BYZANTINE SITE OF MYSTRA

Listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1989, Mystra, the ancient Byzantine capital of the Morea, is a wonderful stopover that takes a little getting ready. The site has indeed two entrances, one at the bottom of the hill, the other at the top. However, the terrain is very steep. By car, the best is to make the visit in two times (high entrance and low entrance). By bus, it is advisable to do the visit from the top to the bottom.

History. For this site, we must remember one name: William II of Villehardouin. Having made a lot of noise in the Peloponnese, he was the unfortunate promoter of this magical place. In the 13th century, the Frankish lord, considering the strategic position of the hill with a good eye, took it over and built a castle there. But soon the castle fell into the hands of the Greeks in exchange for the release of William II. Until the middle of the 14th century, Mystra was the residence of the governor of the Greek province of Morea. The Byzantines, for their part, asserted their despotism there until the 15th century, with Demetrios and Theodore. With the domination of the Turks, Mystra lost its importance. It will be taken again by the Venetians at the end of the XVIIth century, then again by the Turks. Ibrahim Pacha will make him lose definitively its force and its prestige in 1825. Mystra occupies a privileged place in the Byzantine civilization and art. It was compared to Florence. It was a cradle of currents of thoughts and artistic movements which made school, in particular with Gemiste Pléthon. Today, the religious buildings, entirely renovated, are a pure marvel of architecture. They present in particular frescos of a rare quality. In general, the visit begins with the lower city before going up to the kastro. The site, although large and complex, is however extremely well marked.

Visit of the lower city. You arrive on the site by the central gate(Main Gate on the map). Take then on the right for the metropolis.

Metropolis of Saint-Dimitri. The building strikes by the play of its colors and its symmetrical character. Further on, on the right, you pass through a small door with an icon on top, and then you enter the metropolis itself on the right. This is the oldest church in Mystra and is built on the plan of the three-aisled basilicas. However, following some remodeling, it lost its original roof and gained a floor. The church contains Byzantine paintings: representations of the Nativity, a presentation of the Christ Child in the temple and miracles of the Lord in the side aisles. On the floor, there is a double-headed eagle in memory of the coronation of Constantine, who set foot on the slab. On the way out to the courtyard with its portico, there is a marble sarcophagus that served as a drinking trough for the Marmara Inn, which explains the holes at the bottom. On the^first floor, the museum exhibits religious objects found on the site, but its hours change often, and you may not find it open. When leaving the metropolis or the museum, turn right to the crossroads, then left to reach the church of Evanghelistria.

The Evanghelistria. It dates from the 14th century. It was in fact a cemetery church, surrounded by graves. Then take the direction of Saint-Theodore after the last crossing.

Saint-Theodore. The imposing mass of this octagonal cruciform sanctuary is characteristic of the Byzantine period. The dome, however, is not of the period because it has sixteen windows, while inside there are only eight supports. Continuing a little further, we arrive in the space of the monastery of Brontochion, with a tower, cells and the church of Hodighitria, still called Afendiko, of which the church of St. Theodore is part. A set whose view allows a better understanding of the architecture of a monastery of the time.

The Hodighitria. This is the first example of churches in the style of the Metropolis, with three naves and a cruciform dome.

In the chapel to the right of the entrance there are two tombs. On the left, the tomb of Pachomos, above which a procession of martyrs with calm and respectful faces is marching, is superb. On the right, that of the despot Theodore II Palaeologus, above which he is symbolically represented as a despot on the left, and as a monk on the right. In the chapel to the left of the entrance, one can see inscribed on the walls the edicts of the emperor that grant privileges to the monastery.

Finally, in a chapel a little further on, there are four tombs and polychrome drawings on the walls. We then cross the whole site to get to the Peribleptos. We pass two churches: Saint Christopher and Saint George, with its superb portico.

Peribleptos. The entrance has a marble plaque with a monogram of the monastery. On the left is a Frankish tower that served as a refectory. Inside the chapel, there is an extremely well-preserved set of paintings that are of a new style: the framing of scenes in rectangles. Throughout the church, one can see scenes from the life of the Virgin with, above the entrance, the Nativity and the Baptism of the Child Jesus and, at the other entrance, in perfect symmetry, the Dormition, which is a recurring theme of Byzantine artists. Finally, go to the Pantanassa Convent, passing in front of the house of Frangopoulos, founder of the Pantanassa.

Convent of the Pantanassa. To enter this monastery, the last one built on the site in the 15th century and still inhabited today, one must be decently dressed, that is, not in shorts. Skirts and pants are available at the entrance, where the resident nuns offer you their works, which are of great quality. On the way up to the church, with its four-story bell tower, there are scenes from the life of Christ: the branches, the descent into Hell, the baptism... Notice also the beautiful columns with capitals, before going back down to the entrance. This completes the visit of the lower city, and you can choose to go to the upper city, either by car by taking the road again, or on foot by following the signs at the exit of the convent. But be careful, if you go up by foot, you will have to come down again!

Visit of the upper town. When you arrive by car, go left, lower down, towards the territory of the palace. This is where the aristocracy resided, while down below lived the bourgeoisie. The two cities were separated by a wall, which could be crossed at the gate of Monemvassia, which we will see below. First go to Saint Sophia.

Saint Sophia. Few paintings have been preserved inside the church, but we will see representations of the Virgin with Christ in the small chapel on the right. At the end of the portico, a small chapel with the Annunciation on the left, the Dormition on the right, the Virgin and Child in front of it and, above the entrance, the Crucifixion.

We then pass in front of St. Nicholas or Aghios Nikolaos, built in the 17th century, before finally arriving, after a rather slippery descent, at the palace itself.

Palace. On the right, the complex was built by the Cantacuzenes. A wooden staircase led to the room where the women watched the landscape. In the other building, where there is the balcony from which the king greeted the crowd, the throne room was used to receive distinguished guests. It was last inhabited by Constantine, the last king of the Byzantine Empire. The gate of Monemvassia, as for it, presents an architecture of defense: its loopholes were used to protect the high city and to forbid the access to any non-aristocrat. Finally, go up to the castle or kastro.

Castle. We pass through two gates with defensive towers before arriving at a square where we discover the governor's house. A little higher up, the round tower was that of the watchman. There, the landscape is fantastic. Towards Sparta, first of all, with its calm and serene plain, and towards mount Taygetos, on the other side, and its dizzy peaks. In short, what to finish in beauty the visit of this marvelous site.