This forest, which covers an area of 240 hectares and is unique in the Greek islands, was declared a “Monument of Nature” in 1986.

A very spectacular, unusual and – definitely – unique natural detail, next to the Koumaria Forest, is the “Spartolakka”.  It is a flat area of about 20 acres, completely bare of vegetation and with a very characteristic reddish-brick colour. According to the researchers, the dry and hard crust of the soil is due to huge amounts of pollen, which have accumulated over thousands of years in this area.

The permanent residents of the island – uninhabited by humans – are of great ecological and aesthetic interest. They are the beautiful, tame and three-legged mammals of Sapienza: the Cretan goat (Capra aegagrus creticus), which was introduced to Sapienza from Crete, and the wild sheep “Muflon” (Ovis ammon), considered one of the two ancestors of all modern domesticated sheep. These magnificent animals we are lucky enough to meet and photograph in various parts of the island.

An extremely pleasant surprise that Sapienza has in store for us, as a reward for the hiking trails, is the beach “Ammos”. It is a lilliputian cove at the northernmost tip of the island with fine white sandy beaches and turquoise waters of exotic beauty. In this paradisiacal environment, it is not unusual to see some Mufflons with their beautiful young, which emerge from the dense vegetation and, after some hesitation, come quite close to us.

The last peculiarity of the island, a few minutes north of Ammos, is a ruined building, lost in the dense bush vegetation. Its low-lying masonry, with its interspersed bricks, refers to a building of the Byzantine era.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that Sapienza is the second largest island, after Schiza, of the so-called “Messinian Oinousses” complex, which also includes Venetiko, Agia Mariani and the rocky islets of Dyo Aderfia, Bomba and Avgo, eight in total.

In historic Koroni

We reluctantly abandon the turquoise paradise of Sapienza and head back to the southern coast of Messinia. Our next destination in the east is the historic Koroni. We come across the impressive township at the edge of the sharp promontory, located at the westernmost point, at the entrance to the Messinian Gulf. A narrow downhill road leads us to the harbour, where the small houses of the picturesque settlement are built amphitheatrically.

All along the beach there are cafes, tavernas and ouzeri with many fish delicacies, a real pole of culinary attraction, relaxation and recreation for locals and foreign visitors.

Taking the uphill and narrow streets from the end of the waterfront, we quickly reach the Castle. If we look back in the history of Koroni, we will find in its place the Ancient Assini, which was protected by a strong citadel. It was one of the 7 cities that Agamemnon had offered to Achilles in an attempt to appease his anger.

The fortification of Assini was reinforced by the Byzantines in the 6th – 7th century AD. During that period, the inhabitants of early Byzantine Koroni, located in what is now Petalidi, abandoned it because of the raids and took refuge in the Acropolis of Assini, which was renamed Koroni. Since then Koroni, like the whole of the Peloponnese, has experienced a turbulent historical period, the main feature of which is the succession of various conquerors. Thus, in 1205 it was subject to the Franks and the Principality of Achaia, while in 1209 it was ceded to the Venetians.

At the end of the 13th century the consolidation of the castle was completed, and in 1500 it was occupied by the Turks. The adventures of Koroni continue at a rapid pace: in 1532 it is occupied by the Christian forces of Andrea Doria, in 1534 it falls again to the Turks, in 1685 the Venetians dominate and in 1715 the Turks return. In 1828 the city was liberated by the French Maizon.

Walking around the interior of the castle we find some small houses that are still inhabited, unlike the vast majority of castles that have no trace of life. From the ramparts we look out over the sea. We visit the churches that still survive. The oldest is the 7th century Byzantine three-aisled basilica of Agia Sophia, near it is the church of Agios Charalambos, which was originally a Catholic church dedicated to St. Rocco, later converted into an Ottoman mosque and in more recent times into an Orthodox church. Finally, at the western end of the castle, there is the Monastery of Timios Prodromos, an early Roman Catholic monastery founded in the early 20th century.

Taste of Mani – South Laconia

Our tour of the southern part of Messinia, west of the city of Kalamata, comes to an end. Within a few days an unexpected, yet fascinating sequence of sights has been recorded, claiming a special place in our memories. Stunning natural environments, archaeological sites and historic castles, incredible beaches, ecosystems and islands have impressed us with their uniqueness, historical significance and dazzling beauty. The legendary Mani, followed by southern Laconia.

Kardamili: Capital of West or Exo Mani

As we leave the city of Kalamata and head south, the road network changes visibly: it crosses continuous residential areas, follows successive closed bends and, worst of all, narrows dramatically. We are not complaining, we are in Mani, we accept it stoically.

