Top Greek Travel Destinations: Byzantine Mystras
After spending a night in Sparta I was really pleased to visit Mystras only about 20 minutes
away by car.
Mystras is among the best preserved Byzantine fortress cities and really quite enchanting. The fact its Byzantine means it was heavily influenced/funded by the Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church of Constantinople so within there are several churches with old icons and frescoes including a garden-like small convent.
There are 2 entrances: one at the top and one at the bottom. I drove to the top and walked down 1/2 way, returned, got the car and used my same ticket to enter at the bottom... a guard told me this legal trick. Its a trek otherwise. If you are in the Sparta area you have to visit Mystras!
Mystras
Mystras - is a unique example of a Byzantine fortified town, with its walls still intact. Its
setting is quite exceptional, overlooking the Evrotas Valley and Sparta from a steep spur of Mt. Tayetos, and its
Byzantine churches, monasteries, ruined palaces and houses, testify to its former glory as ancient capital of Morea (the
old name for the Peloponnese). It is a truly amazing experience to ascend the lush green hillside and wander through the
narrow winding streets of this medieval town which once had a population of up to 42,000 (though more typically,
20,000-still an impressive number) with some of the finest examples of 14th-15th century Byzantine architecture in Greece, and superb frescoes in its many churches.
The impregnable fortress that crowns its summit was built in 1249 by the Frank Guillaume II de Villehardouin,
fourth Frankish Prince of Morea and Duke of Achaia, to control the region of Lakonia, and especially to protect it from
marauding Slavs in the Tagetos region. The hill on which it was built was called Mezythra (interestingly, the name-at
least in modern Greek-- of a soft white Greek cheese made with goat's milk), which the Franks corrupted to Mystras (which
meant 'mistress' in their dialect). The fortress was one of three built by Villehardouin, the others at Monemvasia and in
the Maina castle in Mani (see the Mani). The Franks were driven out by the Byzantines in 1262, after
Villehardouin served three years in prison under the rule of Mikhalis Palaiologos, and was forced to surrender all three
strongholds, but power struggles continued after that for a half century before before the Greeks reconquered the greater
part of the Morea. Monemvasia gave way to Mystras as central fortress, and from 1349 the peninsula was governed by
various Byzantine despots (and was called the Despotate of Mystras). As such, it was the last and largest province of
the declining Byzantine Empire. The Turks took control in 1460, seven years after the fall of Constantinople, when the
despot Demetrios, who had been feuding with his brothers, handed the city over to Sultan Mehmet II.
During its peak in the 14th and early 15th centuries, Mystras was the main cultural and intellectual center of the
Byzantine world. Artists, scholars and theologians gathered here, some of them members of the imperial families such as
the Cantacuzenes and Palaiologues. The humanist philosopher Gemistus Plethon lived here from 1400-1442. It was he who
revived and reinterpreted Platonic thought, which he used to support his own revolutionary ideas, including
redistribution of land among the laborers, and the elevation of reason to the same status as religion. The local monks
excommunicated him, and his ideas had little local impact, but his followers taught in Italy after Mystras fell, and
through them these ideas had wide influence in Renaissance Florence and Rome.
From 1687 to 1715 the city was in the hands of the Venetians, and during those years reached its second peak of
prosperity, attaining a population of 42,000, with silk worm culture its main industry. The town declined rapidly with
the return of the Turks, and was burnt in 1770 by Albanian troops after the Mainotes had captured it for Orloff, and
again in 1825 It was abandoned after the refounding of Sparta in 1834, saved from complete ruin only through the efforts
of the French School during the period from 1896 to 1910, and served as a battlefield in 1944 between various partisan
forces. Its last 30 families were relocated in 1952 by the Greek Archaeological Service.
The town ruins are on the north and east sides of the hill they occupy and are divided into three sections-the Kastro on the summit, the walled Upper Town (or Hora) below it to the north, with houses clustering around the Despot's palace, and below it the Lower Town (Katohora), added later, which includes the cathedral. The parapets and upper defence walls are mostly Turkish additions. There are two entrances to the town, at the base of the Lower Town and at the Kastro at its summit, with a car road ascending to it. The site is most pleasantly lacking in commercialism, with nothing more than a juice bar at the lower entrance, so bring whatever you might need to fortify yourself while exploring. The Monemvasia Gate links the upper and lower towns, and a choice of routes to different monasteries.
The nuns of the Pantanassa convent were allowed to remain when those last 30 families were relocated in 1952, and
there were seven of them during recent years, selling their handicrafts to visitors.
The convent church built in 1428, is one of finest (some say the most beautiful) in Mystras, blending Byzantine and Gothic styles, and there are some very beautiful frescoes from the 15th century, as well as some later ones from the Venetian period. A broad flight of steps ascends to the loggia, which affords fine views of the Evrotas valley below. The House of Frangopoulos is a mansion further down on this side of the town, which was the home of the founder of the Pantanassa and chief minister of the despotate, with the Perivleptos monastery behind it-a very small, monastery with a single domed church partly carved from the rock, with Mystras's most complete cycle of frescoes dating mostly from the 14th century. These are in some ways even finer than those of the Pantanassa.
The Cathedral or Metropolitan Church of Aghios Dhimitrios/Metropolis was built by the first Paleologue ruler
between 1270 and 1292 and is the oldest of Mystras's churches. It stands in a courtyard with a fountain dated 1802 and
and antique sarcophagus. The basilika was altered in the 15th century with the replacement of the upper part with five
domes, which resulted in the halving of some paintings in the nave. The arcade of the marble ikonostasis features some
exceptional fretwork carving and the 27th century walnut throne is ornately carved. A two-headed marble eagle in the
floor might have commemorated the coronation here in 1448 of the Emporer Constantine XI, the last Eastern emporer, who
died (along with his empire) in the sacking of Constantinople in 1453.
The frescoes in the cathedral are dated to ten different periods. Uphill from the cathedral is the Vrondohion monastery with two churches attached to it. Afendiko (the further one) has been restored very beautifully, and has early 14th century frescoes with boldly contrasted colors.
There is a path to the Upper Town )from the upper gate. The Kastro, built in 1249, has kept its 13th century construction despite many successive restorations and amendments (and also because the Turks repaired and fortified it along its existing lines). A walkway surrounds it, allowing for wonderful views of the city below.
Used in later years
as a citadel, it was at first the court of builder Villehardouin. Walking downhill from the upper entrance, you come to
the church of Aghia Sofia,built 
in 1350, and which was the chapel for the Depots' Palace below.
The Turks adapted it as a mosque, and coated the frescoes with whitewash, which served to protect them again weathering. Further down, one fork leads to the ruins of a Byzantine mansion, the Palataki (small palace), and Aghios Nikolaos, a 27th century building with mediocre paintings.
The massive Despots' Palace, is reached by an alternate fork, but has been closed for restoration. It is a rare example of a civic Byzantine building, and dates from various periods.
There is a huge vaulted audience hall in it with flamboyant windows and which had a painted fascade and eight large chimneys that were used for heating.