Here in Greece even though we were in lockdown most of the time, during the summer we were free to go wherever we wanted to. Of course, there were some measures with masks and stuff but that didn't stop us.
So I and my friends decided due to Covid19, to do a road trip and visit a couple of cities in Greece. We also tried to avoid crowded places like clubs for example and instead our goal was to see the cities, visit any ancient monuments there, and of course, find the best beaches to swim in and relax.
Today i will talk about Neokastro Fortress which is located in Pylos, a city a small city in Messenia, Peloponnese, with around 2.500 people. The city Is around 3 hours by car from Greece and don't let me get started about its history. To give you just a glimpse of the history of Pylos, the city has been inhabited since Neolithic times and there was located king Nestor who's name is in Homer's Iliad.
Turkish Domination A 1460-1683
The story starts with Mehmed II who was on a march in Peloponnese and one after the other, he conquered the fortresses there. Pylos was in quite the position, so they used the area as an administrative unit. The Fortress which they called Anavarin or Avarna was used as a navy base for them.
canons as you enter the fortress
In 1645 the fortress was used as a base for the ottoman empire army in order to invade Crete. in 1668 the ottoman explorer Evliya 脟elebi said that from there 2000 ships gathered, part of the Ottoman fleet and that the Neokastro was magnificent and very advanced compared to other fortresses, cities.
Venetian Domination 1683-1715
Then the fortress passed down to the Venetian army after they defeated the ottoman one and till 1715 they tried to develop the area which they called Territorio di Navarin. They couldn't win over the loyalty of the citizens though that's why it ended easily back to the ottoman empire.
Turkish Domination B 1715-1821
It's interesting to say that a while before the Venetian army fight with the ottomans, they destroyed the castle of Neokastro and headed over to another fortress for their final battle. The ottomans had complete control for around 100 years till the liberation day of Greece that we still celebrate each year.
Liberation of Navarino
Even after the liberation in 1827, the Turks took it back and then lost it again. 2-3 years later it came back to the possession of the Greeks but then again during world war 2 the Germans and Italians used it as a base for their operations and after the war for prison.
The Neokastro Fortress Now
The fortress is located in the city so if you visit the city, you can visit the fortress on foot, it's that near. It is now used as an archaeological place that anyone can visit, it has a small archaeological museum inside and they also use the space for cultural events. Let me also show you some of the buildings below.
The church of Transfiguration of the Saviour
The church was first a mosque, then during the Venetian domination, they transformed it to a catholic temple and now is an orthodox church. Isn't it funny that everyone that conquered that area wanted to have their religion close, and guess what happened next, they lost the place to another army till it got back to its original owner.
Maizonos Building
This building was meant to be the place for the French army. The name Maizonos comes from the French General Nikolaos Maizonos and is now used as the archaeological museum of Pylos.
All the photos were taken by me and none is allowed to use them without my permision