Peloponnese

[Christos7]

- (pictures below)

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The Peloponese is a world by itself.

Mycenae and Argos, the cradles of Mycenean civilization, along with the military and naval powers of Corinth and Sparta were some of the mightiest city states of antiquity. Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is halfway along the Peloponese's west coast. The war between Athens and Sparta that pretty much brought antiquity to an abrupt end in 404 BC was dubbed the Peloponesian War, since a good part of it took place here and the cities of the Peloponese were almost all involved in it.

Mystras, north of Sparta, was one of the most important cultural and religious centers of the late-Byzantine era and Monemvassia was one of Venice's key Mediterranean military and administrative outposts.

The Greek revolution against Ottoman rule was launched in the Peloponese, and Nafplion was both the seat of the revolutionary administration and the first capital of the newly liberated country in 1828. The Greek revolution was won when the joint fleets of England, France, and Russia destroyed the joint Ottoman and Egyptian fleets in Pylos, on the southwest coast of the Peloponese. The first Greek constitution, passed on 1 January 1822, was drafted in Epidaurus.

A disproportionate number of the country's businessmen, artists, men of letters, politicians, and other prominent figures were either born or hail from the Peloponese. Today, Patras is the country's third largest city and its main gateway to western Europe.

Peloponese (or "Peloponissos" in Greek) means island ("nissos") of Pelops, a mythological hero and son of Tantalos, the same one of legend who keeps rolling a huge boulder up a slope only to see it plunge down just before it reaches the top, over and over again, ad infinitum.

Most of the Peloponese is mountainous and features dramatic landscapes, some of the most beautiful country in the whole of Greece. The center of the region is dominated by the mountains, like Helmos and Taygetos, and plateaus, like the one where Tripoli sits. The coastline is rugged in the south and the east, and dotted with long sandy or pebbly beaches in the north and the west.

The Peloponese is a complete tourism destination. Exploring it and taking it all in could take a full 15 days and still the visitor would have to come back to complete the tour. Read the guides of the individual destinations and make up your own mind.



Nafplio


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It's romantic streets....

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Defineatly one of my favorite cities in Greece

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Arkadia

Arcadia, in the central Peloponese, has not changed much in the last 2,500 years. The region was first immortalized in Virgil's poetic masterpiece Bucolics, written around 25 BC, and then in Nicolas Poussin's canvas masterpiece Et In Arcadia Ego, which today hangs in the Louvre Museum, in Paris.

The region, pretty much mountainous and isolated, was held by generations of poets, artists and romantics as a prime example of pure, unadulterated bucolic life. The word bucolic itself, from the ancient Greek word "voukolos" for shepherd, describes the main occupation of Arcadia's folk.

Located in the center of the Peloponese, Arcadia is both mountainous and coastal. The capital is Tripolis and the major towns are Vitina and Dimitsana, up in the mountains, and Astros and Leonidio on the Aegean coast. The tallest mountains are Maenalon, with a peak of 1,980 m (almost 6,000 feet), and a decent ski center at Ostrakina, and Parnon.

The region is covered with forests and marked by the rivers Alfios, Ladonas, Erimanthos and Lousios. The alpine nature and the rivers make Arcadia a prime destination for mountain sports, like trekking, skiing, rafting, etc.

The two most interesting tourist destinations are Vitina and Dimitsana. Vitina is built at an altitude of 1,033 m (3,000 feet), in a valley on the side of mount Maenalon. It features great views and it is considered one of the premier traditional settlements of Greece. At about 44 km (28 miles) from Tripoli, on the road to Olympia, Vitina is one of the most popular winter destinations in the country. The approach to the village from Alonistena, through the mountain ridge and the fir and cedar forests, is one of the great mountain drives of Greece.

In days past, thanks to its healthy, mountain air, Vitina was a mountain retreat for consumptives, and fearured two sanatoriums, Ithomi, on mount Maenalon, and Mana tou Stratiotou (Mother of The Soldier), near Magouliana. Today, both are mothballed.

