Peloponnesus

Greece

Corinth Canal

The Corinth Canal is an artificial canal in Greece that connects the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland.

Acrocorinth

This was the fortified city on the 1800-foot hill above the port of Corinth on the gulf of Corinth. Like the Acropolis of Athens, it was important both for military protection and religious ceremony. At the top of the hill was a temple of Aphrodite, while the location easily defended the isthmus, the only land route from the mainland to the Peloponnesus. It was continuously occupied from archaic times to the early nineteenth century. A spring supplies the water.

Argos & Larissa castle

Nafplion

Mani

The Mani is the southernmost part of mainland Europe. It's the middle finger of the three peninsulas at the bottom of the Peloponnesus. And it gives the middle finger to anyone who tries to live in that dusty barren region.

At left is the inside of Sanctuary and Death Oracle of Poseidon Tenaros. People leave offerings there to mollify the irascible god. (There are people in modern Greece that have returned to worship of the 12 gods of Ancient Greece. They are called the dodekatheistes (or 12 gods people.)

Above is the view outside from the shrine, looking south towards Cape Tenaros (also called Cape Matapan).

Above that are some pix of Vatheia, a renovated stone village intended to someday be a resort. Perhaps they ran out of money? Or failed to pay proper respects to Poseidon? Now the project is at a standstill.
The buildings here, as everywhere in the Mani, are made of stones. When that's all you have to work with, you get good at building with it. Floors, walls, benches, tables and even roofs are here made of stone. There are few trees, except for olive trees, which you can't build with.

These pix are of the house in the village of Marathea where I stay when I'm in the Mani. It belongs to my dear friends Niko and Dora. That's Dora above and Niko below in the new house. The old house is falling down, but I wanted to sleep there to see if any ghosts might come to me at night. (above right) They didn't. but the stairs collapsed making it hard to get inside. After that I took to sleeping outside over the cistern. (at right)