As a bank holiday, the 28th of October is always a good day to arrange a short trip to the beautiful regions of our country that we are not familiar with. This year is the 200th anniversary of the Greek revolution, thus we cannot think of a better destination to explore than Peloponnese: where the revolution started, a place rich in ancient history and well-known for its fine cuisine.
Travel through history
The heart of ancient Greece beats here. Here lies ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, the impressive open theatre of Epidaurus, and Mycenae, one of the major centres of Greek civilization, where the relics of the Acropolis and of the ancient royal shaft graves can be found. Here we can also admire two World Heritage Sites: the Asclepeion and the temple of Epicurus Apollon -a masterpiece of Ictinus, architect of the Parthenon. Our exploration continues to Mystra, the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, and Mani region where we will walk along the charming Byzantine relics at Kardamyli, the stone castles at Lagada, the ancient towers at Areopolis and the caves of Diros. Last but not least, we visit the charming city of Nafplion. The founding of the Society of friends (the secret organization with purpose to free the Greek nation from the Ottoman rule) in Odessa in 1814, was the unofficial “starting point” of the Greek revolution. While the official Greek revolution started in 1821, its was a few years later, in 1827 that Nafplion became the capital of Greece during 1827-1834.
Travel through taste
The local cuisine has no secrets. What it has though is not one but two important “rules”: the high quality of the ingredients selected to be cooked and their smart combination. Vegetables are key, with emphasis given on eggplants and artichokes, usually cooked with chicken. Most popular spices are bachar and cinnamon -which can be found in every homemade red sauce. Mixing salty and sweet tastes is a popular choice, with cinnamon and dried grapes finding place in many salty dishes, while high quality cheese, feta and yogurts enrich lots of desserts!
Our local butter cookies
The blessed land of Peloponnese was the inspiration behind our “Koulouraki” baked treats. Created in the classic braided version, they honour the Peloponnese rules of fine cooking: selecting high quality ingredients and combine them smartly. Explore our “Koulouraki” in 3 delicious tastes: Orange, Cinnamon, Mahleb.