Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Peloponnese
The cultural riches and natural beauty of the Peloponnese can hardly be
overstated. This southern peninsula - technically an island since the
cutting of the Corinth Canal - seems to have the best of almost everything
Greek. Ancient sites include the Homeric palaces of Agamemnon at
MYCENAE and of Nestor at PÝLOS , the best preserved of all Greek theatres at
EPIDAURUS , and the lush sanctuary of OLYMPIA , host to the Olympic Games
for a millennium. The medieval remains are scarcely less rich, with the
fabulous Venetian, Frankish and Turkish castles of NÁFPLIO , METHÓNI and
ancient CORINTH ; the strange battle towers and frescoed churches of the
MÁNI ; and the extraordinarily well-preserved Byzantine enclaves of MYSTRA
and MONEMVASIÁ .
2
Beyond this incredible profusion and density of cultural monuments, the
Peloponnese is also a superb place to relax and wander. Its beaches , especially along
the west coast, are among the finest and least developed in the country, and the
landscape inland is superb - dominated by forested mountains cut by some of the
most captivating valleys and gorges to be imagined. Not for nothing did its
heartland province of Arcadia become synonymous with the very concept of a
Classical rural idyll.
The Peloponnese reveals its true character most clearly when you venture off the
beaten track: to the old Arcadian hill towns like Karítena, Stemnítsa and Dhimitsána;
the Máni tower villages such as Kítta or Váthia; at Voïdhokiliá and Elafónissos beaches
in the south; or a trip through the Vouraikós Gorge, possibly on the old rack-and-
pinion railway .
The region will amply repay any amount of time you spend. The Argolid , the area
richest in ancient history, is just a couple of hours from Athens, and if pushed you
could complete a circuit of the main sights here - Corinth , Mycenae and Epidaurus - in
a couple of days, making your base by the sea in Náfplio . Given a week, you could add
in the two large sites of Mystra and Olympia at a more leisurely pace. To get to grips
with all this, however, plus the southern peninsulas of the Máni and Messinía, and the
hill towns of Arcadia, you'll need at least a couple of weeks.
If you were planning a combination of Peloponnese-plus-islands, then the Argo-
Saronic or Ionian islands are most convenient. Of the Ionian islands, isolated Kýthira is
covered in this chapter since closest access is from the southern Peloponnese ports, but
Zákynthos or Kefaloniá can be reached from the western port of Kyllíni, and Greece's
second port city of Pátra is a gateway to Corfu and eastern Italy.
Corinthian saints and sinners p.131
Mycenaean murders p.134
Palamedes - cleverest of the Greeks
p.138
Snakes alive: healing in ancient
Greece p.143
Kangaroo island p.154
Blood feuds in the Máni p.157
Hiking the Výros Gorge p.165
A Spartan upbringing p.167
The Mystra renaissance p.169
Across the Langádha pass p.172
Hiking near Ancient Gortys p.175
Bassae's missing metopes p.176
The battle of Navarino p.182
Telemachus takes a bath p.184
The Olympic Games p.187
The Kalávryta Express p.196
 
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