OVERVIEW
1Η DAY:
“Opou m’anapli ksakousto…” “My beloved Nafplio…” (Folk song)
30th November 1822. Nafplio was liberated after a many-month long siege. Not through a direct attack, but secretly.
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, leading to the Ottomans being only semi-conscious. It was in 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, passing one fortification after another without much resistance. The next morning, the day before Saint Andrew’s day, cannons were heard as the blue and white flag was raised over the city. This is where some of the most fascinating and formative events would take place in modern Greek history. 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 re-occupied by the Ottomans.
2Η DAY:
The birth of the blue and white flag, Dramali’s disaster
Places and monuments connected to important events of the first two years of the Greek Revolution: First National Assembly at Epidaurus (20th December 1821 – 15th January 1822); the handing over of Acrocorinth to the Greeks plus the presence of the Greek government in Corinth (January – May 1821); Dramali’s expedition and defeat in the Peloponnese (July – November 1822).
3Η DAY:
“When I entered Tripolitsa…”
Places connected to the siege of Tripolitsa and the man behind the liberation of the city, Theodoros Kolokotronis: the battle in Upper Doliana (18th May 1821); Valtetsi, the place where the Greeks first defeated the Ottomans on the battlefield (12th – 13th May, 1821);
Kolokotronis’ seat, where the Elder of Morias watched over 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:
Tour of Kalamata
On 23rd March, 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 Petrobei Mavromichalis, as well as around 2000 fighters from Mani attended the ceremony. The Revolution was just beginning…
5Η DAY:
Walking the paths of the independence fighters: Theodoros Kolokotronis, Dimitrios Papatsonis, Ioannis Dikaios, Iosif Androusis
Here you can visit the birthplaces, hiding places, strongholds, homes and execution places of great fighters and political figures of the Revolution, such as Theodoros Kolokotronis (1770-1843), Dimitrios Papatsonis (d. 1798-1825), Ioannis Dikaios (d. 1825), Bishop Androusis Iosif (1770-1844).
