Page 31 - Ath Airport Profile
P. 31
T he soul of this town resides in its old Venetian harbour, a place that on this land combined, but I suddenly witness apparitions passing before me: pi-
romantically unites the mountain with the sea. The walls of the
castle wrap around the town, giving the impression of a solid, se- rates in front of the Iron Gate on the second tier, Ottomans at the Vezir Tzami,
cure embrace. On the western rampart I greet the imposing statue
of arsonist Giorgos Anemogiannis and a little further down I find Suliot captains outside the Tzavella house and Botsaris Tower. Winding through
the statue of Miguel de Cervantes, with his right arm extended upwards (he lost
his left hand in Nafpaktos in the naval battle of 1571). Fishermen line the harbour cobbled pathways I arrive at the clock tower and the picture-perfect view of the
with their day’s catch and old men sip on their coffee under the plane trees while
I venture east of the harbour square, onto the cobblestone streets of «Stenopa- town from the top takes my breath away. I get my final dose of ‘old Nafpaktos’
zaro», where the town’s central marketplace once stood. I stop by the stone foun-
tain under the enormous plane tree near Agios Dimitrios church before I head up at Tzavella square with its age old plane trees and tavernas before heading for the
to the castle. Boasting five separate levels, it is perhaps the best preserved castle in
Greece. It may be the steep ascent, the heat and the deep imprints history has left mountains of Nafpaktia. Picturesque villages sprout amongst fir, chestnut, holly
oak and plane trees while fresh herbs infuse the air with a mystifying fragrance.
Nestled in the forest-clad slopes of Mt. Syrta, the village of Ano Hora exudes time-
worn aromas of roast chestnuts and freshly-distilled tsipouro. From sea to moun-
tain, from the town of Nafpaktos to the mounaitnous heights of Nafpaktia, the
triptych of nature, tradition and history will curb your urban reflexes. And all this
just over 2 hours from Athens. SISSY PAPADOGIANNI
31
romantically unites the mountain with the sea. The walls of the
castle wrap around the town, giving the impression of a solid, se- rates in front of the Iron Gate on the second tier, Ottomans at the Vezir Tzami,
cure embrace. On the western rampart I greet the imposing statue
of arsonist Giorgos Anemogiannis and a little further down I find Suliot captains outside the Tzavella house and Botsaris Tower. Winding through
the statue of Miguel de Cervantes, with his right arm extended upwards (he lost
his left hand in Nafpaktos in the naval battle of 1571). Fishermen line the harbour cobbled pathways I arrive at the clock tower and the picture-perfect view of the
with their day’s catch and old men sip on their coffee under the plane trees while
I venture east of the harbour square, onto the cobblestone streets of «Stenopa- town from the top takes my breath away. I get my final dose of ‘old Nafpaktos’
zaro», where the town’s central marketplace once stood. I stop by the stone foun-
tain under the enormous plane tree near Agios Dimitrios church before I head up at Tzavella square with its age old plane trees and tavernas before heading for the
to the castle. Boasting five separate levels, it is perhaps the best preserved castle in
Greece. It may be the steep ascent, the heat and the deep imprints history has left mountains of Nafpaktia. Picturesque villages sprout amongst fir, chestnut, holly
oak and plane trees while fresh herbs infuse the air with a mystifying fragrance.
Nestled in the forest-clad slopes of Mt. Syrta, the village of Ano Hora exudes time-
worn aromas of roast chestnuts and freshly-distilled tsipouro. From sea to moun-
tain, from the town of Nafpaktos to the mounaitnous heights of Nafpaktia, the
triptych of nature, tradition and history will curb your urban reflexes. And all this
just over 2 hours from Athens. SISSY PAPADOGIANNI
31