Dimitsana, to the west, is a delight. Located about 60 km from Tripoli, on the Vitina-to-Olympia road, it appears suddenly after a sharp turn on the road, and leaves you surprised. It is built at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,000 feet) and features tall, centuries' old stone houses and cobblestone-paved alleys, and is surrounded with magnificent landscapes. Dimitsana was a wealthy trading center in the 17th and 18th centuries and played a key role in the 1821 Greek war of independence against the Ottoman Empire.

Ancient Olympia, the home of the Olympic Games, is not far from here, and visiting it can be a leg in a tour of Arcadia by car.



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Kalavrita

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The Monument of the Holocaust of Kalavrita, just outside the village. On 13 December 1943, Nazi occupation troops executed almost all 700 male residents of Kalavrita in retaliation for the execution of 79 German prisoner soldiers by the resistance.

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The Museum of the Holocaust of Kalavrita opened in January 2005 just across the train station.

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Messinia

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[Christos7]

Argolida

The cradle of Greek civilization

Argolida, the northwestern province of the Peloponese, is the cradle of ancient Greek civilization.

The hilly landscape is covered with olive and orange groves and dotted with the ruins of Mycenae and Argos, the first mega-city states of Ancient Greece, and the important Mycenaean cities of Tyrins, birthplace of Hercules, and Assini, immortalized by George Seferis. The town of Nafplion, the first capital of Greece after liberation from the Ottoman Empire in 1830, is a jewel of an 18th century Mediterranean port town. Epidaurus, near Nafplion, is the best preserved ancient Greek theater anywhere, and, to this day, the venue of ancient drama and other theatrical productions.

Mycenaean civilization flourished in 1500-1000 BC. Our knowledge of it is indirect, since very few scriptures or other direct evidence about the happenings of this era have been found. The main sources for the history of the House of Atreus, the Mycenaean dynasty, is Homer, the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and what was written about it by Hellenistic and later historians.

According to these sources, Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae, who led the Greek armies against Troy, was born with an ancient curse on his family. When the army and the navy gathered in Avlys, east of Athens, to set off for Troy, the winds died down and the ships could not sail. An oracle told the Greeks that Agamemnon had to sacrifice his younger daughter, Ifigenia, for the winds to start blowing, which he did, after some agonizing, and off they went on their 10-year expedition that led to Troy's fall (The pictures in the image gallery are from the Perseus Project which can be accessed at www.temple.edu/classics/troyimages.html).

Victorious and complacent, after his Trojan triumph, Agamemnon returned to Mycenae, but his enstranged wife, Clytemnestra, still reeling from her daughter's death and her husband's well known extra-marital affairs, killed Agamemnon in his bath and installed her lover as the new king. Mad with rage at his father's death, her son Orestes encouraged by his sister Electra, kills his mother and her lover and takes off on a journey of madness, haunted by the Erynyes (the "Furies", minor godesses of guilt), until Apollo and Athena, two of the major Gods, absolve him of the crime of having killed his mother.

To this day, three thousand years later, Greeks call wifes who kill their husbands "Clytemnestra", the same way they call chronic pessimists "Cassandras", after Trojan king Priamus' future-telling daughter who kept warning her arrogant fellow Trojans of the city's imminent fall and foresaw that theTrojan Horse was just that.

The Mycenaeans' time of glory faded around the 8th century BC. Nevertheless, Argos, the second most important Mycenaean city, whose Trojan war-era ruler Menelaos was Agamemnon's brother, flourished and became a regional power in the Peloponese, almost on a par with Sparta and Corinth.

Nafplion was the harbor of Argos from the 7th century BC on, and became an important military and commercial harbor during the Venetian's rule of the Peloponese. The Venetians, led by Governor Morosini of Crete, built Palamidi, the castle above the town, and Bourtzi, the small garrison tower in the middle of the harbor, and made Nafplion the capital of the whole Peloponese.

Nafplion was the hub of administrative activity of the revolutionary forces during Greece's 1821 War of Independence and, first Astros Kynourias, and then Palea Epidavros were the venues of Greece's first constitutional convention, in the second half of 1821, in the first year of the revolution.

