Greece 12 - Peloponnese

(Brent) #1
PeloPonnese

L A K O N I A

PeloPonnese

SIGHTS

PeloPonnese

M
Y S T

r A S

Mystras declined under Ottoman rule, but
thrived again after the Venetians captured
it in 1687 and developed a flourishing silk
industry. The population swelled to 40,000.
The Turks recaptured the town in 1715 and
from then it was downhill all the way; the
Russians burnt it in 1770, as did the Albani-
ans in 1780, and Ibrahim Pasha torched what
was left in 1825. By the time of Independence
it was a largely abandoned ruin. Much resto-
ration has taken place since the 1950s (and
continues to this day) and in 1989 it was de-
clared a Unesco World Heritage site.

1 Sights
oMystras ruIN
(%23315 25363; adult/concession €5/3; h8am-
8pm) Spread over a steep, verdant moun-
tainside of the Taÿgetos ranges, this former
capital of the Byzantine Empire is the single
most compelling set of medieval ruins in
Greece. A classic fortified city, Mystras is sur-
rounded by verdant olive and orange trees.

Treading the cobblestones, worn smooth by
centuries of footsteps, you can walk with
the ghosts, ducking into the ruins of palac-
es, monasteries and churches, most dating
from between 1271 and 1460.
From the upper-entrance ticket office,
the right-hand path (signposted ‘Castle’)
leads up to the fortress; it’s a 10-minute as-
cent. The fortress was built by the Franks
and extended by the Turks; the views of the
Lakonia plain, spread out below, are noth-
ing short of fantastic. The left-hand path
descends from the ticket office to Agia So-
fia, which served as the palace church and
burial ground for several emperors’ wives;
some frescoes survive in a side chapel. Steps
descend from here to a T-junction.
A left turn leads to the Nafplio Gate.
Near the gate is the huge Palace of Des-
pots, largely restored but closed to the
public at the time of writing. The complex
was started by the Franks and finished by
the Byzantines; various buildings were con-

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Convent of
Pantanassa

Evangelistria

Vrontokhion
Monastery

Agios
Theodoros

Aphentiko

Episcopal
Palace
Museum
Lower Entrance
(Monemvasia
Gate)
Vaulted
Passage

Agios
Hristoforos

Laskaris
Mansion

Marmara
Fountain
Monemvasia
Agios Gate
Nikolaos

Small
Palace

Palace of
Despots

Nafplio
Gate

Agia
EntranceUpper Sofia

House of
Frangopoulos

Agios
Taxiarhes Georgios
Kastro
(621m)

Monastery
of Perivleptos

Mitropolis
(Cathedral of
Agios Dimitrios)

UPPER
TOWN

LOWER
TOWN

Mystras


D
Sparta
(7km)

e#^0100 .05miles00 m


D


Pikoulianika
(600m)
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