Beautiful Nafplio—Greece.

The pictures are of a panorama view from the hotel, although not in order. If you are reading from the RSS feed or e-mail, you might want to visit my Flickr page for supplemental pictures.

I arrived in Nafplio last Friday from Sparta. Nafplio is situated on the Argolic Gulf in the northeast Peloponnese. Most of the old town is on a peninsula jutting into the gulf; this peninsula forms a naturally protected bay that is enhanced by the addition of manufactured moles.

During the Greek War of Independence, Nafplio was a major Ottoman stronghold and was besieged for a year by Theodoros Kolokotronis. The Acronauplia, and then Palamidi, finally surrendered because of starvation. After the War of Independence, Nafplio became the capital of Greece.

Nafplio and Argos that sits across the bay is the oldest inhabited area of Greece dating back 6000 years. Three fortresses reside in Nafplio, which The Miltiades Bastion (Palamidi) consists of 999 endless steps to reach the top. The bastion provided a prison for condemned criminals from 1840 to 1920. War of Independence hero Theodore Kolokotronis spent several years here after being condemned for treason.

The hotel I stayed at had a rooftop that provided wonderful views of the area; there are 148 steps to the hotel from the ground level of the old town. I highly recommend The hotel Dimitris Bekas, only 25 Euro for a double.

Many Greek romantics visit Nafplio on the weekends; the area can get busy and is overrun during the summer. Nafplio is beautiful with three different castles; I especially like the island fortress of Bourtzi. Nafplio is only a two-hour bus ride from Athens.