To the east, the backbone of Taygetos, an impenetrable rock wall that nature has erected from north to south, with successive peaks exceeding 2,000 metres, looks down on us from its heights. Their peak is St. Ilias, the legendary ‘Pyramid’ of Taygetos, at 2,405 m.

In the west, our gaze is soothed, the tension from the roughness of the peaks gives way to relaxation, to the marine reverberation.We pass by beautiful places with dense vegetation and stone settlements, the Tower of Kapetanakis, the “Kampos” of Avia with the impressive Byzantine church of Agioi Theodoroi, the Tower of Koumoundouros and the Castle of Zarnata. And yet, hard limestone landscape, rugged ridges and dry stone walls, a face of Mani rough but familiar and authentic.From every point it exudes the soul of Mani, its inert course through the centuries.With a winding route of 35 kilometres, which we cover in an hour, we reach the hills and gaze down at the magnificent view of Kardamili.A true noble city, the capital of the Western Mani is first mentioned in Homer’s Iliad under the name “Kardamili”. Strolling through the streets and alleys, we admire the masonry of the houses with the hewn stone and the marble carved fours of the balconies, excellent examples of Mani architecture.

Then we leave the traffic of the city and in a few minutes we are in the Old Kardamili. It is a fortified complex of tower houses, built around the amazingly architectural church of Agios Spyridon of the 18th century. This is where Theodoros Kolokotronis was on March 22, 1821, when he started the liberation struggle with 2,500 Maniates.

Today, a part of the complex has been transformed into the small hotel “Pierides”, while from the courtyard, from the tables of the cafe restaurant “Old Kardamili”, we can gaze at a beautiful view of the old and new town.

As we leave Kardamili heading south, we do not fail to turn our gaze to the desert island “Meropi” and “Kalamitsi” as a tribute to the famous British writer Patrick Lee Fermor, who lived for many years and died in 2011, in the magnificent house he built there.

We penetrate deeper and deeper into the Mani after Kardamili. Every settlement, every place is worth a short or long tour. We pass close by the coastal settlements of Stoupa and Agios Nikolaos, we meet the designated “traditional settlements”, “Thalames” and “Lagada”, we admire the frequently preserved War Towers and Towers, so representative of Mani’s tradition and architecture. Impressive for their architecture and frescoes are the numerous Byzantine churches, built in the 11th and 12th centuries and later. Perhaps only on the island of Naxos have we come across such a dense and remarkable presence of Byzantine churches.

Just below Agios Nikonas, the last village of the Messinian Mani, we enter the territory of the Laconian Mani. It is not long before we reach the beautiful Oitylo, an ancient town overlooking the spectacular bay of Limenio. South of Oitylos, at the southernmost end of the Taygetos mountain range, the Castle of Kelefas dominates at an altitude of 243 metres.

One hour after our departure from Kardamili we arrive in Areopolis, the historical seat of Laconia or Mesa Mani (17). Areopolis is the home of the Mavromichalaians and has been declared a listed settlement. It was here that the first armed groups gathered, raising the flag of the Revolution on 17 March 1821, earlier than any other town. That emblematic flag of Areopolis, white with various national symbols, has been preserved and is on display at the National Historical Museum of Athens.

Cave of Vlychada Diros

Only ten kilometres separate us from the Vlychada Diros Cave, ‘The unseen splendour of Mani’, as the great caveologist and photographer George Avagianos describes it (18). According to Avagianos, three caves are considered by the World Speleological Society to be the most beautiful in the world: the ‘Lecugila’ cave in Mexico, the new parts of the ‘Frasassi’ cave in Italy and the cave of Diros. The entrance to the cave is located in the southern part of the adulterous cove of Diros. In fact, the cave was formed hundreds of thousands of years ago in the underground bed of the river Vlychada or Glyfada, which flows into the sea. Most of the cave is covered by brackish water at a constant temperature of 14o Celsius, while the air temperature ranges from 16o to 19o C.

The first to discover the cave was the local Petros Arapakis, in 1898. However, its systematic study began in 1949 by the legendary caveologists Ioannis and Anna Petrochilou. By 1960, 1,600 meters had been explored and mapped, while today 14,700 meters of routes have been mapped.

The doors of the cave were first opened to visitors in 1967. Of the 1,500 metres of the tourist route, 1,200 are lake-based with a duration of 25 minutes and the rest are done on land with a duration of 15 minutes. The maximum depth of the cave reaches 80 m at a point off the tourist route. Stalactites have been found at a depth of 71 m below the water surface, formed many thousands of years ago when the sea level was much lower than the present level.

