Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pýlos town centre
Shaded by a large plane tree and several of its offspring,
Platía Trión Navárhon
is a
beautiful public space, encircled by cafés and colonnaded shops. At its head is a
war
memorial
commemorating the admirals Codrington, de Rigny and von Heyden, who
commanded the British, French and Russian forces in the Battle of Navarino (see box
below). Nearby, just uphill on the Methóni road, the little
Antonopouleion Museum
(Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm; €2) boasts remains from the battle, along with archeological
finds from the region.
2
Néo Kástro
Tues-Sun 8.30am-3pm • €3
The principal sight in town is the
Néo Kástro
, up the Methóni road from
Antonopouleion
museum. The huge “new castle” was built by the Turks in 1572, and
you can walk around much of the 1.5km of arcaded battlements. For most of the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it served as a prison and its inner courtyard was
divided into a warren of narrow yards separated by high walls. The design was intended
to keep Máni clansmen, the bulk of the prison population, from continuing their
murderous vendettas inside. The pens and walls have been pulled down as part of an
ongoing programme to restore and convert the castle into a
museum
for underwater
archeology. So far, the only attraction is René Puaux's extensive collection of historical
pictures and cartoons.
Island of Sfaktiría
Memories of the Battle of Navarino can be evoked by a visit to the
island of Sfaktiría
,
across the bay, where there are various tombs of Philhellenes, a chapel and a memorial
to Russian sailors. You can also hire a
boat
from the port and snorkel to see the remains
of the Turkish fleet lying on the sea bed; ask at the harbour office or cafés by the port.
The island was also the site of a battle between a small group of Spartans under siege by
the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War - one of the few times that Spartans are
known to have surrendered.
Yiálova
YIÁLOVA
, 6km north out of Pýlos and linked by regular buses, has tamarisk trees
shading its sandy beach, and makes a delightful base for walkers, beach-lovers or
naturalists drawn by
Voïdhokiliá beach and nature reserve
.
Kástro Navarínou
Pýlos's northern castle and ancient acropolis,
Kástro Navarínou
(Paleó Kástro), stands
on a hill ridge almost touching the island of Sfaktiría, at the end of the bay 5km west
THE BATTLE OF NAVARINO
In 1827 during the Greek War of Independence, the Great Powers of Britain, France and Russia
were attempting to force an armistice on the Turks, having established diplomatic relations
with the Greek insurgents. To this end they sent a fleet of 27 warships to
Navarino Bay
below
the town of Pýlos, where Ottoman leader Ibrahim Pasha had gathered his forces - 16,000 men
in 89 ships. The declared intention was to coerce Ibrahim into leaving Messinía, which he had
been raiding ruthlessly.
On the night of October 20, an Egyptian frigate, part of the Turks' supporting force, fired its
cannons, and full-scale battle broke out. Without intending to take up arms for the Greeks, the
“allies” responded to the attack and, extraordinarily, sank and destroyed 53 of the Turkish fleet
without a single loss. There was considerable international embarrassment when news filtered
through to the “victors”, but the action had nevertheless effectively ended Turkish control of
Greek waters and within a year
Greek independence
was secured and recognized.
