Visit to Mystras in Greece

The castle on the top of the hill was founded in 1249 by the Frankish leader William II de Villeharduin. It was well fortified with two enclosure walls. After 1262 it came under Byzantine control and, at the middle of the 14th century, became the seat of the Despotate of Moreas. On becoming the capital city of the Despotate of Moreas in 1349, it reached its apogee as an intellectual and cultural center; one of the most significant in the Palaeologus era. In 1448 the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI Palaeologos, was crowned at Mystras. In 1460 the hill was captured by the Turks, and in 1464 Sigismondo Malatesta of Rimini managed to capture the city but not the castle. For a short period Mystras came under the control of the Venetians (1687-1715) but was again taken over by the Turks. The fall of Constantinople in 1453, and its own fall in 1460, by no means led to the demise of Mystras. Under Turkish occupation, it became one of the Ottoman Empire's most important economic centers. It was one of the first castles of Greece to be liberated in 1821. The foundation of modern Sparta, by king Otto in 1834, marked the end of the old town's life.

Nowadays, only the churches stand, reminiscent of the old glorious times. The Palaces and other buildings suffered much graver damage. Time, greed and plundering have all taken a high toll on the site. Stone inscriptions were cut away and taken abroad, or chiseled to destruction so that no one else would ever be able to read them. The eyes of the Byzantine icons were scraped away by religious fanatic vandals. One is overwhelmed at once, however, by the serenity and grandiosity of the deserted and destroyed city. One strolls up or down the paved tiny streets, camera in hand, and can almost hear children cackle at play, people singing during their festivities, horse's hooves clapping the cobblestones, and swords clanging against iron armor. One begins to understand why cypress trees have taken over.