It is worth mentioning that very important are the fossilized animal bones that have been found in the cave from panther, hyena, lion deer, skunk and the largest concentration of hippopotamus bones in Europe. Visiting the Diros cave is a fascinating experience, no matter how many times you visit. To try to describe either the impression of seeing or the overall feeling is very difficult not only in words but also in pictures.

In the territory of Laconia: Gythio – Elaia – Neapolis

A crossing of the Mani Peninsula from Areopolis to the E – NE leads us, 25 km later, to the administrative seat of Eastern Mani, Gythio. It is built amphitheatrically with houses of fine architecture, on the eastern foothills of Mount Laryssio. It is the main port of the Laconian Gulf and the second in the southern Peloponnese after Kalamata. As a place name, Gythio appears in the 5th century BC, while the islet of Kranai is ancient, with the homonymous octagonal lighthouse connected to the mainland by a small pier.

At a distance of 40 km E of Gythio we meet the coastal Elaia. Stop at the beautiful liliputian beach of Viandynia for a relaxing swim and tsipouro in the shade. We are already heading south towards our second base after Kalamata, Neapolis.

Neapolis of Voies, also known by the local name “Vatika”, was once the seat of the Municipality of Voies, while now, with the Kallikrates program, it belongs to the Municipality of Monemvasia with its capital in Molaios.

Voies was an ancient city created between 1,050 and 950 BC by Heraclides Voias. As a commercial port it flourished in Roman times and later declined. Subsequently, various settlements appeared, which, in a corruption of the word Voiatika, took the name Vatika. The present town, which is the southernmost in mainland Greece, was designed in 1837 by the Bavarian architect Birmach, who also designed Karystos and Sparta.

The maritime state welcomes us in the light of the sunset. In the bay of Neapolis the sky is reflected in calm waters. It’s time for a relaxing stroll along the waterfront and the harbour, the little shops lined up, the brass statue of the Vatikiotis Thalassinos. Very close, to the west, the gentle outline of Elafonisos is outlined, while offshore in the sea, the great bulk of Kythera dominates the horizon.

In the evening we leave the attractions of the sea and move to the mainland to experience the attractions of taste. In the picturesque, semi-mountainous settlement of Agios Nikolaos, at an altitude of 200 meters, the “Neraida” (Fairy) awaits us. It is the famous tavern of our good friends Pantelis Meimetis and Antonis Damianakis. Here one does not know what to admire: the cool, wonderful environment, the warm hospitality and care or the exquisite dishes and desserts that exude taste, culinary art, pure local raw materials and authentic flavours. In all the years that we have known Neraida, all those characteristics that have established it as a high quality gastronomic reference point in the region remain unchanged.

From Neapolis to Monemvasia

Waking up in “Limira Mare”, here on the southern coast, is, for the city dweller, the ideal start of the day. With its superb location on the waterfront, the inspired architecture, the well-tended colourful gardens and the unique view of Kythera, Elafonisos and the sea, Limira Mare has been the emblematic hotel of Neapolis and the southernmost tip of Laconia for decades. The level of service is remarkable, including the excellent buffet in the beautiful breakfast room.

Today’s destination is a historic place, the legendary castle town of Monemvasia. A new, much shorter and highly scenic route leads us in less than 50 minutes to the roots of the famous “Rock”. A huge limestone rock, 1.5 km long, 600 m wide and 200 m high, which stands lonely and proud, a wild oddity of nature, opposite the gentle shores of the “Bridge”.  From this coastline the rock was cut off – in the recent geological past – and formed an island. Today, with the 130-metre-long bridge connecting it to the opposite coast, the rock of Monemvasia has the appearance of a peninsula.

This narrow strip of land is the only land access to the rock, the “Moni Emvasis”.  It is from these two Greek words, after all, that the compound word ‘Monemvasia’ (19) is derived. From wherever one observes the rock, the view is awe-inspiring and, by analogy, evokes the Rock of Gibraltar. It is therefore no coincidence that it has been nicknamed ‘Gibraltar of the East’. If we wanted to trace Monemvasia’s ancient past, we would find it in the descriptions of the traveller Pausanias and the geographer Strabo, who refer to it as ‘Acra Minoa’ and ‘Fortress Minoa’.

Of great touristic and hiking interest is the path that is carved into the roots of the rock, on the circular coastline.  Its starting point is at the beginning of the peninsula, above the western rocky coast. Then the path, with imperceptible altitudinal variations, moves in an easterly direction, a few metres above sea level. Very quickly, an impressive Byzantine cistern is encountered and later some stretches of rocky path that present a relative difficulty of access.

