Religious art from before the earthquake at Zakynthos Museum – Greece

In 1953 a terrible earthquake struck the Greek island of Zakynthos and reduced the island capital, Zante town to rubble. Across the island churches were left in ruins and many of the important devotional artworks that were recovered were brought to be re-housed in the Zakynthos Museum on Solomos Square.

The square is named after the famous Zakynthian poet, Dionysios Solomos, who wrote the words of the Greek National Anthem and is situated at one end of the harbour. On three sides of the square are buildings, one of which is the long frontage of the Museum. It’s an anonymous looking place that could pass for a government office and I’d never been inside because I suppose I was too busy doing what most tourists do on Zakynthos; enjoying my favourite beaches and spotting turtles.

However, on my visit last year I had hired a car and driven with my husband to the northern end of the island to see the Monastery of St Dennis, the patron saint of the island. I suppose this spurred me on to take a look inside the Zakynthos Museum where there are a multitude of beautiful religious paintings.

The ‘Museum’ description could cover a multitude of different things, but here you’ll find two floors of religious art from the 17th and 18th centuries. There are entire altar screens from the front of a church as well as many panel paintings and icons of different saints, angels, Madonnas and other religious figures, all in glowing colours and gold backgrounds. It was like walking into a room full of life sized religious Christmas cards, the type that I send to members of my family who prefer to celebrate Christmas as the birth of Christ and not a commercial fiesta of robbins, reindeer and rosy cheeked Santa Claus.

There was also a beautiful room of 17th Century frescos that had been recovered from the Saint Andrea’s Monastery in Volimes on the north of the island that was brought to the museum after the earthquake. Throughout the museum there were many photographs of the devastation of the 1953 earthquake and how things looked before and after the earthquake. I know from visiting the Romas Mansion on the other side of Solomos square that the town was rebuilt on the rubble and so the level of the new town that emerged as about 1 metre higher, and that the coast road that skirts the harbour was extended after the earthquake, where previously many houses had gardens that stretched to the waterfront.

Unfortunately all of the information accompanying the earthquake photos was in Greek and I wished that there was an English translation so I could understand more about this fascinating aspect of Zakynthos history. In the entrance hall of the museum you can see a model of Zante town as it was before the earthquake where you can trace some of the changes that have taken place.

The Zakynthos Museum is mainly a place for lovers of religious art works but if, like me, you have a family who would rather sit in a café with a frappé or an ice cream, then there are any number of elegant cafes just off the Solomos Square nearby to leave them while you have a look around.

Zakynthos Museum, Solomos Square, Zante town, Greece 

More things to enjoy on Zakynthos

Sunday Morning Greek Coffee and Glika in Zakynthos
Wine tasting at Oenolpi Winery on Zakynthos – video
The Venetian Fort at Bohali on Zakynthos

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Zakynthos – Zakynthos Museum photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

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A walk in the olive groves on Zakynthos – video

In the autumn on the Greek island of Zakynthos, the sun is warm but the evenings are cooling and the miniature pink cyclamen are creating delicate dots of colours under the olive trees. In October we visited my sister who lives on the island, after most hotels and restaurants had closed for the season. This is the time when the Greeks, who have been working flat out through the heat of the summer season are ready for a rest and will close their businesses until December, when the locals start partying for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

This is the season when the Zakynthians turn their attention to their land, as most will own a patch of land near their house, or on another part of the island where they have olive groves or vines to make some local Greek wine. You can smell the woodsmoke in the air as olive branches are pruned and burned in piles. Tarpaulins are spread out under the trees as the branches are beaten to drop the crop of olives to the ground. In each community you may see a shed open up where the locals bring their crop of olives to be pressed for the oil that will keep them going through the year until next autumn.

I hope you enjoy the video below about walking in the olive groves on Zakynthos

If you can’t see the video above, view it on my blog here

This year we walked up behind my sister’s house in Argassi, sometimes on the tracks that are the routes for people to get to their olives and then up a rocky, overgrown area (we’d taken a bit of a wrong turn at that point). It’s best not to go up in the late afternoon as you may have an encounter with a hunter with his shotgun.

We reached the top of the hill where you can see right over the resort of Argassi, over the roofs of the two hotels that my sister and her Greek husband Dennis own (Windmill Studios and Windmill Bay) and across the bay to Zante town where the ferries and cruise ships go in and out. Next time you’re staying in Greece, feel free to take a walk in the olive groves too, especially if you’re going to be rewarded with a fantastic view like we were.