After the liberation was confirmed with the 1830 Treaty of London, Nafplion became the country's first capital. Governor (i.e. President) Ioannis Kapodistrias, the Corfiot-born Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire landed here on 7 January 1828 as sovereign Greece's first ruler.

His government did not last long; a couple of years later he was assassinated by southern Peloponese warlords, over land and power disputes, as he was entering Sunday church services at the Chruch of Saint Spyridon. That was the end of the country's republican dreams. The capital was moved to Athens in 1834 and Nafplion remained the quiet and pretty regional administrative hub of the eastern Peloponese.

The three most important cities of pre-Classical Greece are clustered together, within 15 km, on the Argean plain: Mycenae, the city of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Argos, the capital of Trojan war leader Menelaos, and Tyrins, the birthplace of Hercules.

These three are today some of the most visited aercheological sites of Greece and they still generate awe, some 3,000 years past their heyday.

The sites can be visited through organized sightseeing tours offered by a myriad travel agencies. The best way to see them, though, is by driving around these ancient lands. All travel agencies in Athens and around Greece offer sightseeing tours of Argolis. Your hotel front desk will be able to arrange for either a car rental, including maps and instructions, or a booking with a reputable sightseeing agency.

The distance from Athens to Argos is about 115 km. From the northern and the southern suburbs, you follow the signs to Attiki Odos, the new ring road highway, and then follow the signs to Elefsina, where Attiki Odos meets the Athens-Corinth highway.

From downtwn Athens, you drive past Omonia square to Kavalas Avenue and follow the signs to Corinth. This will lead you to the Athens-Corinth highway.

About 10 km past the Isthmus of Corinth, i.e. the Corinth toll booths, the highway splits into two: follow the highway to Tripoli and get off at the exit to Argos.



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Nafplio (again)

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[Christos7]

Kythera


The Birthplace of Aphrodite

Kythera, standing guard at the entrance of Laconic Bay, is a hidden gem among Greek islands. Idyllic countryside, remote, ragged beaches, and quaint villages compose the wild beauty of the island and make it an ideal setting for those seeking a peaceful, quality sojourn in a typical Mediterranean island.

Kythera is not a wild party island. Most of its visitors are families and couples determined to relax and unwind during their summer holidays. Nightlife here consists of sipping a long drink at a cafe or a bar by the water, after dinner, and be at bed by 1 a.m. The limited number of hotels and pensions translates into a relaxed atmosphere that never feels crowded.

The island is favored by the Greek upper socioeconomic class and it also benefits from occasional visits and frequent remmitances from the large Kytherian immigrant community that settled in Australia and the United States throughout the 20th century. As a result, it is tidier and cleaner than your typical Greek island, the roads are better paved, fewer sidewalks are cracked, and the people are more relaxed and friendlier.

Kythera was the birthplace of Aphrodite. According to legend, the ancient Godess of Love rose from the sea, took a good look around her and found the island lacking somehow. She was off to Cyprus after that, which is a curious move, since Cyprus is more barren and poor in natural graces than Kythera. But, there you have it; no arguing with divine tastes. As a result of the Aphrodite connection, combined with its remoteness, Kythera's reputation was always colored with a romantic hue in the collective mind.

In the early 18th century, Antoine Watteau, the great French romantic artist, drew three versions of the myth of Kythera: the island of love, which pilgrims sail off to, but never arrive. According to the Web Museum, "the paintings represented impossible dreams, the revenge of madness on reason, and of freedom on moral rules."

Kythera is remote. There is a Flying Dolphin service that departs daily from Pireaus in the summer months and get to the port of Diakofti after 7 hours, after making several stops, including Monemvasia. In addition, there is regular, non-stop ferry boat service a few times a week, from Piraeus, that also takes about 7 hours to reach the island.

Reaching the island from Athens by road involves a drive of approximately 350 km to Neapolis, through Corinth, Tripolis, and Sparta, which usually takes about 5-6 hours, and then a 1 hour and 15 minute ride on the ferry boat to the port of Agia Pelagia.

Due to its remoteness and limited tourist arrivals, the island has not developed an extensive tourist infrastructure and it features a limited amount of accomodation. Therefore, it is highly recommended that the traveller does not attempt to get here in the peak summer months (July and August) without having pre-arranged for accomodation.



