It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are two entrances: one at the bottom of the site and the other one in the middle. It is about 6 km away from Sparti. In the modern village of Mystras - situated 1 km or so from the archaeological site, there are a few restaurants and hotels.

Its fortifications and churches, its palaces and mansions, its roads and fountains, charm thousands of visitors daily and offers them valuable insights in the evolution and culture of the Byzantines.

For two centuries Mistras was at the forefront of developments and had a brilliant history full of glory, splendour and political, social and cultural contributions. Its story begins in the mid-13th century when the Franks were dominant in the Peloponnese. In 1249 Villehardouin II built an impregnable fortress at the top of a hill called Mistras or Mizithras. Ten years later Villehardouin found himself a prisoner of the Byzantine Emperor Michael Paleologus and bought his freedom by handing over the fortresses of Mistras, Monemvasia and Mani. Mistras offered security, so that the inhabitants of neighbouring Lacedaemonia, as Sparti was then called, made their homes on the slopes surrounding the fortress.

The settlement and the Hora (town) were protected by a wall, but the new houses were built outside the enclosure. Another wall protected the new settlement, Kato Hora. The strategoi (generals) governed the town, and as of 1308, when the seat of the Diocese had been moved to Lacedaemonia,

Mistras became in the mid-14th century the capital of the Peloponnese and the seat of the Seignioly (Despotate) of the Moreas, with a ruler or despot who enjoyed tenure for life.

Sightseeing

The Palaces

The palaces of the despots of Morea dominate Mistras from their rocky foundations in the centre of Ano Hora where the Monemvasia gate leads from Kato Hora. It is a spectacular complex, comprised of buildings built at different times. The first, the "mansion of the Cantakuzenoi", was constructed in the first years, perhaps by the Franks. The second edifice dates from the same period (1250-1350). The third, a four-storey building, was erected between 1350 and 1400, as was the fourth, a two-storey mansion which was the residence of the despot. The fifth building (1400-1450) was the palace of the Paleologoi. Its length is 38 m. and its width 12 m. The first storey was intended for the departments of the Seigniory. The second was the throne hall. The abandoned palaces constitute an important attraction for the modern visitor. After their restoration, they are a vivid reminder of an era that has left an indelible mark on history. As is the grand square before them, the site of official displays during the days of Mistras' glory and a market in later years, when the town was a busy commercial centre.




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Like all the sculptors of this era, in his sculptures, he mostly used to depict the gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon. The sculpture shows Hermes resting in the trunk of a tree, while the baby is trying to take something from his hand. While Hermes' right arm is missing today, originally it would have probably held a bunch of grapes, taunting the infant. As the myth suggests, Zeus ordered Hermes, his messenger, to hide the newborn from his wife Hera and take him to the nymphs in Crete. Hermes of Praxiteles is displayed at the Archaeological Museum in Olympia.

The entrance and the exit of the cave are the same. Under well-colored stalagmites three little lakes in the colors of grey, pink and white have taken shape. The interior part of the cave houses various species of insects as the species of Lepidopterans.

The path: After the entrance of the lake the hall leads to the First Chamber which has a length of 17 m. In the left side you can find the Chamber of the River.
The ladder leads to the Big Room with a height nearing 6 meters.

Anemotripa is composed of 3 main levels; the highest one is not accessible by visitors since it had collapsed in the past. Thus, you can start your tour through the median level that is the main touristic path and offers a unique atmospheric environment that will magnetize you from the very first moment. In the cave’s lowest level there is an underground flowing river. Moreover, the cave is divided into several room spaces that are connected by corridors, sometimes uphill, sometimes downhill. Fascinating stalactites and stalagmites, waterfalls, ponds and the underground river are only some of the ingredients that if we mix them with the cave’s natural colors, the result becomes really majestic.

Author: Mary Kallivoka

The silver lined beaches, the white washed walls with the blue painted windows and the narrow pebbled streets surrounding them create an artistic landscape of tranquility. Filled with places of interest it is the principal spot of attractions and sightseeing on the island.

The Medieval Castle

Dating back to the 14th or the 16th century the Medieval Castle is located up town and comprises of the inner castle (in ruins) and the outer castle that still stands even after the pirate attack of 1638. The castle is a characteristic example of the Aegean fortification architecture with houses side by side built from solid rock, white washed walls and steel doors.

The Archeological Museum

Situated opposite to the Metropolitan church of Panagia Odigitria, the Archeological Museum hosts exhibits and archeological findings showing the history of the island including vessels and utensils from the early 7th century B.C.

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Nekromanteio is a small archaeological site, easily navigated in one or two hours. I wandered through the rooms and storage areas before entering the long corridor where in ancient times so many must have walked trembling in anticipation of an encounter with the dead. Of the three arched gates in the labyrinth two survive in good condition and the labyrinth with its massive walls is still an imposing structure. Imagining the path of the ancients, I walked through the third door into the main hall where the hallucinating pilgrims believed in the encounter with the underworld inhabitants.

Through a small hole on the floor of the main hall I descended a steep metal staircase down into the dark crypt that was the palace of Persephoni and Hades. The passage even today appears ominous--like the descent to the underworld should feel-- and the room is stunning in the contradiction of its irregular rocky floor and the perfectly masoned stone arches that soar overhead. The crypt was probably carved out of the live rock in the same place where an ancient cave may have started the cult.

