Messene

A long day, but a good one. We had a very early start from the hotel to visit the ancient city of Messene this morning. I have to confess I had not heard of it but it is an amazing site and largely unvisited because it is so far of the beaten track north of Kalamata. The city dated from the 8th to 5th centuries BC and covered nine square kilometres, quite a bit of which has been excavated, and had extensive defensive walls which are still largely in place. There are a many buildings on site including a stadium which held an alternative games to those at Olympia. Lots of photos taken but for my Blip I chose this one of the archaeologist accompanying us on the tour, Dr Rita Roussos, in the middle of explaining something to us. She is an excellent guide and extremely knowledgeable about her subject.

After lunch we set off to drive to Mystras where we will be staying tonight. A spectacular drive through the mountains with lots of hairpin bends, narrow roads and spectacular views. Now in our hotel which has a great view over the town of Sparta.