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Laconia

Venetian castles, ancient grudges, and stunning nature

Laconia, the southernmost region of mainland Greece, is a land of wild natural beauty, ancient feuds and legends, and the host of a series of important historical developments that shaped the country and which goes back almost four thousand years.

Laconia's ancient history is the history of Sparta. The city of the Evrotas river valley, between the forbidding shadows of the Taygetos and Parnonas mountain ranges, was the first known murderous and totalitarian, slave-based society in history. Sparta owes its fame to its long-standing feud with Athens that led to the Peloponesian War and to the eventual demise of both city-states. For more on the history of Sparta please click here and here.

Laconia's landscape is defined by the mountain ranges of Taygetos and Parnonas, the Evrotas river valley, and the two beautiful islands in Laconic bay: Kythera and Elafonissos. Taygetos is a forbidding mass, straddling both Laconia and Messinia, in the west. The mountain holds a special place in Greek popular lore because it hosts the region of Mani.

Mani is one of the few spots on what is today Greece that the Turks never quite managed to bring under their control, after almost 400 years of occupation, and is the home of fierce and defiant warriors, and ancient vendettas. Mani became a haven for the defiant and the outcasts in the 17th century, when Heraklion fell to the armies of Sumeyman the Magnificent (in 1669) and many Cretan warriors fled their homeland. Some came here with their families and built new homes on Taygetos and the isolated seashore at the west end of the mountain.

Mani was semi-independent during the Ottoman occupation and it is from here that the Greek revolution of 1821 was launched. The Mavromichalis family of revolutionary leaders hailed from here, as well as scores of other warlords who helped Greece gain its independence. The Mavromichalis brothers, though, left an indelible stain on their reputation when they murdered Greece's first post-liberation President, Ioannis Kapodistrias, in Nafplion, in 1831, thus ushering 140 years of largely unpopular foreign monarchy in Greece.

One of the highlights of Laconia is Monemvassia, on the region's northeastern shore. The name means single ("mone") entrance ("emvassia") and that is what defines Monemvassia. A small island, resembling a gigantic boulder stuck 400 meters (yards) off the shore, it is linked to the mainland with a narrow walkway and is impossible to reach if not wanted there.

Monemvassia was a prominent outpost of Venetian rule in the Aegean during the 300-year rule of the Serene Republic over Greece, and it controlled shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean. The city an important trading centre and port, and it became famous throughout the courts of Europe for its highly praised local Malvasia variety wine, which was taken from Monemvassia to Italy for cultivation. Today, it is one of the best preserved medieval sites in the whole country and it attracts thousands of visitors every year who flock here to witness its haunting beauty.

Another important site of interest in Laconia is Mystras, the medieval capital of Venetian rule over Peloponissos. Mystras was the hometown of Byzantium's last emperor, Constantine 11th Paleologos Dragatis, and fell to the Turks three years after the fall of Vasilevoussa ("the reigning city"), as Constantinople was known then.

Mystras, during the last years of the Byzantine Empire had become the cultural center of the Empire, and its monasteries held precious collections of ancient texts. The prominent scholar of the time, George the Sklyros ("hard one") lived and taught here. When Constantinople fell, George fled to Florence with a good part of Mystras' book collections, and became a leading scholar in his adopted town. George familiarized medieval Florence with Plato, Aristotle and the intellectual legacy of Classical Greece and is believed to have provided the spark that led to the Renaissance.

Mystras today is a preserved historical site that is visited by thousands of tour buses all year round.



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Sparta

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[Christos7]

Skiing

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Feel free to add your own pics

[Giorgio]

Nafplion is beautiful i went last year. I am from Corinthos. if you go down there now you will be stunned by how stunning corinthos shoreline looks. best thing bout Korinthos....Loutraki Casino is next to it! ;)

[Raleigh-NC]

Great photos from Peloponnese!!! Being from that region it makes me proud to see photos from it in this forum. Great job, guys :okay:

Κάνω μια προσπάθεια να γράψω εις την Ελληνικήν... Μπορείτε να διαβάσετε αυτά που έγραψα;

[LEAFS FANATIC]

WOW!

