Monday, 22 March 2021

1821 - 2021 HELLENIC REVOLUTION

Text by Nikos Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

1821 - 2021, 200 years since the Greek Revolution. Glorious moments, countless battles, greatest heroes and heroines from all over Greece, marked one of the most important moments in Greek history.

Germanos III of Old Patras blesses the flag of the revolution

March 25, 1821, is the starting day of the National Fight. All of Greece is on the fire of the Revolution against the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish occupation. Peloponnese, Central Greece, Thessaly, Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace, Crete, Aegean Sea, Moldavia, everywhere from end to end Hellenism rose and the freedom that all Greeks waited for so many years finally came. In this tribute, we will say a few words about the symbolism of the Revolution, while we will focus on events that took place in the Peloponnese.

the beginning of the Revolution in Mani

It is worth mentioning that throughout the Turkish occupation countless revolutions and conflicts took place, which overall failed, as for example the Orlofika in 1770. Nevertheless, we see that the Greeks never accepted the Turkish occupation and always fought for a free Greek nation and an independent state. March 25th was the day of the general beginning of the Revolution, but in Mani the Fight began on March 17, 1821. Mani was never conquered by the Turks, but fought furiously for its freedom and independence, while helping greatly for the freedom of the rest of Greece. On March 17th, in Areopolis, under the leadership of Petrobei Mavromichalis, the Mani chieftains decided together to openly battle the Ottomans.

Fall of Tripolitsa

What to mention first about those heroic moments. Heroes like Nikitaras from Nedousa of Messinia and the Mani chieftains Mavromichalis with historical names such as Petrobeis and Elias. Charalambos Vilaetis from Pyrgos of Ilia, Ioannis Notaras from Trikala of Corinthia, the Chrysanthakopoulos brothers from the village of Koumani in Achaia, as well as countless other heroes from all over the Peloponnese, from Arcadia, Argolida, Achaia, Ileia, Korinthia, Lakonia and Messinia, where you need endless pages to record them all.

Theodoros Kolokotronis

Of course, it would be impossible not to mention the greatest hero, the man who marked the Greek Revolution as much as anyone else, Theodoros Kolokotronis, the Old man of Moria. Born in 1770, the Peloponnesian general wrote history with epic victories and conquests. He was the man where in the most difficult moments of the revolution, the whole of Hellenism relied on him.

the initiation of Theodoros Kolokotronis in the Filiki Etaireia

Regarding it, we will see some great battles won by the Greeks, laying a solid foundation for the liberation. The Fall of Tripoli, September 23, 1821, General Theodoros Kolokotronis besieges the most important administrative and commercial center of the Peloponnese, of the highest strategic importance. On the one hand the 10,000 Greeks, whose leaders were Theodoros Kolokotronis from Limbovisi of Arcadia, Panagiotis Giatrakos from Arna of Laconia, Christos Anagnostaras from Poliani of Messinia and Petrobeis Mavromichalis from Areopolis. Opposite them were 10,000 Ottomans, Albanians, Jews and Asians, while the administration was held by Kehagiabeis, Defterndaris and Selih Mehmet. The overwhelming victory of the Greeks brought the capital of Arcadia in their hands. The conquest of Tripoli was one of the most important events, as it gave great strength to the Greeks, revived their morale and played a decisive role in the outcome of the war.

