You can also see there the wall-paintings that survived the destruction of the castle. The second destination of the ancient history trip is Ancient Messini. be carefull, it is not so close to the city Messini. You will find it halfway between Trikorfo and Meligala, don?t follow the signs leading to Messini, they will lead you astray. The site is an ancient city in ruins, it dates from the 4th century BC, when it was the capital of the Free Ancient Messinia, but people lived here since the neoclassical period (5300-3200 BC). You will see here a stadium, a theatre, temples, houses and roads, which are preserved in a very good condition. Hundreds of ancient columns give to the stadium a really impressive sight. If you walk around all these ruins, you will discover some information plates explaining the function of the given building. The site is really big and it is still being discovered, the archeological research and restoration continues. The site lies between some very high mountains, the view is wonderful. Near to the site you will find a small Archeological Museum, with a lot of findings from the ancient city: statues, pottery, etc. There is also a thick wall from the 3rd entury BC and a huge gate (the Arcadian Gate), not far from there, they are also worth visiting. There are road signs leading to all of these sights, it is not difficult to find them. From Ancient Messini, head to the Temple of Epikurios Apollo, which can be found about 50 km North of Kyparissia, in the very North part of Messinia, up high in the mountains, 1130 m above the sea level. It is a rectangular temple with huge columns, most of which are still standing straight in their original place. It is one of the best preserved ancient temples in Greece, which dates from the 5th century BC. It was built of local limestone by Iktinos, the architect of the Parthenon. According to the chronicles, there was a huge statue of Apollo in the center of the Temple. Today, the site is under restoration, it is covered by a huge tent. The columns and some parts of the building have to be renovated. But, the Temple is still very impressive!

The Peloponnese is well-known for its numerous ancient sites, and this is valid for the prefecture of Messinia too. Ancient fortresses, theatres, temples and city ruins can be found in it. Our proposed trip leads you through Nestor?s Palace, Ancient Messini and Apollo?s Temple. The first destination, Nestor?s palace can be found near to Hora, on the way from Hora to Pylos and it is rather a ruin than a real palace. It is very ancient, it was built in the 13th century BC by Neleus, the father of Nestor, and destroyed about 1200 BC by a fire. The walls of the palace are not standing anymore, you can only see the base of the building. You can clearly see how the building was organized. There were three bulidings in the complex, one of which was the residence of the king. All buildings had store-rooms, residential rooms, there is even a bathroom with a bath that has been preserved in a very good condition. In this site, there is a little information leaflet about the palace that you can get for free at the entrance.There is also an ancient tomb near to the ruins (50 metres), it doesn?t belong to the complex, but is worth to see. Most of the objects and findings of the place have been transported to the Archeological Museum of Hora, or the National Archeological Museum of Athens to be safe and well preserved. If you visit Nestor?s palace, head to Hora afterwards to see what kind of objects were found in the site. There is an amazingly collection of pottery, and other utility, decorative objects, weapon.