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Laconia Greece

A gifted place promising an unprecedented holiday experience

The history, the scenic landscape and the climate combine and give the Laconian land its special characteristics. Human presence has left its traces in the whole area of Laconia prefecture. The archeological findings are scattered everywhere: from the caves of Diros to Vafio, Elos, Pellana and Maleas of the archaic era, to Sparta of the historic era, to the Byzantine Mistras, Geraki and Monemvassia. And finally to Mani, from the castles of which broke out the uprising of 1821.

Laconia (Lakonia) is situated on the northeastern part of Peloponnese and covers an area of 3.636 km. Its terrain is mostly semi-mountainous, with rich and fertile plains and 5% of the area is taken up by forests. It is washed by the Messinian and the Laconian Bays, also by the Myrtoon and Cretan Seas. The wonderful islets Trinassos, Glaros, Leptonissi, Kasela, Roditsa, Daskalio and the island Elafonissos belong to Laconia. It is defined by the two impressive mountain ranges: Taygetos on the west and Parnonas on the east and between them the river Eurotas flows through the Laconian plain.

The plains around Sparta are extremely fertile, full of orange and olive trees. There follows a hilly region where you can find a great variety of aromatic herbs and brushwood.

From an administrative aspect the prefecture of Laconia consists of four provinces: Gythio (its capital Gythio), Epidavros Limira (its capital Molai), Lacaedaemon (its capital Sparta) and Itilo (its capital Areopolis). It has a population of 95.695 people whereas 14.084 of them reside in Sparta. The prefecture’s financial resources derive mainly from agriculture. The most important products are its famous olive-oil, oranges, figs, honey and tomatoes.

Laconia Greece Hotels

Laconia Greece has excellently developed tourist infrastructure offering numerous hotels, villas, studios, apartments and rooms for rent spread all over the prefecture. You can find accommodation that will satisfy your needs to the utmost with its up-to date facilities and comfort services, not only in towns such as Gythio, Sparta, Mani, Itilo, Neapoli, Monemvasia, but also in smaller charming seaside and mountainous settlements. Pick the most suitable type of accommodation that suits you best and relish a unique holiday around Laconia Greece.

Laconia Greece Nightlife & Events

If you want to combine your vacation with night-time entertainment, scrumptious traditional dishes and various cultural events, then Laconia Greece is the top destination for you. It offers vibrant nightlife in charming little bars, there are all-day cafés and restaurants serving various delicacies all around the prefecture, providing visitors with everything they need for carefree and exciting vacations.

Entertainment in Laconia does not end with clubbing or dining, as there are various cultural and athletic events and festivals. If you find yourself in Laconia during summertime, you will be given the chance to attend cultural festivals with various events, such as plays and concerts and visit exhibitions in Sparta, Gyhtio, Monemvasia and Neapoli. In Mytras there is a big festival taking place every year from August 26 to September 2, which attracts people from the whole of Peloponnese and other Greek areas. In Sparta, it is worth attending the athletic event “Spartathlon”, in which international athletes take part, in remembrance of Phidippides, a herald who run from Athens to Sparta to request help against the Persians.

Laconia Greece Sightseeing

If you have time to dedicate to sightseeing in Laconia Greece, you will be glad to discover that this place has a lot to offer in terms of historical and other attractions. Sparta is surrounded by ancient sights and the center of the city is crowned with many neoclassical buildings and monuments. Findings from excavations at the ancient town of Sparta can be seen at the Archaeological Museum of the area. At Amykles is the throne of Apollo, at Vafio lies the Mycenaean tomb where the two world famous golden cups were found and are displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Do not miss taking a tour around the very well preserved Byzantine town of Mystras with the Archaeological Museum and at the scenic castle-town of Monemvasia, which is of unique beauty. At Gythio you can admire the remains of the ancient town, while at a distance of 10 km towards Areopolis you can see the impressive Passava’s castle. Last but not least, do take a tour at the renowned Alepotripa and Vlychada caverns at Pyrgos Dirou. You will stand witnesses of a unique natural phenomenon, stunning stalactites and stalagmites, while part of the Vlychada cavern tour takes place in a boat. It is a unique lifetime experience!

As attractions in this prefecture are innumerable, make sure you get a map of Laconia to guide you through amazing sightseeing moments and provide you with useful travel information.

Laconia Greece Beaches

The two peninsulas of Laconia (Lakonia), the first flat, the second rocky have one common characteristic: the beautiful seashores, some of them with rocky small bays and secluded havens and others with infinite, sandy beaches. In Monemvasia, recreation by the sea can be enjoyed at the municipal beach to the north, at Pera Kakavos and Pori, and to the south at Agia Paraskevi, Nomia, Agios Stefanos and Xifias. Elafonissos possesses exquisite, trademark beaches, such as Kontogoni and Kalogeras near the village, Lefki on the eastern coast, the famous beach of Simos- in the bay of Frangos, with its sand dunes and cedars, the beach of the bay of Sarakiniko and the sandy beach of Panagia on the western coast, opposite four small islands. The sea is generous with its gifts along the coastal region of Gythion, from the municipal beach to the sandy beaches of Mavrovouni and Selinitsa where the Careta-Careta turtles always come to lay their eggs. To the south are the hospitable beaches of Vathi, Ageranos, Skoutari, Kalyvia and Paganea, with crystal-clear water.

Other very well organized beaches to enjoy your swim, outdoor activities and a delicious meal nearby the sea are the beaches in Neapolis, Archangelos, Vathia, Vlachiotis, Molai, Itilo and many more.