Great job Christos! So many treaures in Greece await just around every corner!

[tzinos]

Well done Raleigh-NC!! katalavenoume poly kala!!

[Carpe diem]

Superb pictures from Morea! :okay:

[LEAFS FANATIC]

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[Raleigh-NC]

The land of my ancestors!!! How can I not be proud? Peloponnisos is one of the most underrated places in Greece. Sure, people know of Patras, Sparta, Korinthos, Kalamata (thanks to olives and olive oil), but the natural beauty of the region is overall unknown. Peloponnisos lacks the big resorts and the promotion, but there is so much to explore!!!

BTW, the first photo is from "Pente dromoi", outside Kalamata, on the way to Sparta. I knew people who used to drive there, starting from the top, without using their brakes. If anyone thinks this is easy, especially 15-20 years ago, think again. It was a VERY dangerous task and only show-offs undertook it. On the bottom of the hill is a nice green area, parallel to the road and I strongly recommend anyone to visit it. Another dangerous thing about that street is the rocks that fall at times, especially after strong rains. Not further away, after you start driving upwards again, there is a restaurant to your left - if you drive towards Sparta - called "Theotokos". There is a spring that dates back to the ancient times, across from the restaurant, where visitors can enjoy crystal clear water... Don't miss that if you ever go that way.

Leafs, many thanks for posting these wonderful photos :okay:

[Raleigh-NC]

Allow me to add a few more photos (web finds) from Messinia:

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/261/1669/640/Kalamata%20086.jpg

http://www.griechenland.de/bilder/galerie/bilder/5281-kalamata.jpg

http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_4.jpg

http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_3.jpg

http://www.aegean.gr/culturaltec/messinia_lakonia/blumen_.gif

At the borders of Messinia with Ilia lies Neda, the only river in Greece with feminine name:
http://www.hoteleuropa.gr/img/neda.jpg

http://cgi.di.uoa.gr/~harryk/photos/Messhnia_2.JPG

Mt Taygetos as seen from the Messinian Gulf:
http://www.airphotos.gr/photo/559.jpg

You know I can't resist showing off my hometown :)
http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_1.jpg

http://www.joshmoore.info/photos/images/kalamata-01_jpg.jpg

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/7480/dsc00584.jpg

A stormy day at Kalamata's marina...
http://www.syjoho.nl/photo_albums/200112/images/01%20Storm%20in%20Kalamata%20(Griekenland)_jpg.jpg

... and a much nicer one:
http://www.syjoho.nl/photo_albums/200112/images/10%20Kalamata%20(Griekenland)_jpg.jpg

[Christos7]

GREAT Job!!!


Peloponnessos IMO is like the spiritual "heart" of Greece... and so rich in history. I visited Patra and Olympia last summer for my vacation, simply stunning. I was very suprised especially around Olympia. But then again, you can find this in many places of HELLAS. :okay: But Olympia in particular was very special ofcourse.....

[Prometheus]

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/3238/kalamata_road.jpg

This embodies what it is to drive in alot of regions in Greece. I know just before one reaches Megaloupoli it's like your going down steps rather than driving. It's wonderful though.

[Prometheus]

Raleigh, I didn't know you were a fellow Messinian! :)

[Mr. T]

http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/3238/kalamata_road.jpg

This embodies what it is to drive in alot of regions in Greece. I know just before one reaches Megaloupoli it's like your going down steps rather than driving. It's wonderful though.

Thats true. When I go visit the village where my mothers family is from which is near Magaloupoli the roads are constantly like this. I like it though. They are very fun to drive on. :)

[Raleigh-NC]

Raleigh, I didn't know you were a fellow Messinian! :)
Yes, and I grew up in Kalamata, at the Paralia district :) Finished the 7th Elementary School, on Akritas Street, and Paralia's High School. I was born in the US, however, and returned here right before my 18th birthday. Spent several years in NYC and moved to Raleigh on March 1992.

