Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Greek War of Independence supposedly began in the Peloponnese, when Bishop
Germanos of Patra raised the flag of revolt near Kalavryta on 25 March 1821. The Egyp-
tian army, under the leadership of Ibrahim Pasha, brutally restored Turkish rule in 1825.
In 1827 the Triple Alliance of Great Britain, France and Russia, moved by Greek suf-
fering and the activities of philhellenes (Byron's death in 1824 was particularly influen-
tial), came to the rescue of the Greeks by destroying the Turkish-Egyptian fleet at the
Battle of Navarino, ending Turkish domination of the area.
The Peloponnese became part of the independent state of Greece, and Nafplio (in Ar-
golis) became the first national capital. Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greece's first president,
was assassinated on the steps of Nafplio's Church of St Spyridon in October 1831, and
the new king, Otto, moved the capital to Athens in 1834.
Like the rest of Greece, the Peloponnese suffered badly during WWII. Part of this his-
tory is vividly and tragically illustrated in the mountain town of Kalavryta, where nearly
all males aged over 15 were massacred.
The civil war (1944-9) brought widespread destruction and, in the 1950s, many villa-
gers migrated to Athens, Australia, Canada, South Africa and the USA.
Information
Since the Greek financial crisis, the hours of museums and sites in the Peloponnese are
particularly vulnerable to change, particularly extended summer hours; it's best to check
beforehand.
Getting There & Away
BUS
Note: there is a difference between Corinth Isthmus (the canal) and Corinth (the city).
Although it's plonked on a main road on the Peloponnese side of the Corinth Canal, the
Corinth Isthmus (Peloponnese) KTEL bus station
( 27410 75410, Athens 210 512 4919)
,
located near the canal ('isthmus'), is the spot to change for buses south to the rest of the
Peloponnese. This includes
Pyrgos
,
Patra
, and
Olympia
. No formal timetables are
available; most buses from Athens heading to the Peloponnese stop here.
cient Corinth
(€1.60, 20 minutes, seven daily Monday to Saturday),
Nemea
(€4.50,
one hour, seven daily, one Sunday),
Isthmia
(€1.60, 15 minutes, three daily) and Lout-