Above this, the passage to the underworld of a pagan cult, in later times a Christian church was built that crowns the ancient stones. It stands as a silent witness to the long history of the land that manifests itself on strata of symbolic monuments to conflicting ideologies.

Nekromanteio is not as well known as the other oracles of Greece, but well worth a visit for its charm and the fascinating cult that made it all possible. I enjoyed my walk through the ruins as I tried to imagine the gamut of feelings that an ancient believer must have experienced on his/her way to meet the dead with shaking knees and a spinning head.

I didn't fear, nor believed, but driving away I smiled and secretly adored the fact that I had just descended and escaped from the dwelling of Hades himself; a feat reserved for the bravest of men: Orpheus who went for love, Hercules who went for the three-headed dog, and Odysseus who went for the future to be told.

Source: Greek Landscapes

People from the entire known world would make the pilgrimage in ancient times in order to consult the future-telling Oak tree and to attend cultural festivals that took place regurarly at Dodoni.

"The divine couple had their adobe in the Oak-tree, and from the rustling of its leaves and the flight of the doves (Peleiades) that nested in is branches the soothsayers of Zeus, the prophets (Selli), who slept on the ground and never washed their feet so as to be in contact with the earch and draw their oracular powers from it, interpeted the will of the god to mortals." (Dodona," by Sotirios Dakaris.)

I drove to Dodoni in a clear July morning not knowing what to expect. I drove North from Arta and within one hour or so I saw the signs for Dodona just before I reached the city of Ioannina. I turned left and followed the narrow road that snaked diligently around small and large hills until I was confronted with the majestic twin peaks of mount Tomaros (1972m and 1816m tall) at the foot of which Dodoni is nested. Although it took much longer than I anticipated, I enjoyed the drive to Dodoni enormously, and the ever-changing mountain scenery gave me the feeling that I was about to reach a special place, and I was not disappointed once there.

I entered the ruins of the sanctuary early in the morning before the hot summer sun and the hordes of tourists had a chance to ruin my pilgrimage. I walked the long dirt path from the ticket counter to the excavated site and I could see nothing that gave me the impression of an important ancient center. That is until the enormous retaining wall of the theater of Dodoni grew out of a small hill with an imposing authority that defined the rural landscape.

The limestone seats of the theater were weather beaten and nested in a respectful semicircle between the two enormous retaining walls. I entered the theater and stood alone in the middle of the orchestra pausing to comprehend the majestic scenery, and to imagine the cultural spectacle that took place in ancient times. What were the audience like? Were they restless when the play unfolded? Absorbed and motionless when the plot was climaxing? Did they remain frozen, afraid to make a sound that would disturb the illusionary space of the tragedy? What would they think of me, staring at them with camera at hand and Nike shoes at my feet?


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An island pregnant with history
There is evidence of human activity on the rich with archaeological treasures island since the Neolithic times. But it’s the Kaviria Mysteries – religious event of great importance, equal to that of the Eleusinian Mysteries - that brought the island’s fame to the top. The grandeur of the archaeological prominence of Samothrace stretches over the 50-square-kilometres site of Palaiópolis, at 6,5km from the port of Kamariótissa.

Hundreds of crystal watered streams flow from mount Saos to rush through the forests all the way to the sea. On their way, they form waterfalls and stone basins, the so called “váthres”. As a matter of fact, the streams and the waterfalls are the landmarks of the island. A pair of the best of those are the stream of Foniás (=”killer”) and its tallest waterfall (Kleidwsi – 35m high). A nature wonder in the form of a waterfall is situated in the Northeast; it’s Kremastó. The water there goes through some iron rocks to obtain a sweet, reddish colour before fiercely ending into the sea. Behind the water mass there is a cave to be explored. Other well-known waterfalls are Kakiá Pláka, Karyá, and Griá Váthra.

Along the north and the eastern coastline there are wetlands formed seasonally. Migratory birds call at the mouth of Foniás, at the wetland of Vdelolimni, whereas the lagoon of Agios Andreas near Kamariótissa is popular with birdwatchers.

But don’t forget you are on an island with rugged, mostly pebbly beaches, some of which are accessible only by boat. The beach of the Gardens with the black and gray shiny pebbles stands out. In the south, there is the only sandy –thus most cosmopolitan- beach of the island, Pachia Ammos (= “thick sand”) where you can marvel at the –perched-on-a-steep-rock chapel of Panagia Krimniotissa. Rent a boat here for a tour around the otherwise inaccessible areas of Katárti, Spiliés, Váto, Kremastó, Grias ta Paniá, and Gyalí. The fascinating bottom of the sea and the underwater life abundance appear transparent through the crystal clear waters.

An alternative tourism paradise

The imposing mountainous heart of the island paired with its pristine nature are just what explorers and adventure lovers could ever wish for: crossing gorges, trekking, mountaineering, mountain bike, paragliding, rafting, kayak, diving will be amongst your choices if you want to go active.

But Mother Nature has been generous to Samothrace in geothermal richness too: sulphurous therapeutic thermal springs welcome you to the village of Therma and to the spa facilities, where Greeks and foreigners seek and find health and wellness.


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