Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Laconia

Rusty Dimitrios shipwreck is an imposing cargo ship that has been abandoned on Valtaki beach since 1981. It is believed that this ship was used for transporting illegal cigarettes between Turkey and Italy, however many refer to this ship as a ghost ship, of which the origins remain unknown.

Vathia - or Vatheia - is a traditional village in the southernmost tip of the Mani peninsula on the Peloponnese. The village was built from the mid 16th century. In the 19th century the village had about 300 inhabitants, who were mainly farmers and the olive harvest was their main occupation. At the beginning of the 20th century the inhabitants left the village due to poverty and at the end of the eighties of the last century there were hardly any people living there. Nowadays Vathia - often called a ghost town - is almost completely uninhabited. It has about 90 typical tower houses with the typical architecture of the Mani; most of them are empty and partly dilapidated, but in the meantime some have been renovated. The tower houses in Vathia are built like fortresses with two or three floors. The people, at one time, fiercely guarded their land and livelihoods, either from foreign invaders or rival families. The fortress-like houses provided the ideal opportunity to keep a lookout in the case of a potential invasion. The head of each household was considered to be a ‘mini warlord’, who had the interests of the family at the center of his concerns. The fierceness of the people, the rugged terrain and the strategic location of the tower houses helped keep Mani (and Vathia) free from invaders and it even maintained its independence from the Ottoman Empire.. Vathia is built on a hill top in the middle of an impressive landscape with beautiful sea views. It is located halfway between Areopoli and Cape Tenaro.

The picturesque village of Porto Kagio is located in a small bay nearby the southernmost tip of the Mani Peninsula, where the landscape is presented by high barren hills and indented coast with bays. It is the southernmost natural port of mainland Greece. The tiny village is far from civilization, making it peaceful and quiet. Right in front there is a small pebbly beach with crystal-clear waters. The village has always been a very important port. It was already mentioned in the 2nd century AD, when it was known as Psammathous. The modern name comes from the Venetian “Porto Quaglio” and the French (Frankish) “Port des Cailles” (Quail Port). Porto Kagio was the base of the pirate fleet of Lambros Katsonis. Lambros Katsonis sailed from port to port, looting Ottoman boats and trying to get the Greeks to start a revolution. During World War II, it was the place from which a significant number of British soldiers escaped to Egypt.

One of the must see sights in Areopoli is the dual church of Agios Charalambos and Panagia. The church - located in the centre of the town - offers frescoes dating back to 1869. It has an interesting stepped belfry with stone reliefs.

The town of Areopoli is built at the foot of the Elias Mountain at an altitude of 250 meters. According to tradition, the name Areopoli is attributed to the god of war Ares. The village used to be called Tsimova before being renamed to Areopoli in 1912. Like the rest of the Mani settlements, Areopolis is known for its major contribution in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The Greek War of Independence started in Areopolis on March 17, 1821 by Petros Pierrakos, also known as Petros Mavromichalis, the last bey of Mani. Nowadays Areopoli is a popular holiday destination offering many sights like stone houses, churches, imposing traditional Mani towers and cobblestoned streets. At the central square of the village “Platia Athanaton” one will come across the statue of Petrompeis Mavromichalis, the famous chieftain and offspring of the Mavromichali family. Areopoli is also starting point for a Mani Peninsula-visit.

Earthquakes, volcanic activity and geological disturbances led to the fossilisation of the area’s paleoflora millions of years ago. More specifically, a series of geological events at the coastal area, close to Cape Maleas, caused the palm forest that existed in the area to sink. Organic matter of trees, plants and mollusks was replaced by solutions of silicon and calcium over a process that lasted centuries. The coastline of Lakonia’s south where fossils have been preserved is large and offers a superb view. It includes fossilised root knots a metre deep, roots, trunks and shellfish Nowadays, the area is a geological museum with an extensive history. The petrified palm forest of the coastal zone of Agios Nikolaos is included to the Atlas of Geological Monuments of the Aegean.

This over-aged olive tree has known Byzantine despots, Frankish and Venetian rulers, Ottoman conquerors and lived through the Greek Revolution. It survived wars, fires and looting and is now a remarkable "monumental olive tree". Although the passage of time has chiselled its wooden body, giving it reliefs, it has remained intact and has continued to bear its precious fruits. This particular olive tree belongs to the variety of Myrtolias, which is mainly cultivated in Greece. It is located at an altitude of 260 meters. This variety is mainly used for the production of very high quality olive oil and is resistant to cold and dryness. The trunk base circumference is more than 14 meters and the tree is 8 meters high. Comparing the data of some other olive trees in Greece, the Apidea olive tree is probably in its second millennium or has already passed it. A sign next to the tree tells it is more than 2.000 years old.

The Saint Spyridion church was built by the first inhabitants of the island. They came from Mani, one of the The Agios Spyridon church ( Αγίου Σπυρίδωνα ) - located at the entrance of the port of Elafonisos - is the landmark of the little island. The church is built on a rocky island with cedar trees and is connected with the main island by a bridge. The church was built by the first inhabitants of the island. They came from Mani, one of the three peninsulas which extend from the Peloponnese, around the year of 1858. The church was renovated in 1962. The iconostasis is made of stones from Malta and decorated with remarkable icons. The church is the only historical holy monument on Elafonisos.

