Monemvasia on Peloponnese peninsula

3 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Katsikas pantelis/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Katsikas pantelis/cc-by-sa-4.0

Monemvasia is a town and municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a tied island off the east coast of the Peloponnese, surrounded by the Myrtoan Sea. The island is connected to the mainland by a tombolo 400 metres (1,300 ft) in length. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 m (330 ft) above sea level, up to 300 m (980 ft) wide and 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) long. Founded in the sixth century, and thus one of the oldest continually-inhabited fortified towns in Europe, the town is the site of a once-powerful medieval fortress, and was at one point one of the most important commercial centres in the Eastern Mediterranean. The town’s walls and many Byzantine churches remain as testaments to the town’s history. Today, the seat of the municipality of Monemvasia is the town of Molaoi.   read more…

Koroni in Messenia

24 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Koroni harbour © C messier/cc-by-sa-4.0

Koroni harbour © C messier/cc-by-sa-4.0

Koroni or Corone is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Known as Corone by the Venetians and Ottomans, the town of Koroni (pop. 1,397 in 2011) sits on the southwest peninsula of the Peloponnese on the Gulf of Messinia in southern Greece, 56 km (35 mi) by road southwest of Kalamata. The town is nestled on a hill below a Venetian castle and reaches to the edge of the gulf. The town was the seat of the former municipality of Koróni, which has a land area of 105 km² (41 sq mi) and a population of 4,366 (2011 census). The municipal unit consists of the communities Akritochori, Charakopio, Chrysokellaria, Falanthi, Kaplani, Kompoi, Koroni, Vasilitsi, Vounaria and Iamia. It also includes the uninhabited island of Venétiko.   read more…

Corinth Canal in Greece

20 September 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

© Nicholas Hartmann/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Nicholas Hartmann/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, arguably making the peninsula an island. The builders dug the canal through the Isthmus at sea level; no locks are employed. It is 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) in length and only 21.4 metres (70 ft) wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. It now has little economic importance. The canal was initially proposed in classical times and a failed effort was made to build it in the 1st century CE. Construction started in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that bankrupted the original builders. It was completed in 1893 but, due to the canal’s narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslides from its steep walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic expected by its operators. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic.   read more…

Kalamata on the Messenian Gulf

21 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Kalamata's promenade © Pfloros/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kalamata’s promenade © Pfloros/cc-by-sa-3.0

Kalamata is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. The capital and chief port of the Messenia regional unit, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf. Kalamata is renowned as the land of the Kalamatianos dance and of the Kalamata olives. In independent Greece, Kalamata became one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean sea. It is not surprising that the second-oldest Chamber of Commerce in the Mediterranean, after that of Marseille, exists in Kalamata.   read more…

Karytaina in the highlands of Arcadia

22 August 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Nochoje/cc-by-3.0

© Nochoje/cc-by-3.0

Karytaina is a village and a community in Arcadia. Karytaina is situated on a hill on the right bank of the river Alpheios, near its confluence with the Lousios. Karytaina is 54 km (34 mi) from the capital of Arcadia, Tripoli, 20 km (12 mi) from Megalopoli and 17 km (11 mi) from Stemnitsa, built on the slopes of the hill of Achreiovouni, some 550 m above sea level. The village dates back to the Middle Ages, but its history is unknown before the Crusader conquest ca. 1205. Karytaina became the seat of a barony under the Frankish Principality of Achaea, and the Castle of Karytaina was built in the mid-13th century on a steep rocky outcrop by Baron Geoffrey of Briel. The area returned to Byzantine control in 1320, and came under Ottoman control in 1460. After a brief period of Venetian rule (1687–1715), Karytaina returned to Ottoman control, and prospered as an administrative and commercial centre. Karytaina and its inhabitants were among the first to rise up during the Greek War of Independence of 1821–29. Today Karytaina is a protected traditional settlement and has, alongside the remains of its Frankish castle, several other medieval and Ottoman monuments.   read more…

Olympia in Greece

19 March 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, Sport, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

British Museum - Olympia Model © Joanbanjo/cc-by-sa-3.0

British Museum – Olympia Model © Joanbanjo/cc-by-sa-3.0

Olympia, a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, the most famous games in history. The Olympic Games were held every four years throughout Classical Antiquity, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. The first Olympic Games were in honor of Zeus. Olympia is an UNESCO world heritage site since 1988.   read more…

Die university city of Patras

21 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture Reading Time:  6 minutes

Patras Port © Conudrum

Patras Port © Conudrum

Patras is Greece’s third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens. The city is built at the foothills of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.   read more…

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