Even if you’re not as obsessed with Spartan lore and Greek history as I am, there are some other good reasons to visit this area of the Peloponnese.

Like Mystras, for Pete’s sake, it’s only 6km from Sparta.  You must go to Mystras.  If you don’t go to Mystras, I will track you down (something I have  knack for), and drag you to Ioannina to eat cheese pies with me next to that smelly lake.  We’ll see how well you follow my orders advice after that.

Mystras ia a ruin of an old Byzantine town that absolutely flourished during its time.  A school of humanistic philosophy was founded here that revived the teachings of Plato and Pythagoras, and attracted intellectuals from every corner of Byzantium.  This all ended when Mystras fell to the Turks and was revived under the Venetians, only to suffer another fall to the Turks. There was no end to the trials of Mystras:  the Russians burned it, the Albanians sacked it, and Ibrahim Pasha took a torch to what was left in 1825.

Its an absolute delight to explore.  What with churches, libraries, strongholds, castles, palaces and walls in various states of ruin, you’ll feel like you’re in a dream involving St. George and a dragon.

People, you must go to Mystras.  Its like Pompeii but much, much better.  I want to live there.  I spoke to a nun at the Convent of Pantanassa, which was difficult considering she couldn’t speak any English and my Greek is minimal  (she has 5 sisters in Boston), but I couldn’t make her understand that I wanted to live there.  Currently there are only 3 nuns living in Mystras.  I think my being a big ole blasphemer might be a deal-breaker.

The first church I walked into, the  Church of Ayioi Theodori, took my breath away and then made me cry.  No worries, though, I have the loveliest condition known to mankind: Stendhal’s Syndrome.  Holy places and ancient sites get to me, but museums really go to my head.  I’ve been known to faint, cry and vomit (Max Beckmann exhibit)  in them.

The great thing about Mystras is that you can actually roam around freely.  Even though its a World Heritage-listed site, nothing is roped off, no warning signs to stay away and not touch.  Greek sites give their visitors a lot of freedom.  This can’t last much longer – you should go now.  Take me with you.

The Taygetos Mountains are to the east of Sparta.  I drove across the Langada Pass and bought oregano from the woman pictured below, because she looked like she really needed someone to buy oregano from her:

Mountain in Taygetos where the Spartans left their less-than-perfect newborns to die. How many little Einsteins did they give up on?

Gytheion is the ancient port of Sparta, but most of Ancient Gytheion lies under the waters of the Lakonian gulf.

When I walked to the ancient theatre of Gytheion, most of it was fenced off and the only view was through the parking lot of a Greek military building.  I had stopped to ask a soldier directions earlier and he had pointed me this way and told me that I could take photographs as long as I didn’t point my camera in the direction of the installation, so I figured all was well.  Not so.  Not so.

A few steps away from the theatre, a pack of Rottweiler-type dogs came barking at a full run towards me.  Apparently, my basic instincts are still intact because the first thing I did was loop the strap of my 5 lb. camera around my hand so that I could swing it better.  Luckily, a soldier came out and whistled for the dogs to come back.  He told me it was okay to go ahead and look at the theatre, but I figured it would just be a let-down after being set upon by a pack of frothing dogs, so I hung my head and slinked away.  I’m glad the soldier called them back because I would have felt bad hurting a doggie, no matter how vicious.

Not far from Sparta, you’ll find Monemvasia–the Gibralter of Greece.  Another fabulous Byzantine town in the process of being resurrected:

Whoever designed the cupola of this church was not focused on the sweet hereafter.

I’m in Pireaus now, the port of Athens, waiting for my ferry back to the Cyclades and the start of the second part of my journey through Greece.  I’ll be revisiting a couple of islands I was especially fond of, and taking a short trip to the island I visit every time I come here.  I’m really looking forward to this part of my trip because I’ll get to relax a lot more and delve a little deeper into my reasons for being here.

More later.  Hope you’re all having a great summer!

© 2009, Ithaka Bound. All rights reserved. Photos and text are copyright protected.