Laconia Greece Weather & Climate

The climate of the area, purely Mediterranean, varies with regions. Winter is generally mild, with rainfalls and snowy periods on the mountainous country. Summer is hot, autumn is mild and spring is simply wonderful. Laconia is regarded a perfect destination for carefree vacations all year round.

How to Reach Laconia Greece

You can get to Laconia prefecture by car, the easiest and most convenient way if you want to travel around and get acquainted with the beautiful beaches and important attractions. Sparta is 246 km from Athens, it can be accessed via the National Highway and the trip lasts for approximately 3 hours. There are also frequent intercity bus trips connecting Sparta with Athens, Thessaloniki and various Peloponnese prefectures. What is more, there are ferry boat departures from Gythio to Kithira, Antikithira and Crete and from Neapoli to Kithira, Antikithira and Elafonissos.

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unique house design in indonesia

indonesia are the country in south east asia which have a lot of cultures, for example are the design of the house in every tribe, there aer more than 20 tribe in indonesia and each tribe have their beautiful traditional house. javanese tribe have “rumah joglo”, padang have “rumah gadang”. first i will tell you that “rumah” means house.

rumah joglo

90 % of rumah joglo are made from wood especially from teak wood. the general shape are complete with 4 pillars, in java, rumah joglo usually use at discussion forum beside as a normal house.

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rumah gadang the artistic house from sumatra indonesia

indonesia are well known had a rich culture, thats why malaysian always try to stole it from us. one of it are rumah gadang from padang.

rumah gadang

Rumah Gadang is one of Minangkabau’s symbol, the most common housing forms have traditionally been wooden and raised on piles, built of locally gathered materials, with steeply pitched, roofs. Their culture is matrilineal, with property and land being passed down from mother to daughter, while religious and political affairs are the province of men. The Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but also follow their own ethnic traditions, or adat. Minangkabau adat was derived from animistic and Hindu beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and remnants of animistic beliefs still exist even among some practicing Muslims. As such, women are customarily the property owners; husbands are only tolerated in the house at certain times and under special conditions, and must return to their sisters’ house to sleep.

The external walls of a rumah gadang are covered with various motifs, each having a symbolic meaning. A communal rumah gadang is a long house, rectangular in plan, with multiple gables and upsweeping ridges, forming buffalo horn-like ends. They normally have three-tiered projections, each with varying floor levels. They are broad and set on wooden piles that can reach as high as 3 meters (10 feet) off the ground; sometimes with a verandah running along the front face of the house which is used as a reception and dining area, and as a sleeping place for guests. Unlike the Toba Batak homes, where the roof essentially creates the living space, the Minangkabau roof rests on conventional walls. Cooking and storage areas are often in separate buildings.

The house is largely constructed of wood; an exception being the being the rear longitudinal wall which is a plain lattice woven in a chequered pattern from split bamboo. The roof is of a truss and cross-beam construction, and is typically covered with thatch from the fibre of the sugar palm (ijuk), the toughest thatch material available and said to last a hundred years.The thatch is laid in bundles which can be easily fitted to the curved, multi-gabled roof. Contemporary homes, however, are more frequently using corrugated iron in place of thatch. Roof finials are formed from thatch bound by decorative metal bindings and drawn into points said to resemble buffalo horns – an illusion to a legend concerning a bullfight from which the ‘Minangkabau’ name is thought to have been derived. The roof peaks themselves are built up out of many small battens and rafters.

The women who share the house have sleeping quarters set into alcoves – traditionally odd in number – that are set in a row against the rear wall, and curtained off by the vast interior space of the main living area. Traditionally, large communal rumah gadang will be surrounded by smaller homes built for married sisters and daughters of the parent family. It is the responsibility of the women’s maternal uncle to ensure that each marriageable woman in the family has a room of her own and to this end will build either a new house or more commonly additionally annexes to the original one. It is said that the number of married daughters in a home can be told by the counting its horn-like extensions; as they are not always added symmetrically, rumah gadang can sometimes look unbalanced.

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this articles are written by : Widya Rosanti

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greek architectures

let’s talk about greek architecture

pathenon building

The traces of ancient Greek architecture can be traced back to the 8th century BC. Since the ancient Greek buildings were made up of clay, wood or mud-brick, no remains have been found of them barring a few ground plans. In fact, almost no sources or descriptions exist about the embryonic Greek buildings. However, most of our present day knowledge about Greek architecture comes from the late archaic period, also known as the Periclean age.

Temples
The temples of ancient Greece were the biggest and most beautiful. They also had a political purpose as they were often built to celebrate civic power and pride, or offer thanksgiving to the patron deity of a city for success in war. Other architectural forms used by the Greeks were the tholos or circular temple, of which the best example is the Tholos of Theodorus at Delphi dedicated to the worship of Athena Pronaia; the propylon or porch, forming the entrance to temple sanctuaries.

The most knowledge about ancient Greek architecture comes form late archaic period (550 – 500 BC), the Periclean age (450 – 430 BC), and the early to pure classical period (430 – 400 BC). Examples of Greek architecture can be drawn from Hellenistic and Roman periods and from written sources such as Vitruvius (1st century).

Although the ancient Greeks erected buildings of many types, the Greek temple best exemplifies the aims and methods of Greek architecture. The temples were quite different from the modern day church as the altar generally stood in front of the open sky, directly in front of the temple. The temples generally served as storage places and the inner rooms of the temples were mainly strongrooms.

In addition to temples, the Greeks also built a number of other kinds of structures. Their public spaces included monumental tombs; agoras, in ancient Greece, the public square or marketplace of a city.

enjoy the articles

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