Elafonisos ( Ελαφόνησος ) is a small island off the coast of the Peloponnese. The area of the island is just 19 square kilometres. Elafonisos is by far the largest inhabited island in the Peloponnese archipelago, and the only one that is a separate municipality. There are also some archaeological discoveries to explore on the island and in the surrounding waters. The main church is Agios Spyridon , which is built on a separate, tiny piece of land which is connected by a bridge to the rest of the island. Elafonisos is a popular holiday destination due to its sandy beaches and turquoise waters. In antiquity, Elafonisos did not constitute an island but a peninsula with the name Onou Gnathos. It took its current form after a devastating earthquake in the year of 375, which divided Elafonisos from mainland Peloponnese.

The Pantanassa (“Queen of All”) Monastery is the only monastery on the archaeological site of Mystras ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/49139868 ), which is still inhabited. This sacred monastery was founded by a chief minister of the late Byzantine Despotate of the Morea, and was dedicated in September 1428. The domed church with its tall bell tower reflect a unique combination of Byzantine and gothic styles; it has a beautifully ornate stone-carved facade. The arched interior is filled with colourful frescoes. When we arrived at the monastery after a steep climb, one of the friendly and helpful nuns welcomed us with a glass of cool water, a very sweet loukoumia and provided us with a wrap to cover our legs. We were surprised by the idyllic patio with lots of flowers and green plants. Pantanassa Monastery is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mystras.

The Hodegetria church was founded by abbot Pachomios of the Brontochion Monastery in Mystras ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/49139868 ). It was built between 1310 and 1315 as the katholikon (main church). The monastery acquired many resources in the area of Sparta and elsewhere in the Peloponnese and was so wealthy that the new church was referred by the local people as the Aphentiko (“head man” or “boss”). A new architectural type, the so-called “Mystras mixed type”, was created for the first time in this church. Its ground floor takes the form of a three-aisled basilica, while at the gallery level it has features of the more complex five domed cross-square church. The church also has a fine bell tower. Beautiful frescoes, comparable to frescoes in Constantinople, decorate the church. A Hodegetria or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of Virgin Mary, holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to Him as the source of salvation for humankind. In the Western Church this type of icon is sometimes called “Our Lady of the Way”. Hodegetria church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mystras.

The Mitropolis (Cathedral of Agios Dimitrios) is considered being the most important church of Mystras ( www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/49139868 ). The church is part of a complex of buildings enclosed by a high wall. The original church was founded in the late 13th century as a wooden roofed basilica. The cathedral has a mixed architectural style: it combines the groundplan of a Roman basilica with a Greek domed church, which was added in the first half of the 15th century. The church - the oldest of the surviving churches of Mystras - stands in a courtyard. Its impressive ecclesiastical ornaments and furniture include a marble iconostasis, an intricately carved wooden throne, and a marble slab in the floor featuring a two-headed eagle (the symbol of Byzantium) located on the exact site where Emperor Constantine XI Palaeologos was crowned in 1448 (PiP 5). The church also has some fine frescoes, dating back to late 13th and early 14th centuries. Next to the cathedral is a small museum, depicting fragments of ancient cloths, buttons, jewellery and other everyday items.

In the year of 1249 the French crusader “Guillaume II de Villehardouin” built a fortress on a spur of Mount Taygetos, that came to be known as Mystras. At the foot of the fortress the inhabitants of Sparta soon settled - counting on the protection of the bourgeois - creating a new town. Ten years later “De Villehardouin” was captured by the Byzantines and as a ransom he had to hand over his possessions in the Mórea - as the Peloponnesos was then called - to Emperor Michaël Palaeologos. Mystras came under Byzantine rule and the city expanded rapidly. In its heyday there were 42.000 people living in the walled city. From 1350 to 1460 it was the residence of the Byzantine governor - called the despot - who was always the son or brother of the reigning emperor. The despots of the Despotate of the Morea decorated the city with churches, monasteries and palaces and made Mystras a centre of culture, where the decline of Constantinople was followed at a safe distance. In 1448 the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI Palaeologos, was crowned here. From 1460 to 1687 the Ottomans ruled, then the Venetians (1687 - 1715) and then again the Ottomans (1715 - 1821). The city had to endure several sieges, but the fatal blow came in 1770. During the chaos that followed the Orlofika - a Greek uprising on the Peloponnesos against Ottoman rule - the Turks sent out unregulated Albanian hordes to teach the Greeks a lesson. These looting gangs also entered Mystras and destroyed the city. This looting and the devastation during the Greek War of Independence meant the end of Mystras. Most of the inhabitants then moved to (new) Sparta, which had been built by order of the first Greek king Otto I. Nowadays Mystras is a late Byzantine ghost town, although it also has a monastery where still nuns are living. The palace and quite a lot of churches are beautifully restored and without any doubt worth a visit. In 1989 the ruins, including the fortress, palace, churches, and monasteries, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We did read about the stunning frescoes in the Byzantine Church of Agios Nikolaos - 4 km from Liotrivi - and wanted to visit them. First of all it was quite a job to find this small village, because it was not very well signposted. After arriving in the picturesque village with just of couple old stone houses, we couldn’t miss the church with its beautiful architecture on the central square. Unfortunately the door of the church turned out to be closed. Although a couple of villagers tried to help, the door remained closed and we missed the frescoes.

