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... REGION: Peloponnese ... Prefecture: Messinia ... / City of Kalamata \ ... / Mani \ ... Ancient district and modern department of the southwestern Peloponnese, Greece, bounded on the east by the Taygetus Mountains (Taigetos Oros), on the north by the Nédha Potamos (river) and the Arcadian mountains, and on the south and west by the Ionian Sea. Capital and chief port of the prefecture is the muchsung Kalamata, the land of the Kalamatianos dance and the silk kerchief. Of succulent black olives, honeyed figs and the sesame-covered sweet called pastelli. The town is dominated by the l3th century castle above it built by Geoffrey de Villehardouin. On the north side of the cita- del there is a small Byzantine church, dedicated to the Virgin of Kalomata (of the good eye), from which the town may have acquired its name. From the castle you can survey the expanse of sea below with its sandy and pebbly shores or turn your gaze upon the deep green plain, the "happy land" of the ancients. The old city is spread out underneath the castle. This is where the Byzantine church of the Virgin Ypapanti and the convent of the Kalograies, where the nuns weave the famous Kalamata silk, are situated. There are many churches in town, the oldest being the historic church of Agioi Apostoli (l3th c.), where the Greek Revolution against the Turks was formally declared on 23 March,1821. Kalamata has an archaeological and folklore museum, a fine arts museum and a library containing 60.000 volumes. Every summer cultural events like concerts and plays put on by the Kalamata theatre are held in the amphitheatre of the castle. In the evening, the town comes alive, especially along the waterfront which is lined with tavernas, seafood restaurants and rotisseries serving local dishes and drinks, fresh fish, roast suckling pig and chicken, sausages, cheese, olives, retsina and raki. From neighbouring Eleia you can already feel the charm of that most cheerful and bountiful of places, Messinia. Euripides sung its praises, calling it "a land of fair fruitage and watered by innumerable streams, abounding in pasturage for cattle and sheep, being neither very wintry in the blasts of winter, nor yet made too hot by the chariot of Helios". And this happy situation has continued into our own day. Long, cool summers, the sweetest of springs, gentle autumns, and mild winters, many springs and abundant water, fertile soil, verdant mountains. The first stop is Kiparissia. The town sits as if wedged into the base of its fortress, its lower districts reaching as far as the sandy shore lapped by the lonian sea. Round about the castle is a plain planted with olive trees and grapevines. The sea opens into an infinite expanse of azure. They say that the wiew of the sunset from the castle is one of the most splendid in the world. Everything here is imbued with history and a fascinating light. Everywhere you look see ancient, Byzantine and Frankish monuments. Peristera is a place a little beyond the village of Raches (5 km. from Kiparissia), where three beehive tombs have been excavated. Filiatra is not far off. The whole district is dotted with churches, Byzantine and Frankish, of a venerable age Gargaliani sits on a lush hillside. Its worth going up to the town to see the view below: a magical carpet of olive trees and vines that stretches to the sea with Marathou- poli and the islet of Proti, the site of a ruined Mycenaean acropolis, in the background. Hora is built on a hilltop. This village has preserved its old-fashioned appearance - stone houses with tiled roofs and narrow lanes. The finds from Nestor's palace and Peristera are on display in the local museum. South of Hora, 4 km. from Englianos, lies the ruined palace of wise Nestor, who took part in the Trojan War and whose city was the second largest in the Mycenaean world. Built in the l3th century BC, the palace was destroyed by fire a century later. Excavations have revealed the remains of a luxurious, two-storey central building and two other auxiliary buildings. The buildings were divided into formal apartments, storage areas for wine and oil, toolsheds and workshops. The central apartements - the throne room with its stuccoed-clay cere- monial hearth and the queen's quarters - were richly decorated with frescoes. In the palace archaeologists discovered thousands of clay pots, a bathroom with ter- racotta bathtub and 1,250 clay tablets with inscriptions in Linear B, which have since been deciphered. Several beehive tombs have been excavated in the area sur- rounding the palace. From Hora to Pilos the countryside is laid out with row upon row of olive trees, those bene- volent trees protected by Athena. Pilos is a pretty little town built up a hill on the south coast of the bay of Navarino. Snow-white two-storey houses with courtyards drenched in flowers. The arcad- ed streets make you think you've been transported to an island. The main square ringed with pastry shops is sheltered by humongous, centuries-old plane trees. The Turko-Venetian fortress, known as Neokastro, dominates the west side of town. One of the most attractive in the Peloponnese, it is called that to distinguish it from the ancient fortress to the southwest, named Paliokastro or Palionavarino. The bay of Voidokilia extends from the base of the old castle. A tranquil, carefree sanctuary, the floor of the bay is covered with a thick layer of sand.

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