Grateful Hellas


Ibrahim, who burned and sacked Greece, is trying to conquer the unconquerable Mani. In June 1826, Ibrahim attacked Verga and Diros. As he arrived in Verga, Ibrahim demanded the immediate surrender of the Maniots under the threat of destroying all of Mani. George Mavromichalis, signing as the leader of the Spartans, answered heroically: "we are waiting for you with all the forces you have, the people of Mani are writing and we are waiting for you". Ibrahim with 8,500 men dashed against the few Maniots who numbered about 1,500 defenders, among them countless women with scythes literally leveled the enemy army. Women and men of Mani, descendants of Spartans, managed to defeat the attack of the until then invincible Ibrahim. Two months later, on August 28, 1826, Ibrahim with 4,000 soldiers, Ottomans and Egyptians attacked again in Mani, where he found 2,000 Maniots with Panagiotis, Nikolaos and Georgios Giatrakos, Elias Katsakos, Georgios and Konstantinos Mavromichalis and Elias Tsalafatinos as their leaders. The battle turned into a disaster for Ibrahim, as his army was slaughtered, with him admitting that he could not conquer Mani and so he left. The massacre of his army, which consisted mostly of Arabs, gave the area the name "Polyaravon".

flag with a representation of Greece in the form
of the goddess Athena which originally belonged to Theodoros
Kolokotronis and was given to Konstantinos Drakos

Also of great importance was the Liberation of Kalamata, on March 23, 1821, led by Kolokotronis, Anagnostaras, Papaflessas and Petrobeis Mavromichalis. The leader of the Turks was Suleiman Pasha. The Turks handed over the city to the Greeks without any particular resistance. Also of great importance was the Occupation of Palamidi in Nafplio, on November 30, 1822. The Greeks, led by Staikos Staikopoulos from Zatouna of Gortynia, with a secret raid took over control of Palamidi and forced the Turks to surrender. The Patras uprising also played a big role, where Odysseas Androutsos hid for some time, while Makrygiannis there tried to bring the leaders of the uprisings in contact in order to coordinate them. The Siege of Acrocorinth took place on January 14, 1822, where the Turks were forced to hand over Acrocorinth to Theodoros Kolokotronis.

flag of the Filiki Etairia, one of the
oldest and most famous flags of the Revolution

April 3, 1821, the battle of Pyrgos took place. Ileia fighters led by Charalambis Vilaetis, fought against the Ottomans and the Turkalvans. A series of battles followed until June, 1821, when after a great campaign of the Greeks, Ileia was liberated. July 26, 1822, Battle at Dervenakia, an area between Argolis and Corinthia, one of the most important battles known as the "Slaughter of Dramalis". On the one hand the Ottoman Mahmut Pasha Dramalis, led by 30,000 men and on the other hand Theodoros Kolokotronis, Dimitris Plapoutas, Papaflessas, Nikitaras and Dimitrios Ypsilantis, with 2,500 Greek warriors. The battle ended with a great victory of the Greeks and the destruction of the Ottoman army.

Maniots women carrying scythes and fighting Ibrahim's army

What to mention first about the women who fought like lionesses for freedom. One of them is Stavriana Savvaina from Parori of Laconia. When the Turks killed her husband, she herself created an army consisting of women and joined the army of Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis. She fought in the Fall of Tripoli, in the battle of Valtetsi, in the battle of Trikorfa, in the battle of Diros and in many other battles. Konstantina Zacharia, a Spartan warrior who persecuted the Turks from Sparta to Mystras where they were forced to hide. She also took over Leontari in Arcadia, killed the Ottoman commander, lowered the Turkish crescent banners and burned all the mosques. Of course, a tribute is not enough to praise all the heroines of the struggle, who fought for our country on an equal footing with the men.

flag of independent Mani, for that reason
the word "Victory" is written and not the word
"Freedom" because Mani was always free

200 years have passed since when golden pages were written in the history of Greece, but also tragic, as unfortunately the end of many heroes was not what it should be, as betrayals, foreign powers, civil wars and other situations blatantly wronged many heroes who gave their fortunes, and even their lives for the freedom of our homeland.

flag of the family Kolokotronis which
Theodoros also used. During the Revolution it
was also used by other chieftains

