On
the southest part of the Peloponnese the impressive and extensive
mountain range of Taygetos «intrudes» in the Mediterannean
sea and forms the rocky and dry peninsula of Mani.
The
first inhabitants, according to the traveller Pausanias, were
the Leleges, while during the homeric years it was divided into
small kingdoms («polismata»).
 During
the roman time the cities of the region, after a request made
by Rome, formed the «Public of the Freelakones» in
195 A.D., the ancestors of the contemporary Maniards, to counter
the sovereighty of Sparta, while its Byzantine presence was intense
during the period 1263-1453 when there was the Despotato of Mystras.
The
unsubdued spirit and the faith in freedom inspired the struggle
of Maniards against the turkish invader which helped them achieve
a special regime of privilege which included internal autonomy,
permission to carry weapons but also an obligation to pay annual
taxes.
Mani
was governed by the beys who had Petrobeis Mavromichalis as a
leader who declared the Greek Revolution in 1821 against the Turks.
 In
1826, when Ibrahem Pasha tried to invade Mani, which was the only
free area of the Peloponnese, the encountered strong resistance
from the Maniates in the area of Verga and he had to retreat.
In
the interior, the need for the organisation of the nature and
the workforce led to the creation of a self-governed, patriarchal
structure while the readiness for war imposed itself as a way
of life so that the armed groups of people, who were also related
to each other by blood, prevail as basic units in the organisation
of both the residential areas and the social as well as financial
life.
From
Avia to Kardamyli and from Stoupa to Itylo, this peculiar place,
with the rocky coasts, the enclosed bays which offer peace and
quietness, the towers of Many which stand impressively on the
dry land, and the woman of Mani (Maniatissa) wife, mother and
mistress of her household, challenge the visitor to explore clues
from secretly lost and invaluable faces of this land in order
to show and spread this peculiar cultural legacy.
Outer Mani stretches from Verga, in the southeast of Kalamata,
to Doloi and Kambos where Homer had placed «Iri Poiessa»
and «Enopi» which were flourishing cities back then(1580-1120
B.C).
 Iri
was where M. Mantinia is today, and was named, after the first
doric King of Messinia, Kresfondis, while the archaeological findings
prove the existence of a civilization during the promycaenaic
and mycaenaic era.
The
homeric Enopi, or Gerinia during the classical years, was where
Kambos Avias is today and where Nestoras, the king of Pylos carried
and buried, in the area Rodon (=rose) the body of Mahaona, the
son of Aesculapuis after the Trojan War.
The
domed royal «tomb of Mahaona» is in good condition
in Garbelia in Kambos.
St.
Theodores at Kambos, the Convent of Helmos at Gaetses and other
Byzantine churches, the towers of Mani of Koutifari -Aloupidon
at Malta of Stavropirgio, of Garbelia, at Kambos, where the ex-Prime
Minister Alexander Koumoundouros and the Kapetanakis Family were
born, at M. Mantinia as well as the castle of Zarnata, are characteristic
monuments of the civilization that developed in Outside Mani from
the 10th century A.D. to 1821.
The
sunny and coastal area of Avia, from Almyros to M. Mantinia and
Kitries the ravine of Sandava ends up on the west slopes of Taygetos
overlooking the Messinian Guif, constitutes a holiday resort close
to Kalamata with pebbly beaches and excellent touristic infrastructure,
like rooms to rent and fish tavernas.
Inner Mani stretches from Velona and Prosilio to St. Nikona and
includes the valley of Kardamyli and St. Nikolaos as well as the
surrounding slopes of Taygetos.
 Kardamyli,
the Mycaenaic Lefktro of Mani, Thalames and Pefnos were cities
that prospered during the Mycaenaic Era, as it is proved by the
archaelogical findings while, during the roman era, they participated
in the «Public of the Freelakones» which were financial
centres due to their geographical positions.
Kardamyli
was a base of the kapetania during the turkish rule and, subsequently,
became the base of the bey of Mani, the homeland of Mourtzinos
of the Troupakis' family, while the first Bey of Mani Tzanetos
Koutifaris was from Thalames.
The
twin tombs of Dioskouroi at Kardamyli and the brass statues erected
in the harbor of St. Nikolaos, prove the worship of the Dioskouroi
in the surrounding area St. Nikolaos at Platsa, St. Sophia and
St. Spyridon at Kardamyli, as well as other Christian monuments
of the Byzantine era, show the faith of the Maniards to Christianity,
while the tower of Mourtzinos at Kardamyli constitutes a sign
of the traditional architecture and the organisation of family
and social life during the Turkish rule.
The
traditional environment, the hospitality of the inhabitants and
the natural beauty of the enclosed bays of Fonea, Kalogria, Stoupa,
Trahela, and the shelters at the Ravine of Viros are the reasons
why Mani attracts so many visitors who seek the harmony between
the calm sea and the wild scenery of Mani.
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