Photos

this photo as will the next couple of photos were taken during my trip to the castle of methoni in teh southern peloponese. the castle has rich history from ancient times, identified as the city Pedasus, that Homer mentions under the name "ampeloessa" (of vine leaves).Along with the rest of Messenia, the town gained its independence from the Spartans in 369 BC. During the 4th century BC, Methoni was elaborately fortified and continued to remain autonomous well into the Imperial Roman era, when it enjoyed the favor of some emperors. During the Byzantine years it continued to remain a remarkable harbor and one of the most important cities of the Peloponnese, seat of a bishopric. Venetian Era
The Venetians had their eye on Methoni since the 12th century, due to its location on the route from Venice to the Eastern markets. In 1125, they launched an attack against pirates, who had captured some Venetian traders on their way home from the east, and who were inhabiting Methoni at that time.in the venetian era the venetians fortified Methoni, which developed into an important trade center with great prosperity. Methoni became the important middle station between Venice and the Holy Lands, where every traveler stopped on their way to the East. A pilgrim who went by in 1484 admired its strong walls, the deep moats and the fortified towers.
But the Ottoman Turks wanted to conquer Methoni. In the 1490s, Sultan Bayezid II gathered his forces against Methoni. Bayezid, despite the hard siege, would not have been able to capture it if the inhabitants, thrilled by the arrival of reinforcements, hadn't deserted the walls, a fact that the janissaries took advantage of, invading the fortress from the governor's palace. On the August 9, 1500, Methoni fell, after having been in the hands of the Venetians for about three hundred years. The city was given to the flames, the Catholic bishop was killed while talking to the people, the men were decapitated, the women and children were sold to slavery. The walls were repaired and the period of the first period of Turkish rule began.

The Venetians returned under Francesco Morosini in the 1680s during the Great Turkish War, but the second period of Venetian rule did not last for long. In 1715 the Turks launched a siege again, but during this second period of Turkish rule the decline was complete. As is apparent from the travelers' descriptions, the population was reduced, the battlements were in bad condition and the harbor became shallow. The most important trade conducted was that of slaves. In February 1825, during the Greek Revolution, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt landed at Methoni and settled in the commander's residence, over the entrance of the castle. In the same building, the French general Maison, who freed the town together with others in the Peloponnese, settled in 1829.
Nowadays the walls of the fortress, even though in ruins, continue to be impressive. The castle of Methoni occupies the whole area of the cape and the southwestern coast to the small islet that has also been fortified with an octagonal tower and is protected by the sea on its three sides. It's north part, the one that looks to land, is covered by a heavily fortified acropolis. A deep moat separates the castle from the land and communication was achieved by a wooden bridge. The Venetians built on the ancient battlements and added on and repaired it during both periods that they occupied the castle. (more info on wikepedia)