The truth is, there is so much to see in Messinia and I never took an extensive tour of the area. Of course, I've seen most of it, but next time I visit I will take a million photos with my digital camera :yes: This time I know what to look for and after that I will provide a nice tour, with my own photos. Where are you from?

[Prometheus]

My family also hails from Kalamata friend!

More specifically, 2 villages alittle less than an hour north-west (Aristomeni+Kefalovriso).

It's wonderful. At night I stand on the balcony of my uncles house in my father's village, look south-east and see the lights of Kalamata. The straight line of the paralia lights etc.

And during the day in the clear blue sky the Air Force cadets are whirling around above us on their way to their maneuvers.

Oh the memories.... :)

[sts]

Really beautiful!

[Arpels]

nice, very nice Raleigh, more pics please :)

[Giorgio]

i love peloponisos. did you know that 85% of peloponisos is mountain?

[LEAFS FANATIC]

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10256/DSC00741.JPG

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10074/CIMG1320%20%28Medium%29.JPG

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10196/DSC02045.JPG

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10094/DSCN3568.JPG

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10141/nafplio-1.jpg

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10242/P1010382.JPG

http://www.justgreece.com/greece-photo-2005/albums/userpics/10208/Tiros.jpg

[Raleigh-NC]

Φανταστικές φωτογραφίες, ιδιαίτερα αυτές με την γέφυρα :okay: Επιτρέψτε μου να ρίξω και μερικές από Καλαμάτα, την πόλη που μεγάλωσα και το μέρος που ξεκίνησε η Ελληνική Επανάσταση το '21. Δυστυχώς, καμμιά από τις φωτογραφίες αυτές δεν ανήκει σ' εμένα, αλλά πιστεύω ότι οι επιλογές δεν είναι και πολλές. Στο επόμενο ταξίδι μου θα τραβήξω αμέτρητες φωτογραφίες και θα έχω υλικό για τα επόμενα 5 χρόνια :lol:

http://www.rexhotel.gr/photoshotel/kalamata.jpg

http://www.kpe-kalamatas.gr/area/kalamata%5C8.jpg

http://www.zacharo.com/mesinia_kalamata.jpg

http://www.zacharo.com/mesinia_kalamata_view.jpg

Μεταξύ Καλαμάτας-Σπάρτης:
http://www.walch-online.com/griechenland2005/imggr05/kalamata.jpg

Πέντε δρόμοι. Από τα πιό όμορφα κομμάτια της διαδρομής από/προς Σπάρτη:
http://www.walch-online.com/griechenland2005/imggr05/kalamata_I.jpg

http://www.amateurfunkferien.de/fotos/kalamata_1000_gross.jpg http://www.world66.com/europe/greece/kalamata/kalamata_beach_pro?display=web

http://images.world66.com/southern_view_from_galleryfull

http://images.world66.com/the_beach_of_kalam_galleryfull

http://www.joshmoore.info/photos/images/kalamata-01_jpg.jpg

http://www.syjoho.nl/photo_albums/200112/images/10%20Kalamata%20(Griekenland)_jpg.jpg

http://www.kpe-kalamatas.gr/area/kalamata%5C1.jpg

http://www.kpe-kalamatas.gr/area/kalamata%5C7.jpg

http://www.kpe-kalamatas.gr/area/kalamata%5C6.jpg

http://www.mani-kythera-travel.com/Graphics/Messinia/Kalamata.jpg

Πλάκωσαν τα σύννεφα:
http://freewind.tripod.com/Tainaro/kalamata.jpg

http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_2.jpg http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_5.jpg

http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_1.jpg http://www.acs-panama.com/images/gr_kalamata_4.jpg

Παιδιά, αυτρός είναι ο Ian Gillan των Deep Purple και σας βάζω στοίχημα :lol:
http://www.paragliding.gr/pikros/kalamata.jpg

http://goodras.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/.pond/kalamata.jpg.w560h365.jpg

