''The Exodus'' by Theodoros Vryzakis
''The woman of Mesolonghi'' by Lansac
Statue of Dionysios Solomos at the Garden Of The Heroes
Mesolonghi's central square
Statue of Lord Byron in the Garden Of The Heroes(Mesolonghi)
View of the city up from the Patras castle
The inside of the old Agios Andreas church
Inside of the church
The Agios Andreas Church
The Pelecaneica Marina in Patras
Another city centre snapshot
The Psila Alonia Square
ANY CITIES?
1)PATRAS
As I told you, Caminia is near Patras. Patras is third largest Greek city. Built near the sea, it has many similarities with Thessaloniki. Personally, I liked:
A)The hospitality of the city’s residents. All the people we’ve met were polite and charming. From the farmer to the salesman or the waiter! And this is quite a miracle as unfortunately, Patras has a high percentage of unemployment.
B)Πελεκανέικα(Pelekaneika) and Ψηλά Αλώνια(Psila Alonia): The first one is a part of the city where you can find nice tavernas, restaurants and of course, the city’s marina with a cafeteria(Θεατράκι-Theatraki) located exactly next to the sea! So, you can have a sip of coffee while watching yachts, ships and sailing boats. On the other hand, Psilia Alonia, is Patras biggest and best square(at least in my opinion), with cute cafes two and wonderful view of the city.
C)The castle of Patras: The castle was built by Byzantine emperor Justinian I after the catastrophic earthquake of 551, re-using building material from pre-Christian structures. The fort remained in constant use thereafter, even until the Second World War. In the Byzantine period, it was besieged by Slavs, Saracens, Normans and many others, but it never fell. In particular, the successful repulsion of a great siege of 805 AD by the Arabs and the Slavs was attributed to the city's patron saint, St Andrew. In 1205, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, it was taken over by the Franks, who strengthened it further, opening a moat on all three sides. In 1278, the Principality of Achaea pawned it to the local Latin (Catholic) Archbishop, while the Pope leased it to the Venetians for five years in 1408. The Latin Archbishop remained in possession of the castle until 1430, when it was taken by the Despot of the Morea and future last Byzantine emperor, Constantine Palaiologos, who made extensive repairs to its walls. The castle fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1458, and remained one of their main seats of power in the Peloponnese throughout the Tourkokratia. The Venetians took the castle in 1687 during the Morean War, and kept it until the Morea was retaken by the Turks in 1715.
During the Greek War of Independence, the castle resisted all attempts of the Greek rebels to storm it. Only in 1828, with the arrival of a French expeditionary force under General Nicolas Joseph Maison, did the Ottomans hand it over. Following independence, the castle remained in use by the Greek Army until after World War II. In 1973, the castle was turned over to the 6th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities. It is used nowadays for cultural events, especially during summer, and features a theatre with a capacity of 640 seats. And of course, the scenery is really beautiful too, as you can see above!(info from wikipedia.org)
D)Άγιος Ανδρέας(Agios Andreas/ Saint Andrew The Apostle Church). The biggest Christian church of the Balcan, this church can really impress you! The wall paintings, the mosaic that portrays Jesus calling Andrew and Peter and of course, the part the cross where he died and his relics are only a few things you can see. You can also visit the old Agios Andreas church, located exactly next to the new one. The most impressive things here is the crystal chandelier and the wall paintings, where for the first time in my life, I saw God portrayed as a person!!
E)The city centre. Cafes, shops of all kind, squares, fountains, galleries, nice buildings. This is the centre of Patras in a few words!
I didn’t like:
A)The city is not really clean, especially on the highways and the city’s main avenue(Paraliaki), that connects the east side with west. The port , the train station and many malls are also here. So I would expect the street sweepers to try a bit more, as this road is really important for the touristic and commercial life of Patras. The ring road outside Patras was also ‘’decorated’’ with plastic bottles and cartons that Big Rig drivers drop. F*ck!
B)That trucks use this road for going to Rio and then to the rest of the country. There are not enough traffic lights and in the aftermath, you see grandfathers with children crossing the road in a hurry, in order to avoid becoming a spot on the asphalt! Moreover, the roads outside Patras are terrible, as I told you, and not suitable for big vehicles.
C)Immigrants: you may think I am a racist but I am not. But do you think it’s normal for those people to live in tents and abandoned train wagons, shit wherever they find, being hungry? It’s not! They stay in Patras but their goal is to move to Italy. But no money no honey. As a result, the unemployment percentage is high, both for immigrants and natives. The first ones try to satisfy their needs in blamable ways, while the second ones become suspicious and racists.
P.S. The Ρωμαικό Ωδείο(Romaiko Odeio-Roman Odeum) is also a -must see- monument but unfortunately I wasn’t able to visit it.
2)MESOLONGHI
On day 4, me and my parents decided to visit Mesolonghi, which is located in the continental part of the country, by using the ferry boat and not the Rio-Antirrio bridge this time. Half an hour later, we were in one of the most historical Greece cities.
I liked:
1)The Garden of Heroes(O Kipos Ton Iroon- ο κήπος των ηρώων). A small oasis in the centre of the city, this garden is a memorial to all these people that fought for the country during the Greek War of Independence and especially, during the exodus of the Mesolonghi residents. So you will see, statues and tombs of Lord Byron, Dionysios Solomos(know for his poet Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi and the national anthem of Greece), Markos Botsaris and many other.
2) Museum of the History and the Art of the Holy City of Messolonghi:one of the most underrated museums in Greece, as the guard says. And it really is! Here you can see portraits and manuscripts of Lord Byron, paintings(original and replicas)of De La Croix, Vryzakis, Lansac and other, artifacts, relics, weapons… all amazing! (NOTE: Photos were not allowed but the guard was such a nice person and made an exception for me :) )
3)The vast use of bikes
4)The Mesolonghi lagoon
I didn’t like:
1)As Mesolonghi is rather a small town, during the afternoon, it reminded of a cemetery! Hardly anyone at the streets, shops closed(even Goody’s-the greek Mc Donalds with thousands of shops all around Greece open all day was closed) etc
That’s all for now! Coming on Part 3:Olympia and Kalvryta!
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