200 years later, almost nothing reminds of these heroic moments. Unfortunately, the modern descendants of these heroes are nothing like their ancestors who gave the last fight in the name of freedom. Governments that in no way resemble the values ​​and dreams as well as the actions of those heroes, and people that unfortunately do not remember their power and history. A memorial day, a significant day for all Greeks but also for all people living in slavery. A day when an entire empire kneeled before thieves, armatoles and people who gave everything, so that today we and our children can be free. Whatever one writes, words are not enough to describe the significance of the event. It is the duty of all of us to honor them, not to forget them, but also not to forget and sell out the legacies left by those people, the manners and ideals, the love for the freedom that all people deserve to have. The page En Astron as well as all of us honor the memory of these heroes and wish all Greeks good freedom, because as Rigas Velestinlis said: "Better an hour of free life, than forty years of slavery and imprisonment".

Sunday, 21 March 2021

CAMERA MUSEUM IN MYSTRAS

Text by Nikos Aivalis, research by Elpida Zografidou, photo report by Paraskevas Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

In our current journey we will visit the Museum of Cameras of Takis Aivalis, in Mystras of beautiful Laconia. We will get to know this beautiful museum, which is truly the joy of every camera friend, as there is a great collection that can immerse you in the history of photography.

Camera Museum Takis Aivalis

Following the road EO Sparta Mystras, just before entering the center of Mystras, we find the museum. Mystras is one of the most historic places in Greece with the famous castle city, in a beautiful natural environment. You can see our journey to Mystras in our article: Mystras the Byzantine State

the museum in the Guinness Book of Records

It is worth mentioning that the museum entered the Guinness record in 2001 thanks to the large collection of cameras, which is the largest collection of its kind in the world. In a very beautiful place you can admire a large number of cameras.


The museum was inaugurated in 2013 and was a dream of Takis Aivalis and Anastasia Aivalis. Takis Aivalis was born in beautiful Mystras in 1934, went to school in Sparta, studied in New York in the United States of America, served in the US Army thanks to which he found himself being in Germany. After being discharged from the army, he returned to America and studied advertising, tourism, commercial photography and fashion photography.


In 1967 Takis Aivalis returned to Greece where he opened his own photography studio, while he was the founder of the Hellenic Association of Creative Photography. Through a huge photographic career, with great collaborations, he was one of the most renowned photographers in the field.


This huge collection with about 1,000 cameras, started in 1940 when Takis Aivalis father brought him a camera from America. By the 1960s it had already reached 300 cameras, most of them from America.


One of the oldest cameras in the collection is a 1885 Kodak camera, which shows how one can see the evolution of cameras from the past to the present.


The collection includes huge names in the field of cameras such as: Kodak, Coronet, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Polaroid as well as many more companies that have made history. The collection also includes aerial cameras from the US Army.


In the large collection there are wooden cameras, lenses, negatives, accessories, as well as books.

It is worth noting that in 2006 Takis Aivalis wrote and published the photo album "Mystras journey through time".


The museum is accessible to all camera lovers, as well as to schools, clubs and groups.


Somewhere at this point our exploration comes to an end at the Museum of Cameras of Takis Aivalis, we recommend to all travelers who may find theirselves in the area, to definitely visit the museum. It is worth knowing the history of the camera, which is an invention that changed human life, as it has the unique ability to save experiences, memories, people and landscapes in one lens, capturing it all and keeping them alive in photo albums.

Wednesday, 10 March 2021

VALTAKI BEACH AND LACONIAN SHIPWRECK

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, photo report by Elpida Zografidou, technical support by Paraskevas Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

A new journey begins, a new travelogue. This time our aim is to go to Valtaki beach with its famous shipwreck. Just outside Gytheio, there is a beach that anyone who visits it will never forget it. A sandy beach with crystal clear waters, a shipwreck, ancient finds and Laconic nature will compose our trip.


Starting from the beautiful city of Gytheio (you can see our journey in the article Gytheio the land of the gods), following the provincial road Skala - Gytheio we are heading to the area of Valtaki.

