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Mystra (Mistra) – Mystra is a beautifully-preserved
medieval ghost town, with a Frankish castle on the hill, palace ruins, Byzantine
churches decorated with frescoes, crumbly mansions and stone paths winding
around the hillside. In 1249, a Frankish prince built his castle on a strategically
situated promontory, with a bird's eye view of the wide valley below. Twenty
years later, the Byzantines captured Mystra, and made it their cultural
and artistic capital for the next two hundred years. |
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There are three main sections of Mystra, spreading down the
hillside – the castle, the upper town, and the lower town. A nice way
to explore is to start the top with the upper town (which also has a path
that leads up to the castle). In the upper town, highlights are the impressive
ruins of the Palace of the Despots (Princes) and the Ag. Sophia church. |
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You can walk all the way down to the lower town, through the
Monemvasia Gate (or you can drive to a separate entrance for the lower town).
In the lower town, stop into Mitropolos, the oldest church in Mystra, decorated
with glowing frescoes. |
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Allow plenty of time to explore Mystra – it's a spot
to truly step back in time (and if you're there in summer, go early in the
morning or later in the day). |
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Sparta (Sparti) – Sparta, home of King Menelaus
and his lovely wife Helen in the epic poem, The Iliad. Sparta was one of
the powerful Greek city-states, noted for its well-trained warriors and
skills in the arts of war. But unlike their rivals, the Athenians, the Spartans
didn't put up great stone buildings. As a result, today Sparta is a pleasant
town with light colored buildings and olive trees in the backyards, but
with few ancient monuments to mark its long history. Sparta makes a great
lunch break, just to soak up the setting – the town nestles on the
Eurotas plain, at the base of the dramatic Taiyetos Mountains. |
