Everything about The Mani Peninsula totally explained
The
Mani Peninsula (
Μάνη in
Greek), also long known as
Maina or
Maïna, is a region in
Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the
Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the
Laconian Gulf, to the west the
Messenian Gulf. The peninsula forms a continuation of the
Taygetos mountain range, the western spine of the Peloponnese.
Geography
The terrain is mountainous and inaccessible. The name "Mani" is thought to have originally meant "dry" or "treeless." Until recent years many Mani villages could be reached only by sea. Today a narrow and winding road extends down the west coast from
Kalamata to
Areopoli, then south to Akrotainaro (the pointy cape which is the most southward soil of continental Greece) before it turns north until
Gytheio.
Mani has been traditionally divided into three regions:
- Exo Mani (Έξω Μάνη) or Outer Mani to the northwest,
- Kato Mani (Κάτω Μάνη) or Lower Mani to the east,
- Mesa Mani (Μέσα Μάνη) or Inner Mani to the southwest.
A fourth region named Vardounia (Βαρδούνια) to the north is also sometimes included.
Administratively, Mani is divided between the prefectures of
Laconia (Kato Mani, Mesa Mani) and
Messenia (Exo Mani), in the periphery of Peloponnesos, but in ancient times it lay entirely within Laconia, the district dominated by
Sparta. The Messenian Mani (also called
aposkiaderi, local expression meaning "shady") receives somewhat more rainfall than the Laconian (called
prosiliaki, local expression meaning "sunny"), and is consequently more fertile. Messenian
Maniot surnames almost uniformly end in
-eas, whereas Laconian Maniot surnames end in
-akos, additionally there's the "-ogonas" ending.
History
Neolithic remains have been found in many caves along the Mani coasts.
Homer refers to a number of towns in the Mani region, and some artifacts from the
Mycenaean period have been found. The area was occupied by the
Dorians in about 1200 BC, and became a dependency of Sparta. When Spartan power was destroyed in the 3rd century BC, Mani was self-governing for a time before being absorbed into the
Roman Empire in the 2nd century BC.
As the power of the
Byzantine Empire declined, the peninsula drifted out of the Empire's control. The fortress of Maini in the south became the area's centre. Over the subsequent centuries the peninsula was fought over by the Byzantines, the Franks, and the Saracens.
After the
Fourth Crusade in 1204, Italian and French knights (known to the Greeks as Franks), occupied parts of the Peloponnese. In 1249, Mani was occupied by the
Venetians, who made it one of the twelve baronies of the
Principality of Morea and built the fortresses of
Mystras,
Passavas, Gustema (Beaufort) and Megali Maini.
In 1460, after the
fall of Constantinople, Mystras fell to the
Ottomans, but Mani wasn't subdued and retained its internal self-government in exchange for an annual tribute. Local chieftains or beys governed Mani on behalf of the Ottomans. As Ottoman power declined, the mountains of the Mani became a stronghold of the
klephts, bandits who also fought against the Ottomans. There is evidence of a sizeable Maniot emigration to
Corsica sometime during the Ottoman years.
The last bey of Mani,
Petros Mavromichalis, was among the leaders of the
Greek War of Independence. He proclaimed the revolution at Areopoli on March 17, 1821. The Maniots contributed greatly to the struggle, but once Greek independence was won they wanted to retain their local autonomy. During the reign of
Ioannis Kapodistrias, they violently resisted outside interference to the point of killing Kapodistrias.
The Mani's local autonomy was abolished in 1870, and the area gradually became a backwater as the inhabitants abandoned the land through emigration. It wasn't until the 1970s, when new roads led to the growth of the tourist industry, that the Mani began to regain population and become prosperous. Maniots were known for their obstinate character, conservative views, sometimes extreme frugality, and their zealous safeguarding of the family property.
Despite the region's aridity, Mani is known for its unique culinary products such as
glina or
syglino (pork or pork sausage smoked with aromatic herbs such as
thyme,
oregano,
mint, etc. and stored in lard along with orange peel). Mani is also known for probably the world's best extra-virgin
olive oil, soft-pressed from partially ripened olives of the
Koroneiki variety that are organically grown on mountain terraces. The local
honey is also of superior quality.
Today the Mani's coastal villages are full of cafés and souvenir shops. The peninsula attracts visitors for its Byzantine churches, Frankish castles, secluded sandy beaches and stunning scenery. Some popular beaches during the summer are Kalogria beach and the beaches by Stoupa harbor, while
Kardamyli and
Agios Nikolaos have nice pebble and sand beaches too. Furthermore, the famous towers of Mani (
pyrgospita) are significant tourist attractions, and some offer accommodations for visitors. The
Diros stalactite and
stalagmite caves, near
Oitylon, are also a popular tourist destination; they're partly underwater and visitors tour them in gondola-like boats.
Gytheio,
Areopoli,
Kardamyli and
Stoupa are filled with tourists during the summer months but the region quiets down during the winter months. Many inhabitants are still working as olive farmers, and thus many of the winter months are devoted to the olive harvest. Some of the villages in the mountains are less touristic and often have very few inhabitants. Mani is considered to be one of the most
traditionalist and
conservative regions of Greece, and is a stronghold of the right-wing
New Democracy party.
There were fires in Mani in the summer of 2007.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mani Peninsula'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://mani_peninsula.totallyexplained.com">Mani Peninsula Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
