OVERVIEW
1Η DAY:
Tour of Kalamata
On March 23rd , 1821, Kalamata was peacefully liberated from the Ottomans. That afternoon, the people of Kalamata gathered outside the Church of the Holy Apostles by the river Nedontas to witness the first ever church service to be performed as a free people.
Leaders of the fight for independence, including Theodoros Kolokotronis, Anagnostaras, Nikitaras, Papaflessas and Petrobey Mavromichalis, as well as around 2000 fighters from Mani attended the ceremony. The Revolution was just beginning…
2Η DAY:
In the footsteps of the revolutionaries : Theodoros Kolokotronis, Dimitrios Papatsonis, Ioannis Dikaios, Iosif Androusis
During this tour you can visit the birthplaces, hiding places, strongholds, homes and execution sites of great fighters and political figures of the Revolution, such as Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770-1843), Dimitrios Papatsonis (d. 1798-1825), Ioannis Dikaios (d. 1825), Joseph the Bishop of Androusa (1770-1844).
3Η DAY:
“When I entered Tripolitsa…”
Places connected to the siege of Tripolitsa and the man behind the liberation of the city, Theodoros Kolokotronis: Valtetsi, the place where the Greeks first defeated the Ottomans on the battlefield (12th – 13th May, 1821);
Kolokotronis’ seat, where the Old Man of Morias oversaw the siege of Tripoli as it was being besieged (June – 23 September, 1821); Tripoli and the public monuments in the city that commemorate and honor the heroes of Independence.
4Η DAY:
“My beloved Nafplio…”
30th November 1822. Nafplio was liberated after a many-month long siege. Not through a direct attack, but secretly and silently.
On a rainy, moonless night, the Greeks caught wind that the besieged Ottomans inside had left one side of the castle unguarded. This was due to the extreme deprivation and hardships on the inside, forcing most of the Ottomans to be caught off guard . It was θνδερ these circumstances that Staikos Staikopoulos led 350 fighters plus 30 German philhellenes on the front line. They climbed ladders up the castle walls to enter Palamidi Fortress, passing one fortification after another without much resistance. The next morning, on the day of Saint Andrew, cannon fire was heard as the blue and white flag of Greece was raised over the city. This is where some of the most fascinating and formative events in modern Greek history would take place . The reclaiming of Nafplio was a truly important event, “un événement majeur”, as Ioannis Kapodistrias described in a letter to his brother just a month and a half later. Unlike other Greek cities, Nafplio was never recaptured by the Ottomans.
5Η DAY:
The birth of the blue and white flag,The disaster of Dramali’s
Places and monuments connected with important events of the first two years of the Greek Revolution: The First National Assembly at Epidaurus (20th December 1821 – 15th January 1822); the handing over of the Acrocorinth to the Greeks and the presence of the Greek government in Corinth (January – May 1821); Dramali’s expedition and defeat in the Peloponnese (July – November 1822).
