The Bourtzi was originally built in 1471 by the Venetian engineer Brancaleone to protect and control the harbor of Nafplio. It was improved after the Ottoman Turk attack in 1473 and equipped with cannons. It sits in the middle of the harbor of Nafplio; at one time a chain and boulders linked it with the side of the harbor nearest to the picture.
We got to take a water tour around the castle.
Cruise ship docked. The structure in the lower left is our hotel:
Sadly it was early and the castle is being renovated, but it now serves as a museum:
Working around the headland of Nafplio. This is looking towards the Argolic gulf.
The next two pictures show some of the difficulties of modern Greece.
Beyond the headland (and to the east of our hotel) lies another hotel and beach. The hotel itself stands, essentially a rotting corpse. Why? It was built during the days of the Greek Junta (1967-1974) in which sweetheart deals were given to favorites of the junta. With the sweeping away of the government and the fact that in large part (as our guide told us) the archaeologists run much of Greece, the building is now trapped in a state of limbo. It is actually cheaper and easier to let is slowly decay than revive it as a tourist stop.
Headed back to Nafplio:
Quite the effort to construct that castle and it has a bit of a bloody episode in the last century according to Wiki, TB a place of executions! Video is the crowning touch for this post.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, structures like this are always amazing to me - where there is a will, there is a way.
DeleteNot only was a place of executions, but right after that it was a hotel!
This really was a lovely early morning cruise.
I can't imagine how they built it! On a rock sitting out in the harbor? Did they have to build it up? The whole area looks fascinating, and quite beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, from what I can find their used to be a church on that location, which is referred to as either an islet or a rock, which was then replaced by the fortress.
DeleteMuch like Preveza, it was a delightful small city. They had good gelato too!