Vathia - or Vatheia - is a traditional village in the southernmost tip of the Mani peninsula on the Peloponnese. The village was built from the mid the 16th century, but only in the 18th and 19th century real economic prosperity has come. At that time the village had about 300 inhabitants, who were mainly farmers and the olive harvest was their main occupation. At the beginning of the 20th century the inhabitants left the village due to poverty and at the end of the eighties of the last century there were hardly any people living there. Nowadays Vathia - often called a ghost town - is almost completely uninhabited. It has about 90 typical tower houses with the typical architecture of the Mani; most of them are empty and partly dilapidated, but in the meantime some have been renovated. The tower houses in Vathia are built like fortresses with two or three floors. The people, at one time, fiercely guarded their land and livelihoods, either from foreign invaders or rival families. The fortress-like houses provided the ideal opportunity to keep a lookout in the case of a potential invasion. The head of each household was considered to be a ‘mini warlord’, who had the interests of the family at the center of his concerns. The fierceness of the people, the rugged terrain and the strategic location of the tower houses helped keep Mani (and Vathia) free from invaders and it even maintained its independence from the Ottoman Empire.. Vathia is built on a hill top in the middle of an impressive landscape with beautiful sea views. It is located halfway between Aeropoli and Cape Tenaro.

Agia Sofia is an impressive church of high architectural value, founded in the middle of the 12th century. Oral and written reports link the church to the Byzantine Emperor Andronicos II Palaiologos (1282-1328). Carvings of the church date from the 12th century and its frescoes are from around the year of 1400. It is situated in the Upper Town of Monemvasia and is one of the view buildings there that is more or less intact. During the first period of Ottoman rule many Christian people left the town, but the church was saved because the Turks decided to convert Agia Sofia in a mosque. The Ottomans converted it to a mosque and whitewashed the wall-paintings. On the return of the Venetians, the catholic doctrine church was consecrated to Madonna del Carmine. The Ottomans converted it to a mosque once again, while one of the very first things the Greeks did, when they got the town back in 1821after the Greek War of Independence, was to demolish the minaret that had been built. The octagonal domed Agia Sofia was consecrated to Virgin Mary Hodegitria. It was considered to be a faithful replica of Agia Sofia in Constantinople, the former Byzantine capital. Since then, and given that the church of Agia Sofia was the only well preserved building in the Upper Town (Ano Polis), a series of renovation works followed. The last of these were completed some years ago. It is considered being one of the oldest and most important Byzantine churches in Greece, Standing on the highest point of Monemvasia the church (and Upper Town) are accessible through a steep path with stairs and slippery stones. (More images of Monemvasia: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/48410582 )

Monemvasia is a town, which is located on a small island - 300 metres wide and 1.000 metres long - off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The island - cut off from the coast by an earthquake in the year of 375 - is connected with the mainland by a 200 metres long causeway. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 meters above sea level and a rather small piece of land with the walled town itself. The town's name derives from the Greek words, mone and emvasia , meaning "single entrance". It is also called “Gibraltar of the east” The town and fortress were founded in 583 by inhabitants of the mainland, seeking refuge from the Slavic and the Avaric invasion of Greece. From the 10th century, Monemvasia developed into an important trade and maritime centre. Monemvasia - a natural fortress - was inhabited and soon became a strategic fortress claimed the Byzantines, Franks, Venetians and Ottomans. The town was liberated from Ottoman rule on July 23, 1821 by Tzannetakis Grigorakis, who entered the town with his private army during the Greek War of Independence. Monemvasia became linked with mainland Peloponnese in 1971 by the causeway and a small bridge. The town has become an important touristic site with an increasing number of visitors, strolling along the cobbled streets and paths amid the mansions and Byzantine churches. Medieval buildings have been restored and many of them converted into hotels. These days, though, only around 20 people live in the kastro (fort) permanently. (I took the main picture from the Upper Town, which was home to the Venetian aristocracy and nowadays offering a wonderful panoramic view of (the rooftops of) Monemvasia and the surrounding area.)

Gerolimenas is a small sleepy village with some fishing boats along its shore on the Mani peninsula. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was an important harbour, from where goods were shipped to Piraeus and other Greek islands. Once Gerolimenas was one of the most remote villages in the Peloponnese and till the 1970’s it only could be reached by boat or donkey. Gerolimenas means “Old Harbour” and derives from the ancient " Ιερός Λιμήν " (Ieros Limen). In the past a fishing village, nowadays the village - with some hotels and restaurants - is a popular destination for tourists. Although during our visit it was very quiet and peaceful. The traditional stone buildings are scattered around the natural harbour and a small pebble beach.