At a leisurely pace, shorter than an hour, we pass by an imposing lighthouse, built with chipped stone in 1896. Five minutes after the lighthouse we enter the eastern gate of the castle, completing our very nice circular route.

Equally fascinating is our leisurely stroll within the walls, along the labyrinthine cobbled streets with their uphill and downhill paths, the picturesque little shops, taverns and cafes. Many of them, with their excellent balconies, offer a wonderful view of the sea, the pale yellow walls of the traditional buildings and the corrugated tiled roofs.

The most important Byzantine monument in the Lower Town is the Church of Elkonenos Christ, which dates back to the 12th century and owes its name to the famous icon of “Elkonenos Christ”. The present church was founded on the same site in 1697, while the new icon, dating from around 1700, is a work of exceptional quality and value. A much more impressive ecclesiastical architectural monument, dating from the 12th century, is the church of Agia Sophia in the Upper Town. It is an octagonal dome-shaped church with annexes on the south side which, until 1821, was dedicated to the Virgin Mary Odigitria. After the Revolution, it was dedicated to the Wisdom of God, in memory of and as a copy -in miniature- of the famous Agia Sophia of Constantinople. The sculptural decoration of the church dates back to the 12th century, while the frescoes of exceptional art date back to the late 12th and early 13th century. The place where the temple is built, literally on the edge of the abyssal cliff, is truly awe-inspiring.

We could not leave Monemvasia without a comprehensive tour of the Upper Town and the Acropolis dominates the highest point of the rock and consists of a fortified enclosure,”Gula”, which is protected at every corner by a tower. The fortification is not continuous but is interrupted at those points where the inaccessible cliff takes over the protection.

A winding cobbled road,’Volites’, ascends from the Lower Town, enters through the only gate in the southern part of the wall and leads to the Upper Town. The settlement was large, extending over about 150 acres.  Many building remains survive, which were either military installations or residences of the local ruling class. There are also preserved fountains, a bath of the Ottoman period and three open cisterns, which were necessary for the survival of the population in case of siege or drought.

From Monemvasia to the Port of Gerakas

From Monemvasia we head north, parallel to the coastline.  Five kilometres later we turn right (east), heading for the port of Gerakas. Already our gaze relaxes on the wide curve of the bay of “Old Monemvasia”.  It is a friendly beach, with sand and pebbles, just opposite the inhospitable shoreline of Vrachos. Crystal-clear attractive waters, ski-sand and showers -which surprisingly work- in this wilderness, invite us for a relaxing dip. The surprise, however, comes from the unexpected appearance of a sturdy fortification. It is the acropolis of the ancient city of Epidaurus Limeras, built in strategic positions on a low steep hill, from massive carved greyish limestone. This impressive wall was probably built in the 4th century BC, it is clearly visible over a long length and its surviving height is about 2 metres. The site of Epidaurus Limeras, as is evident from the shells that have been found, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In classical times it seems to have been the most important city on the eastern coast of the Malia Peninsula. During the Peloponnesian War it was destroyed twice by the Athenians. The site must have been inhabited at least until the end of the 6th century AD, when it was moved to the site of neighbouring Monemvasia.

The next and last, very important stop on our tour of the Eastern Laconian coast is the Port of Gerakas or to be more literal, the Fiord of Gerakas. And if one wonders where this designation, which refers to Norway, is due to, one can only gaze at this very special geophysical configuration of the coastline. A coastline whose coherence was interrupted by a narrow strip of sea that penetrated deep into the land after violent tectonic processes in the region’s distant geological past.  Above the northern entrance to the natural harbour of Gerakas stands a peninsula with an acropolis, the fortification wall of which dates back to Hellenistic times. The eastern side of the acropolis is completely inaccessible because it ends with steep cliffs in the sea. The northern and western sides are protected by a strong, irregular polygonal wall, which is still standing at a considerable height. The ancient name of the city was Zarax or Zarakas and – according to Pausanias – it owed its name to Zarakas, son of the king of Karystos Petraeus.  The city flourished in Roman times, when it belonged to the Eleuthero-Laconian community. At that time the temple of Apollo, a Roman arched building and a three-aisled basilica were rebuilt.  The city was abandoned after the great earthquake of Crete in 365 AD (20).

Today the ancient Zarakas is ruined, but in its place we are greeted by the Port of Gerakas, the tiny picturesque settlement with the white houses and the seaside tavernas. Fresh pelagic fish caught by the local fishermen, octopus and tsipouroki by the sea are the most beautiful, the most delicious part of this special place.

