Tegea, Sparta and Mystras

Mostly a dull day, not only in that it drizzled rain most of the morning, but also with long drives and not very exciting sites.

Firstly to the 4th and 2nd century BC Sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea, along with its museum. The museum is modern and has some nice stuff from the sanctuaries and surrounding area. The sanctuary itself is quite small consisting of the remains of an older temple from the 4th century BC, destroyed by an earthquake, and remains of the newer one 2nd century BC. The site is quite marshy and overgrown, and it was locked but we got the key from the museum. (OK this was quite interesting!)

On to Sparta which we were quite excited to see, being one of the main cities of ancient Greece and combatants of the Trojan war, and home to king Menaleus and his queen Helen ( of Sparta and then Troy). Sadly there is almost nothing to see there now. We trudged in the rain to see the huge amphitheatre but it is now only a few rows of stone seats with the rest just earth banking, and in any case it's roman! Even the museum was dull and old-fashioned.

On to the 14th and 15th (AD) Byzantine city of Mystras . A nice basilica which was reused as a mosque by the ottomans, but which still has nice frescoes of the life of Mary. And a Byzantine palace which has been extensively "restored ".Read more