Hi All,
My turn! During our time in the Peloponnese, we went to a number of beautiful and historically interesting places. The first full day we were there, we took some time to get ourselves settled in our village, and then in the afternoon headed to the town of Nafpaktos just across the water on mainland Greece. There is a spectacular bridge across from Rio to Antirion across the narrowest point of the Gulf of Corinth, just before Patras. This feat of engineering made me think of my Dad's misty-eyed descriptions of great engineering achievements through history! It was completed only in 2004, and prior to that the crossing was made by ferry. In fact, the ferries are still running, and are considerably cheaper than the bridge toll, so for our first crossing we took the 20 minute ferry ride. We then climbed a very steep hill above the town of Nafpaktos to a massive fort overlooking the town -- mainly the work of the Ottomans but having been embellished by various other occupiers before and after. The fort was actually closed but we were able to walk around the walls a bit and have a coffee and enjoy the view at a cafe adjacent to it (where we were also able to access a computer and learn about the Canadian election results... but we won't dwell on that here...). We then drove down to the town and walked around the old port area. Nafpaktos has a history as a very strategic point guarding access to the Gulf of Corinth and has a very beautiful fortified harbour, surrounded by a charming and bustling old town. We were very taken with it, and with the driving virtuosity required to navigate it!
The next day we drove the nearly two hours to ancient Olympia. This is an absolutely remarkable site, well known in large part because of its inspiration of the modern revival of the Olympics. In ancient times, starting in about the 5th century BC, it was (like its modern equivalent) the focal point of the cultural and sporting life of the Greek centred ancient world. The site is, like all the ancient archaelogical sites that we saw, spectacularly located among beautful hills. We saw the museum first, which helped with orientation and also contains many of the most significant finds from the site to protect them from the elements (statues, frescoes, etc of remarkable sophistication). We then spent a couple of hours walking the site itself. It included the remains of the Gymasium, a number of temples the most prominent of which was the Temple of Zeus, the sculptor Phideas' workshop where some of the monumental artistic pieces were completed, and of course the stadium and running track - 120 metres long in those days with hillside seating for 45,000. Rory and Holly completed the run in impressive fashion, though probably not with a competitive time to the champions of old! There were a number of other functional and spiritual remains, but perhaps the most impressive -- certainly one of the grandest structures of the original site -- was the guest house for visiting dignitaries and officials. It had, among other things, the remains of a luxurious courtyard swimming pool. So like the modern Games, the best digs went to the visiting dignitaries, officials, and sponsors rather than the athletes. Plus ca change...
On our next, rainy day, we went first to Mycenae (which Rory will describe) and then the historic and beautiful little city of Nafplio. It was a strategic port city guarded by no less than three fortresses of various ages. Its centre is a beautiful area featuring Venetian and neo-classical buildings and pedestrian laneways. It was the first capital of modern Greece beginning with the war of independence from the Ottomans in 1821 until it was moved to Athens in 1834. It was charming despite the unsettled weather, but seemed to have been invaded by hundreds of junior high-aged kids on bus tours from their schools which raised the decibel level and disrupted the atmosphere of the place. Still, a lovely destination.
Talk to you soon, Dave.
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