The spiritual meadow

I quote from John Moschos book, 'The spiritual meadow' in which he writes....
'In my opinion the meadow in spring present a particularly delightful prospect. They display to the beholder a rich diversity of flowers which arrests him with its charm, for it brings delight to his eyes and perfume to his nostrils. One part of this meadow blushes with roses, in another place lilies predominate, drawing one's attention to themselves and away from the roses. In another part the color of violets blazes out resembling the imperial purple. In short, the diversity and variety of innumerable flowers afford delights both to nostrils and to eyes on every side.
Think of the present work in the same way, my sacred and faithful child. For in it you will discover the virtues of holy men who have distinguished themselves in our own times,men as the psalmist says, 'planted by the waterside Psalm 1:3'. They are all beloved by God , yet there was a diversity in the virtues from which the beauty and the charm of each derived. From among these I have plucked the finest flowers of the unmown meadow and worked them into a crown which I now offer to you and through you to the world at large.
I have called this work 'meadow' on account  of the delight, the fragrance and the benefit which it will afford those who come across it......"
John Moschos traveled the Levant to all the religious sites and met with various holy men in their daily practise of a holy life and the diversity is like a meadow in spring filled with different kinds of flowers, each offering their delight. I read this before I left and when I saw the diversity of wild flowers it brought me back to his book, 'The spiritual meadow.'

Mystra

Today we look for flat land to place our cities but in the olden days all settlements are built on top of hills or on hillsides. This is to be able to see the enemies coming and mount a defense. Mystra is no different, in its heyday was a rich community but today only a few churches survived and are being somewhat restored. If there's only time for one place in the Peloponnese, Mystra should be it. The Peloponnese during Byzantine days was called the Morea. Even as the Byzantine empire flourished, the crusaders under the Roman church did a lot of damage to weaken it with the eventual collapse of the Byzantine empire, when in its weakened state fell to the Ottomans.
The first death knell was the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders of the fourth crusade and the royal court of the Byzantines left for Nicea (Turkey) and later to Trebizond (in the Black sea coast of Turkey) and finally to Mystra in the Morea. The Byzantine empire, now established itself in Mystra which became the last capital of the Byzantine empire. But not long after lost again to the crusaders and the crusaders ruled from Mystra for some years before losing out to the next Byzantine emperor who at this time was just a despot. But for 200 years Mystra flourished as a center for learning and culture before finally succumbing to the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. That marked the end of the Byzantine empire and the Greek dominion in Europe.
Mystra was the last place in the Byzantine empire where  churches were built and had frescoes painted. Some still remains in the ruined churches on this hillside. Sophie asked me if I can return to any place I've been to, which one would it be. I couldn't answer it at that time but after writing this, I can say, I would like to return to Mystra. Mystra in spring is absolutely beautiful. The frescoes looked very alike those in the church at Chora in Istanbul. It is purported that the same craftsmen left for both Trebizond (where frescoes are still available for viewing) and also for Mystra where they continue their art.
The visitors, the few that came, were mostly Greeks. Mystra is 3 miles from Sparta and there is regular bus that goes there. We went by taxi and returned by taxi. Even so we didn't have enough time to see the whole place. We arrived at noon in Sparta and after wandering around trying to grapple the layout of the city, find a hotel, had lunch, there wasn't enough time left as the site closes at 3pm in the winter months.

Ancient Corinth

 The temple of Apollo. Corinth was an important commercial center in its heyday. The Corinthians were cultured and sophisticated people. It was a very worldly society.

The site is fenced in and it was closed by the time we got there. The sun was fast setting and we didn't have more daylight hours to take the pictures. I have to find a big enough gape in the fence so I can stick my camera through. We walked around the periphery trying to get a better vantage point. Pretty soon we had to quit because it was getting dark and the last bus back to Corinth was at 7.30 so we sat on a wall to wait for the bus not knowing if it'll pass by. A taxi came to ask us to take his cab, he said, 3 euros. So we hopped in for the ten minute ride back to Corinth. I paid him 10 euros, the cost of gas is so high. St Paul made 2 trips to Corinth and wrote 2 letters to them. At the closing of second Corinthians, he said he was going to visit them a third time. He never made it, he came shipped to Rome to await his appeal.

Acrocorinth

Right next to the site of ancient Corinth is the new Orthodox church with new frescoes. All Orthodox churches has this formulaic style of architecture. We arrived back from Nafplio and decided there was still daylight left to head over to Acrocorinth or ancient Corinth to see the ruins. St Paul preached here and wrote 2 epistles to the Corinthians, supposedly they were written while he was preaching in Ephesus. When he couldn't be with the churches he was concerned about he wrote to them and some of his letters to the various churches remain today. This is how we know he was in Corinth. The city in ancient Corinth has grown around the site. The site was fenced in and it was closed when we arrived. So we could view it from outside the fences. I love these Orthodox churches, there is one in every village. Just as in Turkey where there is a mosque and a minaret in every village, in Greece, there is an Orthodox church. They have this distinct curved domes tiled with red brick. I love the fact they are always opened and the caretakers are always very welcoming.

Lunch, Nafplio

 An authentic Greek salad.

 Fried mullet

 Baked sardines

 Stuffed squid

 Not him, he shared our lunch.

We were so full after that. We tried to eat as many different Greek food as we can, Taramasalata, Greek yogurt..... Greek yogurt is incredible, so creamy. I remember eating some great yogurt at the hotel we stayed in Trapani, Sicily.

Coming down

 The lion of Venice, the Peloponnese was once ruled by the rich and powerful Venetians.

 The view of the bay as we walked down the 900 or so steps. Our calves hurt for days after that, we were using muscles we didn't know we had. Good thing we didn't have to walk up, some people did. We took a taxi to get up to the castle.

 I forgot the name for this flower, I've never seen it anywhere before. A lot of the wild flowers are endemic to the Peloponnese.

The whole area is so hilly, we had to climb a lot. Even with the buses there were a lot switchbacks. The Peloponnese is such an interesting area. I hope to return but as with all places, there really isn't time to return to any place. So its onward and forward.