Peloponnese - Greece - page 329

a car park at the southern end of the hill. Signs point to a rough track that snakes up the
steep hillside to the castle entrance.
The castle was built by the Franks at the end of the 13th century and sits on the site of
the acropolis of Ancient Pylos. It was occupied in 1381 by Spanish mercenaries from
Navarra, after whom the bay is named.
The car park is also the starting point for a track that skirts around the base of Kory-
phasion Hill to Voidokilia Beach . This beautiful, sandy horseshoe bay is presumed to be
Homer's 'sandy Pylos', where Telemachus was warmly welcomed when he came to ask
wise old King Nestor the whereabouts of his long-lost father, Odysseus, King of Ithaca.
There's another path up to the castle from the southern side of the beach that passes
Nestor's Cave . According to mythology, this is the cave where Hermes hid the cattle he
stole from Apollo. This small cave boasts a few stalactites.
Voidokilia Beach can also be approached by road from the village of Petrohori , 6km
north of Gialova off the road to Hora.
Nestor's Palace RUIN
( 27630 31437) At the time of research, Nestor's Palace was closed due to site upgrades
but due to open at the end of 2014.
Nestor's Palace is so called because it is believed to have been the court of the mythic-
al hero Nestor, who took part in the voyage of the Argonauts and fought in the Trojan
War. It's the best preserved of all Mycenaean palaces. Originally a two-storey building,
the palace's walls stand 1m high, giving a good idea of the layout of a Mycenaean palace
complex. The main palace, in the middle, was a building of many rooms. The largest
room, the throne room , was where the king dealt with state business. In the centre was a
large, circular hearth surrounded by four ornate columns that supported a 1st-floor bal-
cony. Some of the fine frescoes discovered here are housed in the museum in the nearby
village of Hora. Surrounding the throne is the sentry box, pantry, waiting room, a vesti-
bule and, most fascinating, a bathroom with a terracotta tub still in place.
The most important finds were 1200 or so Linear B script tablets, the first discovered
on the mainland. Some are in Hora's museum. The site was excavated later than the other
Mycenaean sites, between 1952 and 1965. An excellent guidebook by Carl Blegen, who
led the excavations, is sold at the site (€5).
Nestor's Palace is 17km north of modern Pylos.
Hora Archaeological Museum MUSEUM
( 27632 31358; adult €3; 8.30am-3pm Tue-Sun) Hora's fascinating musuem, 4km north-
east of Nestor's Palace, houses finds from the site and other Mycenaean artefacts from