TRAVEL TUESDAY #161 - LEONIDIO, GREECE

“I felt once more how simple and frugal a thing is happiness: A glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. Nothing else.” – Nikos Kazantzakis

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Leonidio (Greek: Λεωνίδιο) is a town and a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality South Kynouria, of which it is a municipal unit. It is considered a traditional settlement. The town of Leonidio, with a population of 3.826, emerges from a spectacular landscape, bound by two abrupt mountainsides enclosing the town from the north and south. The River Dafnon passes through the town, and it is crossed by three bridges.

The town is capital of the Tsakonia region, notable for its cultural and linguistic particularities, and the settlement itself offers striking and picturesque architecture. It is now a protected architectural site and there are very strict regulations for building within the town limits. The convent of the Virgin of Elone is built on a craggy cliff near Leonidio and the first church there dates from the 1300s. The present convent is built on the ruins of the first church and dates from 1809.

Plaka is the picturesque port of Leonidio, situated 4 km east of the town. It is sustained mainly with the help of tourism, but a small fishing fleet is also based there. There is a beach and the port has a number of taverns and bars immediately adjacent to the sea. Every August the "Tsakonian Eggplant Festival" is hosted here, attracting well-known chefs from across Europe and achieving ever-growing popularity.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.