Part II: Getting the feel of inner Mani

Wednesday May 16, 2018: Kitta, Charouda, Areopolis, Limeni, Neo Itilo, Karavostasi, Itilo, Mezapos, Ano Boularii, Marmari

The small village of Kitta is situated some distance up the mountain, away from the sea and the busy touristic sites. Early morning wake-up call was a very natural affair, through the persistent calling of the cockerel announcing loudly that it was time to get up.

A hearty breakfast was followed by a visit to a small chapel next to the hotel. 

Inside the chapel at Kitta

Back on the road determined to explore as much as possible, first stopping at a chapel that I wanted to see. Taxiarches, an 11th century chapel, lies almost at the centre of the village of Charouda. It is enclosed by a tall wall with just two small gates both of which were locked. It would have ben very difficult to climb the tall wall and in any case it would have been fruitless as entry to the chapel to see its hagiographies, which apart from its architecture are the main points of interest, was impossible as the main door to the chapel had both a lock to it and a iron gate in front of it. In Mani there are thousands of churches, many of them dating back to Byzantine times and regrettably over the years many of them, especially the more remote ones, have been vandalised and pillaged. The chapel of Taxiarches being in the centre of a small settlement seemed to be intact but getting access to it appeared to be problematic.

Outside the chapel of Taxiarches at Charouda

I walked on the coblled roads around the chapel but as in many other villages, there was a notable absence of people. I knocked on a few doors but there was no response. Disappointed I got back in the car to drive on to the much larger village of Aeropolis but just as I was exiting Charouda, I noticed a fancy looking hotel and lo and behold there was a woman in the front garden and a young man in his 20's who by the way he was addressing the woman seemed to be her son. The man was more interested in smoking his cigarette than answering my query about getting access to the chapel but the woman was very polite and helpful. She run back to the building and gave me the name of a man who apparently has the key to the chapel and his mobile number, assuring me that although this guy worked in Sparti there was a good chance that he might be at Charouda over the weekend and could I call him to see if he could help me. Later that day I called Gregory, that is the man's name, and we agreed that I would call him on Friday to arrange for a visit.

Not far from Charouda is the village of Areopolis, also known as Tsimova after the invading Slavs during 7th century AD, which with a population of just under 900 is the biggest village in the west coast of Mani. Areopolis (the name referring to Ares, God of war) was an important place in the Greek War of Independence in 1821. It is one of the very few villages in Mani where people can meet around a square in traditional cafes, resembling life as one experiences in other parts of Greece. I had heard of the Pikoulakis museum (tel. 2733029531) which is a renovated tower not far from the centre of the village. 

The museum is small but very well maintained by the 'Network of Museums in Mani'. It has a permanent exhibition of the 'History of Christianity in Mani' with fine examples of hagiographies and parts of materials used in chapels. Some of the churches in Mani but also in the rest of Greece were built on top of ancient shrines, that the Greeks used to worship their gods and goddesses.

Exhibit at Pikoulakis museum

Just before leaving the museum I asked one of the attendants how one might visit old churches given that I had discovered that the majority of them are locked. To my great delight the man said that the museum holds the keys to 3-4 chapels and that if I wished he was willing to take me to them.

We agreed that I would call him early on Friday morning to arrange for the visits.

Just 5 KM away from Areopolis is the small port of Limeni, a picturesque village where the traditional Maniot buildings are built right on the rocky sea front. Limeni is popular with tourists and there are fancy hotels, restaurants and cafes. It is not a large place that in my opinion has lost much of its traditional ambience due to its development to cater for high-priced tourism.

Limeni

Back on the road heading north, there are the villages of Neo Itilo and Karavostasi, by the sea and higher up the old village of Itilo.

A view from Itilo towards Karavostasi, Neo Itilo and further away Limeni

On the way back towards Kitta I first visited Mezapos with its tiny smugglers' harbour from where one could see across the bay the peninsula of Tigani, its name meaning 'frying pan'.

The Tigani peninsula

Returning from Mezapos towards Kitta, decided to take the coastal road that leads to Gerolimenas, going through the villages of Ag. Kyriaki, Stavri, Pagia, Kounos, Neasa, all of which seemed to be empty of any living creatures :))

On reaching Gerolimenas, I could see higher up the two vilages of Kato (lower) Boularii and Ano (high) Boularii. They were not far from each other, they looked the typical Maniot villages with their tall towers and I just had this thought that they were separated because of the infamous blood feuds. Paddy writes about the proximity of the combatants in these feuds:

“The theatres of war were no larger than the area bounded by Piccadilly, St. James’s Street, the east side of St. James’s Square and Pall Mall; the equivalent, in distance, of the cannonading of Brooks’s by White’s, Chatham House by the London Library, Lyons Corner House by Swan and Edgar’s, almost of the Athenaeum and the Reform by the Travellers’. Sometimes it lasted for years: a deadlock in which the only sounds were the boom of cannon, exploding powder, the collapse of masonry, the bang of gunfire and the wail of dirges”  [Excerpt From: Patrick Leigh Fermor, 'Mani']. 

I decided to drive to both of these villages and again I was struck by the absence of any people in both of them. I reached the very top of the higher of the two villages, where a cemetery is situated (it seems not only for people but also for automobiles) without meeting anyone.  

Ano Boularii dual purpose "cemetery"

Standing at the top of the village and looking south west towards Gerolimenas, as the sun was setting, the view across the bay was stunning. 

The view from Ano Bouralrii

It was getting dark as I left Ano Boularii but there was enough light for one more visit and decided to drive towards the end of the Mani peninsula at Maramari. There was not enough tome to expolore properly but enough to enjoy the fantastic sunset across the bay. 

View across the bay from the road to Marmari. The tower is a renovated hotel nowdays