Blogs from Sparta, Pelopennese, Greece, Europe - page 2

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Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Sparta October 3rd 2008

From Monemvasia, ancient Sparta is close by, and our group heads out for a day trip. Overlooking Sparti, on a steep hill is the archeological site Mystras. This is one of the six places designated by UNESCO, that we are able to visit during this trip to Greece. It's design as a Late Byzantine fortified settlement, makes it important enough to be on the World Heritage List. As do the frescos. For the art lovers, it's frescos are rare examples of the style and color range of Byzantine art. In each church the crumbling painted walls were gorgeous. It was entrancing to see the art in it's "environment", outside of the protection of a museum. You step into these medieval churches, and once your eyes adjust to the dim light, there are these unframed masterpieces, as ... read more
interior of church dome
Mystras fresco
tamata

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Sparta October 2nd 2008

On to Monemvasia. A most unusual place. The name means "single entrance". It is an iceberg of an island, jutting almost straight up out of the sea, connected to the mainland town of Gefyra by way of a causeway. Founded in the 6th century, the town saw most of it's inhabitants leave during the Nazi occupation of WWII, and the Greek Civil War, which ended in 1949. The lower town of Monemvasia is perched on the seaward side, and cannot be seen from the mainland. Once you pass through the old fortified gate, you find yourself in the maze of extremely narrow passage ways. The 17th century buildings are undergoing careful restoration, since being "rediscovered" in the 70's. This was the first place we saw mules and horses used for transporting goods, such as building supplies. ... read more
port of Monemvasia
looking to the mainland
the single entrance

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Sparta June 17th 2008

As my guidebook indicated, Sparta is not exactly overrun with great archaeological finds. We started the day at the Sanctuary of Amyklaios where there used to be a monument to Amyklaios whom Apollo slew with a misplaced discus blown into him by the North wind. This site was somewhat unique in having a pie-shaped portico labelled the 'throne of Apollo' of which nothing is still visible. The site is still being excavated and it was entertaining to view the beer and pop cans showing where the stakes are for the excavation of this 2500 year old site. The retaining wall around the Sanctuary is still retaining but there is not much else visible. We then went to the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthaia which is where the Spartan boys became men via a flogging so we used ... read more

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Sparta June 17th 2008

We took the overnight ferry from Hania to Piraeus to start our transit to Sparta. We started out badly with a lot of confusion over who was rooming with whom but eventually got it sorted out and were escorted to our 'staterooms' by one of the ferry staff. The rooms had four bunkbeds, two on each side, a wardrobe, a nighttable and a bathroom with a shower, very compact, very functional. The whole boat was a maze of corridors and stairs that didn't seem to have a lot of rhyme or reason to them. There was a pool but it was out of order, a disco, and a mini-market with quite a variety of items from food and drink to clothes and sourvenirs. The ferry also had two dining rooms with table service for the 'distinguished ... read more




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