February 2012
10 posts
15 tags
Corfu
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
The Old Fortress of Corfu with the twin towers brings to the surface memories of epic battles, images of ruthless sieges and the smell of blood… Today’s armies though consist of numerous tourists and locals who cross the iron bridge and dare to enter the “stone beast”. A castle full of life, a castle with its own pulse…
The New Fortress was built on...
11 tags
Akrokorinthos
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
The weird shadow over the plains of Korinthos. The hollow sound of a forgotten legend. The guardian of Morias. The most ancient yet the strongest castle in the whole region of Peloponnese. This is Akrokorinthos. It was built during the reign of the tyrant Periandros in the 7th Century BC. Today, beyond its walls lie the ruins of the ancient and the medieval towns.
...
16 tags
Didymoticho
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
The three towers of Vasilopoula, Pentazono and Kechri embrace warmly the old city. A big part of Didymoticho’s walls still lie intact. The Byzantine and –later on- Ottoman fortification proves useful even today; many houses use the strong city walls as their own walls! Go for a walk around the city’s alleys and you will encounter plenty of them!
Check the rest...
15 tags
Fragokastelo
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
This castle was not built to guard a city. It experienced neither a single great war, nor a notable siege. It is a fortress of the wild, a guardian of the horizon. Only Chatzimichalis Dalianis, the famous chieftain from Epirus along with his 338 men knew the truth until 1928 when they all fell dead.
Since then and every May, the castle’s soul wakes up and...
12 tags
Myrina
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
Built in the 12th Century by the Emperor Andronikos Komninos I and fortified by the Venetians, the Castle of Myrina lies on a rocky peninsula, between the two coasts of the Myrina region.
It is the guardian of the capital city and the main port of the isle of Limnos. The castle’s presence in the course of time has been so important that even today, the locals...
12 tags
Nafpaktos
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
The castle of Nafpaktos is the only one in Europe that has five defensive zones which begin from the city’s port and continue towards the cliff’s top in an altitude of 200 meters. It was built by the Venetians in the 15th Century on the ruins of the city’s ancient Acropolis and today is one of the most well-kept castles in Greece.
In the stronghold’s small port...
14 tags
Monemvasia
(Castles – Treasures of Greece)
The first look from the sea suggests a gray, arid rock of 300 meters height. As we get close, the medieval state looks hooked on it, tied with strong walls, impossible to break away. This is perhaps Monemvasia’s most enjoyable point of view.
The Castle of Monemvasia, the “ship made of rocks” as Yiannis Ritsos wrote, has a standard crew of 8-10 families, hundreds...
16 tags
Knives from the homeland
In the settlement of Polydrosos in the broader region of Parnassos, the art of knifemaking still survives. The skilled craftsmen used to work in the early days in the village of Ano Souvala but later moved to Polydroso. They were famous because of their art and the knives from Souvala were in great demand. Their workshops were in Mantamia, in the region of Platanos; the waters from the local...
20 tags
At Kritsa’s in Portaria
“Kritsa” is the restaurant’s name; Eleni and Niki are the two ladies who are going to welcome and offer you delicious dishes. The aforementioned sisters are the reason behind the resurrection of the old hotel Kentrikon and the Portaria’s square. The restaurant is warm and neat, offering world-class service and magnificent food. We suggest you to try roasted herbage (horta), grilled kontosouvli,...