Mystras, Mycenae and Ancient Epidavros

Over the next few days we visited three more of Greece's magnificent historical sites however it was not all history.  Our days were spent strolling the streets or along the shores at Nafplio which was our base, enjoying wonderful food in little sidewalk cafes, wine tastings with some ouzo and tsiporo thrown in for good measure.  We had a wonderful Greek dinner in a little family taverna with Mom, sister and brother doing all the cooking and serving. We were entertained with Greek music through dinner and then the dancers arrived.  By the end of the evening no one was allowed to remain seated and a fun time was had by all as we were taught a simple Greek dance.  Interacting with the locals is such a fun part of the trip.  All of the places we have stayed are family run and it is such a warm feeling.  Our guide is British born but married a Greek man and has lived here for over 30 years. Maria has been full of stories of Greek life from birth to death, jobs,the economy, religion,history and any thing else we might want to know.  What a personal way to learn about a country.  We have stopped at little places along the way that we would never have found on our own which has made this tour so much more worthwhile.

Mystras is the most important Byzantine site in Greece as it was here that the Byzantine Empire had its last stand before being taken over by the Ottomans.  At one time home to 15,000 there are now only six old nuns left living in the Monastry.  Built on a steep hill we started at the top and visited verbal of the churches on the way down to view ther frescoes which were painted by some of the Empires greatest artists.  A short visit to Sparta which dominated Ancient Greece in the fifth and sixth century BC was very anticlimactic as it was abandoned in the 13th century and its buildings were dismantled to build Mystras.

Mycenae was the oldest site we visited dating back to the 15th century BC. One enters through a large lions gate. A large civilization once lived here and large grave circles have been excavated which have revealed a large amount of treasures that were buried with the bodies and tell a lot about life 3000 years ago.  Amazing.

Epidavros was a site built more than 2500 years ago that the sick would go to seeking the help of the priests who were the early doctors. The ruins themselves are not that remarkable but the theater built nearly 2500 years ago is in magnificent condition and is even in use today for special performances as it has near perfect acoustics.

Leading to the church at the top of the hill at Mystras 

Ruins of the church where inside beautiful frescoes remain

The monks eating hall.

Remains of a three story house which show historians that people of wealth lived in this area

This rare frescoe depicts the birth of the Virgin Mary with her mother Ann

Archways leading to yet another church 

The frescoe above the entrance to this courtyard has survived the elements for hundreds of years

This is the Monastry where the six elderly nuns live up on the hill.  There is only a path to access it

The day we were in Sparta was the day of the Spartathalon which is a 250 kilometer grueling run

These are the uninspiring ruins of Sparta

One needs to eat and this was a delicious grilled calamari 

Eric was very pleased with his pork kleftiko

Large beehive tomb at Mycenae from the 15th century BC

Gold ornaments found in the grave circles from 1600-1500BC

Ceramic burial vase as in above illustration. This one dates back to 1050 BC

Canaanite jars recovered from a tomb 1400 BC

6th century BC ceramics also recovered from a grave

The lions gate entrance to Mycenae

One of the grave circles that was excavated where all the treasures were found

Golden treasures

The steep stairs of Nafplio where we spent time between visits to different sites

Group dinner at a family taverna

Greek dancing with a couple of good sports participating 

Surgical instruments used at ancient Epidavros 

The athletic stadium at Epidavros where competitions were held

Part of the ancient site under going restoration. Very tedious and expensive work

The 2500 year old theatre 

View from the top. Fabulous sound when someone clapped from center stage