Gytheio

Beautiful coastal route, in which on one side you gaze at the majesty of the sea, while on the other side you see the Laconic nature of eastern Mani. Reaching our destination, one can see half-destroyed towers covered in weeds. They are some of the Mani towers which were fortresses of Mani against the Ottomans, as they were the borders of free Mani with the rest of Turkish-occupied Greece, on the side of Evrotas.

Mani's towers

From that point one can get a first taste of the beach and the shipwreck from above. The view is unique, while one can even see the area of Trinisa and a big part of the Laconic Gulf.

the beach and the shipwreck from above

As we descend, after a turn on the road, we enter a small alley to finally reach the beach. There is plenty of space to leave your car and not only, as the place is also suitable for motorhomes. At the entrance to the beach there is a large bar surrounded by palm trees, which offers coffee, food and more.

Valtaki beach

One of the first things we find is a small beautiful river that falls into the sea, creating a very interesting phenomenon for anyone who enters the sea. The water is warm along its entire length, and at the point where the river falls the water it is quite cool. The river is full of vegetation as algae and shrubs are located along its entire length, while frogs and small fish take a walk inside it.

Valtaki beach river

The beach is free and very large. You can freely put your umbrella, take a wonderful swim in the sea and rinse off the salt water as the beach has a shower, while the area is suitable for camping. Of course, as we emphasize in each of our articles, when we visit a place we should show absolute respect to it, so we do not leave garbage, cigarette butts and anything else. We can enjoy everything that is offered without destroying a place.

Valtaki beach

The beach is crystal clear, with wonderful sand, while the sea is a pleasure, quite shallow on the shores, suitable for couples, families and groups. One of the first things we come across are markings in places where sea turtles lay their eggs and it is good to move a little away from those places. Besides, the beach is huge and has plenty of space for people and turtles.

sea turtle eggs

Another thing we find here are white tree trunks that look like statues of nature, giving a different color to the beach. Like natural benches, they stand between the sandy beach and are suitable for photos but also for sitting.

trunks on the beach

Walking along the beach, before we reach the shipwreck, we find an ancient building that literally falls into the sea.
 
ancient building and in the background the shipwreck

We reach the impressive and imposing shipwreck. The ship is named "Dimitrios" and it has been there since December 23, 1981. There are several speculations about how it was found there. One case states that the ship was carrying smuggled cigarettes, tried to escape from the authorities and got stuck on the sandy bottom of the area. The other version is that the owners of the ship had financial problems, as a result of which the ship moved to the specific area. Today the ship is fully in tune with the landscape, as it is an attraction. It is easy to approach, as a small nose of the beach leads you there. But you need to be careful when you get too close, because the ship is rusty.

shipwreck Dimitrios

Turning back, in the alley from which we came, at the top there is a small forest where tourists put their motorhomes, creating a small hippie community. A little further there is a sign with the inscription "archaeological site".

archaeological beach site

Through all this magical image of the beach, the river, the pure Laconic nature, only one negative thing can be found and this has to do with the ancient finds of the place. Unfortunately, the archeological services settled for a simple sign, without indicating the slightest detail about the date, time or use of the finds. It is a pity to live in the richest archeological country and these relics of our ancestors to be neglected, covered in weeds, indistinguishable, without any information, while they should be fully usable regarding tourism, as with the natural beauties of our country and our ancient finds complete the image of Greece.

archaelogical ruins, Valtaki area


PLYTRA AND ANCIENT ASOPOS

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, photo report by Elpida Zografidou, technical support by Paraskeva Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

A new journey begins, and this time we go to the eastern foot of the Peloponnese, in one of the most beautiful parts of Laconia. In a small space we will see Plytra with one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, while a little further we will explore the sunken ancient city of Asopos.


Starting our journey from Sparta we have to travel a distance of 73 kilometers to our destination. We descend through the heart of Laconia in the direction of Monemvasia. We pass through Molai and after 17 kilometers we reach Plytra. Plytra is a seaside settlement, located very close to the village of Papadianika and belongs to the municipality of Monemvasia.

