Wandering Around Mystras

---

Left bright and early for the one hour bus to Sparta. Then caught the city bus up into the hills for about 20 minutes, ultimately getting to Mystras. This is not an ancient town. It is old, but dates "only" to the 13th and 14th centuries. It actually feels like you're in France, and are wandering around one of its medieval towns (which makes sense, since the Franks originally built it). Mystras winds up a mountain, and is most famous for its many monasteries and churches with pretty well preserved frescoes.

It's also awesome because the town is itself so well preserved. You walk up the mountain to the ruined castle at the top following the same winding streets the inhabitants once used. All that's missing, it feels like, are these people. One of the monasteries is actually still in use, and nuns wander around among the tourists. They drive a hard bargain, too. I bought some souvenirs that the nuns had made, and this really old, wrinkled nun in black just wouldn't budge on the price she'd set. She was a tough old nun, and I finally had to give in. What I got, though, was worth it.

I spent most of the day here, and only got back down to Sparta a little after 2. While people tend to build up Sparta as this great, ancient city full of really tough warriors, it's actually, well, very spartan and austere, with nothing really worth seeing in the town. I had some time to kill between buses back to Gythio, and had a cappucino freddo (which Greeks seem to love) at a little cafe. Back in town I also had one of my best dinners yet: rice-stuffed red and green peppers, a Greek specialty of this region, which is technically called the Mani. Great day, but tiring and hot.

---

Photos

Some of the Ruins at Mystras
This is right at the entrance, and you can already tell you're in more of a Medieval town.

Following the Road
This is the main road that you follow to the top of town. Hard on the feet, no pun intended.

Ruined Church of St. Nicolas
I had the whole place to myself.

St. Nicholas frescoes
You can still see Christ Triumphant pretty well in the apse to the left.

View of Palace
Couldn't go in the Palace because of restorations.

Ruined Church of St. Sophia
This is right below the castle.

Made it to the top
At the ruined castle. It took over an hour to walk all the way up.

View from Castle
Those are the Taygetos Mountains.

Ruined Peribleptos Church
This was my favorite church. It's built around a cave, and sits in this tiny pine forest.

View of Mystras from bottom of town
Pantanassa, the monastery with the hard-bargaining nun, is up the hill on the left.