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Background: Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001.

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By lynneandmark
January 4th 2007

Updated w/pics: Exploring Epidaurus and Nafplio

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion

Entering the Epidaurus Ampitheater
The Ampitheater at Epidaurus was where ancient plays were performed to crowds of 12,000 Greeks. This theater was used from the 4th century B.C. until at least the 2nd century A.D.

UPDATE: added pictures on 14-January. The move to the Domatia was very wise - even though it's more expensive, we had a good night's sleep and a somewhat warm shower. It seems that the hot water supplies are very low, so we'll try to space our showers out to odd times in the day, in hopes of getting a hot shower! The showers we've found in Greece are generally a very small square space maybe about 3 feet square that only rises up a couple of inches, a shower curtain to pull around yourself, and a faucet with a hand-held hose. [View Full Entry]

By lynneandmark
January 3rd 2007

Update w/pics: First day in Kalavrita

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

Frost on a post
a chilly morning in Kalavrita, Greece

UPDATE: Pictures added 14-January. Greetings from Kalavrita, Greece! Today, we got to see a little bit of this small mountain town. This charming city is over 2000 years old, and is a popular tourist destination for Greeks who love to ski at Mount Chelmos. However, there is such little snow this year, no one is skiing. The air here is cool and crisp, and there is a little snow on the mountain, but none on the ground in Kalavrita town. We moved from the youth hostel into a rooming house, or "domatia". There were three main reasons for moving: a very [View Full Entry]

By lynneandmark
January 2nd 2007

Athens - Corinth - Kalavrita

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

Dusk in Kalavrita
the sun is setting over Mt. Chelmos in Kalavrita, Greece

(FYI: pictures added on 7-January! Updated with smaller-sized but more photos on 14-January.) We arrived safe and sound (and on time) in Athens today. Chartered busses picked us up, along with 120 other conference attendees and families at the Athens airport. They shuttled us to the small ountain town of Kalavrita in the Peloponnese region of Greece. Along the route, we stopped at the Corinth Canal. Emperor Nero began construction of this canal in order to allow ships to pass between the Saronic and Corinthian gulfs. Before the Corinth Canal was finished (final construction was completed [View Full Entry]

By G and L
November 17th 2006

Chillaxin' in Nafplio

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese » Nafplion

Harbourside in Nafplio

Spent a relaxing day in and around Nafplio yesterday. The city was the first capital of Greece, and while it doesn't retain many monuments of that time the Venetian-influenced old town is a wonderful place to spend time. We slept in a bit and promenaded around the narrow streets, window shopping at the many souvenier shops and drinking and eating at the cafes and restaurants. The weather was pleasant (20ish) and the sun was really warm, so in the afternoon we grabbed a couple of cold Mythos (our favourite Greek beer) and headed for a dip. It was a pebble beach, [View Full Entry]

By carrieandkyle
October 3rd 2006

Olympia

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

View from hotel in Olympia

The bus ride from Nafplio to Olympia was one of the most incredible and scary experiences of my life - I highly recommend it. We went from Nafplio to Tripoli and then transferred to a bus that we thought was going to take us directly to Olympia. Throughout the whole of the trip we saw some spectacular scenery. We wound our way up and down mountains on narrow roads where one side of us would be sheer cliffs going up and the other side would be drops going several hundred feet down with little clearance for the bus. We saw amazing [View Full Entry]

By carrieandkyle
October 1st 2006

Off we go to Nafplio! Hey that rhymed...

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

View of a street

We headed for Nafplio having heard that it was one of the prettiest towns in Greece and a great jumping off point for daytrips to Mycene and Epidaurus. After the smog and congestion of Athens it came as quite a relief. Nafplio is right on the water and there is a lovely boardwalk lined with palm trees on one side and beautiful blue-green water on the other. A Venetian fortress overseas the town and you can walk up a few hundred steps to get to the fortress but in the extremely hot weather we decided to forgo that privilege. Our hotel [View Full Entry]

By Andrew Susan
October 9th 2005

To Epidauros and Beyond!

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

Epidauros Theatre

Up early to drive to Athens but wanted to get in a visit to Epidauros, principally to see the theatre. Arrived there bright and early and parked up next to a very organised bunch of Austrian bikers - complete with support vehicle (!). The theatre is amazing and photos don’t do it justice - just go! The rest of the site is undoubtedly important but is very ruined and mostly knee high to a not very tall person, I found it difficult to envisage the site as a real centre, but the stadium is worth a look. Headed off along [View Full Entry]

By Andrew Susan
October 7th 2005

A quieter day in Monemvasia

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

By the sea at Monemvasia

Woke to banging shutters, a bright but amazingly windy day. Explored the lower town, up and down alleys in this medieval metropolis. Odd bits and pieces in the town museum, worth a look. Watched the world go by. It would be easy to spend a few days or weeks here, a long way from anything - at least out of season. Later in the day we climbed the stairway to the deserted upper town. This one covered most of the top of the rock. Now in ruins except for the church. We of course continued to the top to the [View Full Entry]

By Andrew Susan
October 6th 2005

The Last Emperor

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

looking from the hotel balcony

Need not have worried about the weather, the day dawned bright and sunny (again). Watched the sun light up the castle and the rock above us. Drove up to the entrance gate for an earlyish start - before any tour buses. The site at Mystras is a deserted medieval Byzantine town - although some parts were occupied until quite recently. There are lots of partly ruined and intact houses, churches and monasteries. There is also a large palace complex which is being restored. This part of the Byzantine Empire was lost to the Franks in the middle of the thirteenth [View Full Entry]

By Andrew Susan
October 5th 2005

Across the Taygetes

Europe » Greece » Pelopennese

first sighting

Wednesday 5 October: Across the Taigetes After breakfast we headed to the north end of the bay, left the car at the road end and set off in search of the old castle, Paleokastro - a few traces visible from the landward side. After a few minutes walk around the end of the promontory the castle came into view on the hilltop overlooking the sea. So we walked steadily up the hill and up through the rather decayed but still impressive gatehouse. Superb views looking back across the bay. Followed the wall walk around the outer barbican and then climbed [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Greece » Pelopennese