<p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1012 sparta olive and orange trees" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1012 sparta olive and orange trees" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1012spartaoliveandorangetrees.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">Yes, it’s called Sparti now.&#160; But I still call it Bombay sometimes so, it’s okay to call it Sparta. Very few people make it to Sparta or Mystras in Greece.&#160; Holidays are short and it’s much more popular to stay in or near Athens and Delphi.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1014 mystras site" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1014 mystras site" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1014mystrassite.jpg" width="525" border="0" /></font></p>  <p><font size="2">But Sparta is worth it.&#160; Even in the hot August sun when the streets are baking you, the drive through the countryside is breathtaking.&#160; There are fruit trees and olive trees and the smell of warm citrus is everywhere.&#160; You can buy figs and wine and cheese on the roadside and make a lovely picnic.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1025" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="701" alt="IMG_1025" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1025.jpg" width="525" border="0" /></font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1024" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1024" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1024.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p align="center"><font size="2">And when you get there, there’s the most interesting and compelling formation:&#160; Mystras.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1015" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1015" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1015.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p align="center"><font size="2">Mystras was a fortified town and you can read all the technical details </font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystras"><font size="2">here</font></a><font size="2">.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1016 entrance to mystras" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="350" alt="IMG_1016 entrance to mystras" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1016entrancetomystras.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p align="center"><font size="2">{Entrance to the forted town}</font></p>  <p align="center"><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1037" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1037" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1037.jpg" width="525" border="0" /></font></p>  <p><font size="2">From the sources: <em>In the 14th and 15th centuries, it served as the capital of the </em></font><em><font size="2">Byzantine</font></em><em><font size="2"> </font></em><em><font size="2">Despotate of the Morea</font></em><em><font size="2">, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering. The site remained inhabited throughout the </font></em><em><font size="2">Ottoman period</font></em><em><font size="2">, when it was mistaken by Western travelers for ancient Sparta. </font></em></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1019" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-left: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-bottom: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1019" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_10191.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p align="center"><font size="2">What does all this richness and cultural flowering mean? <img title="600px-Mystras_plan.svg" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="383" alt="600px-Mystras_plan.svg" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/600pxMystras_plan.svg_.png" width="500" border="0" /></font></p>  <p><font size="2">It means there’s a lot to see:&#160; stunning architecture and a really thorough collection of religious art that is still on the walls.&#160;&#160; And the best part?&#160; Well, the climb of course!&#160; There are three levels to the city and the site is perfectly preserved as a World Heritage Site.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1026" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1026" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1026.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">Just because this is a World Heritage Site doesn’t mean there are smooth pathways and ropes.&#160; There’s rocky stairs, slippery slopes, and really tough paths which lead you through the fortress and to the palace, churches, and monasteries.</font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1027" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="701" alt="IMG_1027" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1027.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">And I wore flip-flops.&#160; That’s right friends, I didn’t realize there was a climb.&#160; I knew the site was vast but didn’t realize it was also tall.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1028" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1028" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1028.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">So I climbed all three levels in the hot sun wearing flip-flops.&#160; You know how I say the Boy is a saint?&#160; Well, here’s one of those times his patience overflowed.&#160; There were some stairs which provided no grip and some that were worn smooth by rain water.&#160; They were not my friend but the Boy carefully managed to carry me up, risking his own footing.&#160; It was very manly.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1029" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="701" alt="IMG_1029" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_10291.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">I remember seeing a middle-aged Italian woman and she was in a worse predicament than me – she had on kitten heels.&#160; Seriously?&#160; “Let us be elegant or die!” is my rallying cry, but even I have my limits – I felt for her though. Poor thing didn’t make it past the first staircase.&#160; I’ve smarted up and have some fetching shoes in mind for South America.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1032" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1032" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1032.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">The best part about Mystras is that even though it has became a Unesco World Heritage site in 1999 the crowds are not thick because very few travelers visit Western Greece.&#160; That is changing now that tour groups to far corners are becoming more popular and people are becoming more adventurous.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1033 john the explorer" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="701" alt="IMG_1033 john the explorer" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1033johntheexplorer.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">The second best part?&#160; There were no guards posted anywhere.&#160; This will change in the next five years but for the far off sites in Western Greece this is still the norm.&#160; </font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1034" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1034" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1034.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">This has some serious drawbacks for art-lovers like me and the Boy.&#160; Bless me God for I have sinned.&#160; I took flash photos of ancient art inside a church.&#160; I swear by all that is good and true, I will never, ever, ever do it again.&#160; But I did.</font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1035" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1035" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_10351.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">There was also a lot of work being done on the site so when I bring my future children back to the site they will not be taking flash photos, they will hopefully see even more preserved work!</font></p>  <p><font size="2"><img title="IMG_1036" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="393" alt="IMG_1036" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/IMG_1036.jpg" width="525" border="0" /> </font></p>  <p><font size="2">I can’t wait to show you more photos of our time in Mystras. </font></p>  <p><font size="2"></font></p>  <p><font size="2"></font></p>  <p><font size="2"></font></p>