Σκυλάδικο έγινε η Καλαμάτα:
http://www.palmhill.gr/IMAGES/ShowNews/Kalamata.jpg

http://www.matapan.de/kalamata/images/dampflok_kalamata_stefan2002.jpg

http://www.matapan.de/kalamata/images/Kalamata_1995_Hafen.jpg

http://railweb.techsite.cz/galerie/fotky/2228.jpg

Δεν τον ξέρω αυτόν τον μάστορα, αλλά η φωτογραφία από την κεντρική πλατεία της Καλαμάτας αξίζει τον κόπο:
http://www.colantonio.net/ItalyGreece/e10.jpg

http://www.colantonio.net/ItalyGreece/e01.jpg

http://www.colantonio.net/ItalyGreece/e02.jpg

Και πίστα Καρτ άμα λάχει... Ακόμα θυμάμαι το καλοκαίρι που ξόδεψα αμέτρητες ώρες και χιλιάρικα στην πίστα Σαν Νίκολας. Ωραίες ημέρες εκείνες!!!
http://www.photorallypress.gr/KART-KALAMATA-3-7-05/%CE%A4%CE%A3%CE%95%CE%A1%CE%91%CE%9D%CE%99%CE%94%CE%97%CE%A3%20%CE%93.jpg

http://vons.free.fr/peloponnesos/115-1577_IMG.jpg

http://assets.in.gr/dGenesis/assets/Content200/ImageGallery/KALAMATA2-600X.jpg

Και μερικές φωτογραφίες που μπορεί, όποιος ενδιαφέρεται, να χρησιμοποιήσει ως background στην οθόνη του υπολογιστή του.

http://www.kal.gr/wallpapers/images/kalamata04.jpg

http://www.kal.gr/wallpapers/images/kalamata00.jpg

http://www.kal.gr/wallpapers/images/kalamata03.jpg

[Pytheus]

Hey guys, very nice forum you keep here!! It's my first post so hi!! :wave:


But this thread caught my attention!

Raleigh-NC, damn, we finished the same school !!! And I lived all my life in the Paralia of Kalamata!!! (Limani, actually)

But I was born in 1981, while I see you are quite older... :)

This is how is our school today (photo taken from Akrita street):
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6154/pict01733hv.jpg



Prometheus, Aristomenis is a very nice village! I pass by there often, but dunno about Kefalovryso... :)

[LEAFS FANATIC]

Welcome Pytheus!!! And, hello...again! :) :cheers:

[Prometheus]

Pytheus, welcome to our forum fellow Kalamatiane!!!

Aristomeni is my father's village. I am not surprised that you do not know Kefalovriso, it's a small place. Jeez I would be surprised if there were more than 50 permanent residents there now. Oloi geroi. Opos ola ta xoria stin Ellada nai, alla afto to xorio ehei hasei ti 'neolea' tora kai polla xronia.

Which brings up an interesting topic. The 'death' of the xorio in modern Greece.

[Raleigh-NC]

Pytheus, that's a small world :) Yeah, I still have memories from my years in that school (thanks for the photo, by the way). And since I lived near there, at Methonis Str, I get to see it a lot. Many of my old friends used to hang out at "113", across from that school - is it called the same way these days? Hey, let's not be strangers... Please keep posting photos of Kalamata. I am planning a "full attack" on my hometown, some time next year (if everything goes well), and I will take a shitload of photos. I will create not 1-2, but 10 threads from that trip :lol: My two 1GB cards will not be sufficient, I promise.

Prometheus, the death of "xorio" is a very big subject. It is a shame, but nevertheless a phenomenon that needs to stop some day. Now, with the Internet making things simpler for most young people, you can live in the middle of nowhere and telecommute. It makes a lot of sense and saves a lot of money for young professionals who long for small town living without giving up opportunities. There are many examples of small and medium sized businesses that do that, in the United States. It is much easier if you have your own company, though. Let's hope that the trend will change and people from big cities will start moving to smaller towns and villages.

[ydrohoos]

unfortunately i cannnot see most of the pictures....those that i can see however are really beautiful.

thanks LEAFS

[Pytheus]

@ Leafs Fanatic: thnx bro! nice to be with you here! :cheers:


@ Prom: damn, this is so true and so painful the thing going on with our (all greece's) villages... :bash:

@ Raleigh-NC: I have many photos from Kalamata, and in my visit in the city in the 28 of October celebrations, I took even more, plus photos from all the Methoni street ... :colgate: My house was the first house of Nauarinou str, but now we have moved next to the Diaspora (Kalamata military airport) to the Kordias neighborhood...

