Messene - Stoupa

Yesterday we spent another day lazing around and this morning we drove to Messene. In recent years, Messene has become one of the most impressive archaeological sites in the Peloponnese due to ongoing excavations. In ancient times, Messene was a city rivaling Sparta. The facilities are well-preserved and worth seeing. However, due to the still high temperatures, we kept the sightseeing tour relatively short, especially since Ziva had to stay in the warm car.

Afterwards, we continued to Stoupa, on the middle "finger" of the Peloponnese. Here, tourism is again in pure form. The 2 shallow sandy bays are full of sunbeds and umbrellas. In Stoupa, the novel "Alexis Zorba" was created. The author Nikos Kazantzakis worked together with the foreman Giorgis Zorbas, the role model for his protagonist in the novel, in the old coal mine of Prastova. In Stoupa and its surroundings, Kazantzakis found his characters: the monks on the mountain, the widow Surmelia, the old village women, the Sirtaki dance on the beach. The completely unknown author became world famous through the novel. "Alexis Zorba" was filmed on Crete in 1964. The film became a global success due to Anthony Quinn's acting performance and Mikis Theodorakis's music, and won three Oscars.

It is too busy for us here, so we will move further south tomorrow.