Plytra

Plytra is a beautiful seaside village, with shops, restaurants and hostels, playgrounds and space for automotive vehicles and caravans. One can take a walk by the deep blue sea and enjoy every moment in this place. We start our walk from the most beautiful beach of the area, awarded every year with a blue flag, which is called Pachia Ammos. We leave the car by the coastal area and head to this wonderful beach.

coastal route of Plytra

As we arrive we get to see one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. The sand is really off-white, crystal clear, while the waters are literally transparent, crystal clear and invite you to try them.

Pachia Ammos beach

The beach has a cafe restaurant, there is an organized part, cosmopolitan and extremely attractive to young people and more. We also tried the waters of the beach and it is a fact that we fell in love with them, as we are sure that you will fall in love with them too when you visit this seaside paradise.

the clear blue waters of the beach

Another thing that made a very positive impression on us is the cleanliness of the beach. Along it you find only shells that give a color to the beach.

overlooking the wonderful Laconian sea of Plytra

We climbed a little higher to admire the beach from above. The result was us falling in love with the place even more.


the light blue beach of Plytra

Before exploring the rest of Plytra, we try to capture every side of the beach so that you can taste the aroma and beauty of the sea along with us.

Pachia Ammos beach

Another thing that impressed us is some white flowers that were on small hills above the beach, which are called Sea Lilies (Pancratium maritimum).

Sea Lily

Leaving this beautiful beach, we have the best impressions. We walk along the coast to the ancient Asopos. On our way we meet many beautiful places which enchant us even more.

one of the many beautiful places of Plytra

On our way we meet another attraction. On a small beach called Artanis there is a partially collapsed house which belonged to the Venetsanaki family. According to oral traditions, Theodoros Kolokotronis was hosted in this house, as he had friendly relations with the family.

the house on Artani beach

A little further on the borders of Plytra with the ancient Asopos there is the port of Plytra, where fishing boats give their own color to the area.

port of Plytra

From there we enter the Ancient Asopos. A sign puts us in the archeological site, which we look forward to meeting with great enthusiasm.

Asops archeological site

As we follow the path, to our left there is a large ancient building.

ancient building in Asopos

The archeological site is literally inside and outside the sea. The archaeological finds in the sea are visible from outside. The area is called Kokkines as a large number of ancient pottery give a red color to the coast (kokkino - red).
Kokkines area

In the area there are remains of the ancient city of Asopos, as well as from the roman period. The city sank in 365 AD. after a strong earthquake. Asopos was a member of the Public of the Lacones, had a port and minted his own currency.

ancient ruins in the sea

There are two versions of the name of the area, the first is that it took its name from Asopos, Heraclides hero, while the second version is that the name of the area comes from the river of the same name that crosses the area.

ancient ruins in Asopos

We know from Pausanias that in the area there was a sanctuary of Asclepius, sanctuary of Athena, asclepieion, temple of the roman emperors, while in the area of Finiki there was a sanctuary of Hyperteleatas Apollo.

ancient building on the sea

We went along the coastline, admired as many relics of the ancient city as we could, while in the field of imagination we tried to see what the city once was. Literally everywhere there are ancient buildings, columns, pieces of ceramics, things that show the size of the sunken city.

ancient ruins in Asopos

Somehow we reached the end of the route, a route that impressed us and left us with a bittersweet taste since the archeological site was of incredible beauty and uniqueness, but a bitter note left us thinking that so many finds and ruins are being destroyed day by day by the sea waves. As we were getting back, however, nature gave us a beautiful smile to close our journey to Plytra and Asopos, when a beautiful dragonfly came to us to see us out.

dragonfly in Asopos

Here our journey comes to an end. A beautiful trip to another unique corner of Laconian land. One thing is for sure, we will definitely visit the place again and we suggest you to put it on your list of places to visit. We continue our journeys throughout the Peloponnese and travel with you.