Greek Peloponnese

Hello everyone
 

Ancient Olympia is such an amazing place. The huge site dates back from 10^th – 9^th BC as a place to worship the gods - Zeus in particular -but most of the ruins are from 5^th century and later as new structures were added by the Greeks and then the Romans. It’s a fascinating landscape of temple columns and uncovered mosaic floors, but the best part was the arched walkway leading to the stadium where the early Olympic Games were held. The stadium is now a grassy banked ‘seating’ area surrounding a sandy/gravel running track – the stone start and finish lines are still here, with ruins of the seating area for the judges.
 

The museum contains statues which decorated the temples, including the huge frieze scenes from the pediments of the Temple of Zeus. It truly brings history to life.

We left Olympia and went in search of more temples! The Temple of Apollo Epicurius is set up high in a hilly remote spot in Bassai, and was the first Greek site to be listed in UNESCO’s world heritage list. The remains are currently covered by a huge tent as major restoration work is underway as rain water has affected the limestone columns - however, not a lot appears to have happened since 2009. The frieze finds are now in the British Museum.

 

We headed south via Kalamata and have been staying on a site at Gyethio on the Mani Peninsula (the ‘middle leg’ of the Peloponnese) for the past 4 days. It’s a lovely campsite with shade under fig and olive trees, a pool and the beach in view. As we’re now in low season, it’s quiet and peaceful with plenty of sun loungers to choose from and the weather has been hot and sunny. The town itself is a pretty place with a small island said to be a stopping point for Troy and Helen before they left for Sparti.

 

We’re enjoying our time here in Greece. Soon it will be time to head north towards Ancient Corinth and Athens, but we may just linger here a little longer…………

Will post again next week - love to all