In the forest of petrified palm trees

Before we leave, the land of Laconia offers us some images of unique paleontological and aesthetic value. There is the famous, one of a kind, Petrified Palm Forest of Neapolis (21). We encounter the successive fossilized sites on the rocky coastline along the path between the chapel of Prophet Elias and Agia Marina. According to Evangelos Velitzelos, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Athens, the fossilized trunks of the palm trees are 2-3 million years old.

Of particular scientific importance is the way they are petrified, which is not due to silicification from the ashes of a volcano but to calcification, due to the rise in sea level and the action of calcium carbonate. It is worth noting that at that distant period the climate in Greece was subtropical, with an average annual temperature of 18 degrees. The spread of the palm forest reached as far as the coast. We conclude our impressions with an extract from a text written in 2008. Some trunks even present a peculiarity that makes them unique: their hollow part continues deep enough into the rock that is hollow underneath and communicates with the sea. Thus, whenever there are waves, the water rushes violently and with a characteristic hissing sound into this natural siphon. It then shoots up into the air with a rush, like the well-known jets of hot springs’. This trek into the distant geological past has been recorded in our memory as one of the most fascinating that one can dream of.

References

(1) Philologist, Dr. Archaeology.

(2) The same human behaviour has been adopted for years by the drivers of Trikala and some other – few – cities in Greece.

(3) The “Hippodamian System” was a system of town planning that was developed and applied in several cities of Ancient Greece by Hippodamus of Miletus, an architect, urban planner, physico-mathematician, a multi-scientist, considered the “father of urban planning”. (498-408 BC).

(4) Aristomenes, along with King Aristodemus, was the most important hero and leader of the Messenians during the Second Messenian War (685-668 BC), with many military successes against the Lacedaemonians.

(5) The historic and beautiful church of the Holy Apostles was built during the Byzantine period, around 1050 to 150 AD. It was originally smaller but was expanded in the period 1685-1715.

(6) The name Nedon or Nedon is very ancient and is mentioned by Strabo in his Geographics. The river rises from the western slopes of the Taygetos, at an altitude of 1100 m. After a 30 km course it flows into the Messinian Gulf, west of the city of Kalamata.

(7) Sfela is a traditional cheese made from sheep’s and goat’s milk in the southern Peloponnese, specifically in the prefectures of Messinia and Laconia. It has a slightly salty and spicy taste and owes its name to the way it is sliced into thin strips, since ‘sfeela’ means ‘strip’.

(8) The statue was created in August 2000 at the 1st Sculpture Symposium.

(9) The Drazina or Drazina is a small four-wheeled railway vehicle, used for short official railroad trips.

(10) Elliniko Panorama, issue 35, 2003.

(11) Linear B was discovered in the early 20th century at Knossos by Arthur Evans, who named it because it used linear characters – not pictorial ones – engraved on clay tablets. In total, around 5,000 Linear B texts have been found, of which 3,000 come from Knossos and around 1,400 from Pylos. The decipherment of Linear B was achieved in 1952 by the architect Michael Ventris and the classical scholar John Chadwick.

(12) Two species of chamaeleon are found in Greece: the “Mediterranean” (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), now found only on Samos, and the African (Chamaeleo africanus), found in Messinia.

(13) The last victorious battle of the 21st century for the Greek troops, led by Demetrius Ypsilantis, took place at Petra in Boeotia, on 12 September 1829.

(14) The long and uninhabited island of Sapienza has an area of 9 square kilometres, a length of 6.5 km and a maximum width of about 2,800 metres. The highest point is the ‘Fovei’ peak, 219 metres high, in the northern part of the island.

(15) “Evergreen” or “evergreen” plants are those that do not lose their leaves in autumn, as deciduous plants do, but shed and replace them progressively throughout the year. This is why they are called “evergreen”, meaning they always seem to have leaves, and “evergreen”, meaning they always thaw. In climates where temperatures drop below -30o C, evergreen broadleaves have difficulty surviving. Conifers, which have needle-shaped, smaller leaves and therefore less transpiration, thrive in these areas.

(16) According to other sources, the Oinousses Fréar is 5,267 or even 5,269 metres deep.

(17) The administrative centre of the Laconian Mani is Gythio.

(18) Elliniko Panorama, issue 62, March-April 2008.

(19) Another word used for Monemvasia is Monovasia, while to the Franks it was known as Malvasia.

(20) On 21 July 365 AD, a great earthquake occurred near the western coast of Crete. Its magnitude is estimated to have been between 8.3 and 8.7 on the Richter scale.

(21) Extensive article in Elliniko Panorama, issue 63, May-June 2008.