@ Ydrohoos: You can view the pics here: http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Greece/Peloponnesus


'll post more pics later, cause I'm having so little time and I devote this time to another (greek and turkish) forum (owned by Olympiad of SSC) ... Many of you post there, and it's nice to have you there... :)






BTW, guys, I was more than pleased to see the way you confronted the Skopjean pests... Well done. I hate them to the guts.
But you must know that arguments do not work all the time... :) Sometimes needs to force them in delicate phsycological points to win the game and vanish them once and for all... :guns1:

[Raleigh-NC]

@ Raleigh-NC: I have many photos from Kalamata, and in my visit in the city in the 28 of October celebrations, I took even more, plus photos from all the Methoni street ... :colgate: My house was the first house of Nauarinou str, but now we have moved next to the Diaspora (Kalamata military airport) to the Kordias neighborhood...Does this mean I am in for a treat? :lol: I can't wait to see those photos. If you put them on-line, but won't post them in the forums, please send me a PM with the URL. By the way, my house is the stone-made house, right before the intersection of Riga Feraiou and Methonis streets, between Akritas and Riga Feraiou... Small world, right?

[Pytheus]

I'll post the photos here... The place looks great... :)

My Cousin that studies architecture in the Polytechnic Uni of Athens told me that one proffessor told them that if they like a full anthology of greek architecture, surroundings and landscapes (and not only greek), they have to visit the SSC.

And I proudly answered her that I am a very fresh member there!! :tyty:


By the way, my house is the stone-made house, right before the intersection of Riga Feraiou and Methonis streets, between Akritas and Riga Feraiou...

I think I got you house... :) Just wait to see the topic...

Small world, right?

Oh, you can never imagine how small the world is... Some times I just wonder if we are having wrong impression of how big our beloved planet is...

[Raleigh-NC]

As for small world, here are a couple of stories for you. In 1989, or was it 1990, I don't remember, while attending Hunter College in NYC, I decided to take one course in LaGuardia Community College, for just one quarter. The ONLY time I decided to visit the cafeteria, I met an old friend of mine from Kalamata. If I am in Raleigh today, it is thanks to him... In 1986, while visiting Greece, I was stuck in Madrid, after spending over 24 hours at the airport, due to some hijacking issues that "forced" TWA and other US airlines, the last minute, to limit their trans-Atlantic trips. Among the passengers was a young couple, whom I met in Kalamata about a week later... Definitely a very small world :lol:

I will try to be patient about your Kalamata photos, but please don't take too long ;)

[LEAFS FANATIC]

To Raleigh, Prometheus, Skaros, Pytheus, and all of my other Peloponessean friends, I hope you enjoy these pics:

http://static.flickr.com/1/123808509_39e03d7bdb_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/37/123808511_5ba2ab1358_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/35/123808912_8ecd38187a_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/38/123808911_afeccd48a2_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/34/123808910_53ed97880b_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/37/123808909_b532d3025d_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/40/123808908_a17acc1e29_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/39/123808907_c82a220873_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/22/123808515_1f0c42eef7_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/35/123808514_fb240be714_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/38/123808513_657200782f_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/41/123808512_42388c2bb6_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/35/123809574_71c5ad25cc_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/43/123809573_54ee9a5ab4_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/35/123809572_6526d11605_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/41/123809571_19b69c6c44_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/42/123809238_1cfde00960_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/1/123809237_edb4f33e09_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/37/123809236_1239624e92_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/40/123809235_1a61a77ef5_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/35/123809234_e02bc96c0a_o.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/38/123809233_0791a9ef58_o.jpg

[NMBS1]

Great pictures, truly beautiful

[Giorgio]

Best Region! :D

[Raleigh-NC]

Wow!!! Very impressive images!!!!!!! I can't wait to visit Greece again and take a sh*tload of photos. I mean I will fill ten 2GB cards and post ALL the images here :jk: