The Pearl of the Peloponnese, Byzantine Mystras... in this name can be heard the echo of Frankish speech, the respectful silence of Byzantine coronations and the stomping of Turkish conquerors.
In the majestic lands of the Peloponnese, not far from belligerent Sparta, stands the ghost town of Mystras. The Greek city, built on Mount Taighet, once embodied the power and might of the Byzantine Empire. Travellers who visited Mistras could only compare this city to the great Florence. Aristocrats flocked here from all lands from the far frontiers of modern Serbia to the Apennines. The fortress became the cultural and financial center of the empire, and luxurious mansions for the nobility and ornate temples were built here. But this was not always the case.
Mistras began its history in the middle of the 13th century, erected in the will of the prince of Moreys, ruler of the Franks. And from its founding, the city was doomed to become the subject of disputes and strife. Power over the ghost town passed from one nation to another. The Franks were followed by the Byzantines, Venice established its dictatorship over the fortress for a short period, but soon Mystraso found itself in the hands of the Turks. All these seizures undermined the influence of the city: at the beginning of the 19th century the fortress became deserted. The final test for the city was the disastrous Greek Revolution, which marked the year 1821. The once bustling streets emptied out, the townspeople dispersed, and in 1956 Mistras was finally orphaned.
Since then a lot of water has flowed, and life gradually returned to Mistras endless stream of tourists and travelers. After all, for almost a century the city was not inhabited and became a true legend in the Peloponnese. Time in the fortress froze during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire, and now any tourist can feel the spirit of Byzantium, lost among the ancient streets and stone walls of the monasteries. Mistras is full of churches. And the walls of these churches have witnessed great events. Constantine XI himself, the last ruler of the empire, was crowned in the Church of St. Demetrius.
The entire lower town is immortalized with magnificent frescoes, as if to tell the wanderer some secret. On the floor of one of the temples survived the symbol of the Paleologues dynasty - a two-headed eagle engraved by craftsmen, in which you can recognize the current emblem of the Fatherland. You can wander the streets of this ancient city endlessly, getting lost and finding yourself among the sun-damaged murals. The ghost town has preserved for posterity all the architectural and painting treasures of its time.
The toughest and most curious always climb to the top, which is located two kilometers from the lower town. It is not an easy path, but it is worthwhile, if only for the immense panorama that opens from the fortifications of the fortress of the Frankish prince. Here, from the highest point, you can see the whole plain, dotted with small Spartan villages with red roofs. It is at the top that all the beauty of Byzantine Mistras is revealed, immersed in the green forests of the Taighet slope.