More things to enjoy on Zakynthos

How to make delicious Greek stuffed tomatoes
The cyclamen bring the autumn on Zakynthos
Friday photo – a hunter’s view in Zakynthos

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Zakynthos – around the island photoset

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Turtles in danger on Zakynthos – in Greece

It seems that the future is uncertain for the Caretta Caretta or Loggerhead sea turtles on Zakynthos, as I discovered while visiting the Greek island where my sister lives. Yesterday, I looked in at the Earth Sea and Sky Wildlife Information Centre at Gerakas to have a chat with the director, Yannis Vardakastanis about his efforts this season to preserve the turtles and other wildlife. The Laganas Bay area of Zakynthos is a major nesting site for the turtles, who return here year after year to make their nests on the warm sandy beaches.

But Yannis was not a happy man as he told me how the numbers of turtle nests counted this year have dropped 30% since 2010. Despite having renovated the information centre with attractive traditional Zakynthian stonework, created a new aquarium and continued to educate visitors about wildlife conservation this past year, Yannis was not optimistic about the future of turtles on Zakynthos.

The numbers of loggerhead turtle nests counted by Yannis and his team of volunteers are well down on last year, only 716 in 2011 compared to 1053 in 2010. Yannis showed me the graph of total nests in Laganas bay that has been maintained since 1984 when nest numbers typically ranged between 1000 and 1500, but in the last 5 years the average number of nests has dropped and rarely exceeded 1000. The turtle nest count this year is about as low as it’s ever been. The hatchlings that survive to adulthood will return here to Zakynthos to make their own nests in another 25 year’s time, as turtles always return to the spot that they were born. But if the downward trend continues, Yannis predicts there will be no more turtles on Zakynthos for future generations to enjoy.

The numbers of dead and injured turtles was also higher than Yannis would have liked – around 40 this year due to rubbish pollution, getting tangled in fishermen’s nets or being struck by boats. Although boats, apart from the turtle spotting tours, are not allowed in the National Marine Park of Zakynthos, accidents continue to happen and the fishermen often regard the turtles as competitors for their catch and a threat to their livelihood.

The economic crisis in Greece is also a mixed blessing for the turtles. At least the pressure for further building within the conservation area around Laganas bay has abated for a while, since no-one has the money to build hotels near turtles nesting beaches as they did in the past. Yet the government cutbacks mean there are less wardens than in previous years, employed by the National Marine Park of Zakynthos to safeguard the turtle nesting sites. Yannis and his volunteers at Gerakas continue to work with the Marine park to count nests, maintain the natural habitats and keep them clear of rubbish, as well as educating visitors to the area about the turtles on Zakynthos.

At least Yannis is cautiously optimistic about the situation at Gerakas beach, where the numbers of turtle nests are being maintained. Next year, he has plans to expand the information centre further to add an area where rescued and injured turtles can be cared for until they can be released back into the wild. If you’re visiting the lovely unspoiled beach at Gerakas, do look in at the Earth Sea and Sky information centre to learn more about turtle and wildlife conservation on Zakynthos. In the meantime, here’s how you can do your bit while you enjoy your holiday on Zakynthos.

Do your bit to conserve the turtles on Zakynthos

• Make sure you take all your rubbish home from the beach, especially plastic bags which turtles can mistake for a tasty jellyfish snack.
• If you visit a turtle nesting beach, keep well clear of the turtle nests that will be marked and roped off.
• Don’t venture onto turtle nesting sites at night or shine any bright lights on these beaches – the hatchlings use the lights reflected off the sea to guide them and may be confused by other lights on the shore.
• If you are lucky enough to spot a turtle while swimming, observe them from a distance to avoid them any distress as they can also deliver a nasty bite if you get too close.
• If you take a boat tour around Laganas bay, don’t choose an operator that guarantees you a turtle sighting or your money back. This practice encourages boats to seek out and harass the declining numbers of turtles in the bay.
• I can highly recommend the turtle-friendly catamaran boat trips organized by Yannis company, Nature World Travel through the summer season where you will enjoy the wonderful scenery, swim in clear turquoise waters and into limestone sea caves and learn about the natural beauty of the area from Yannis and his team, as well as possibly spotting a turtle from the boat.

For more information about the turtles on Zakynthos

Earth Sea and Sky website
Earth Sea and Sky on Twitter
Earth sea and sky on Facebook
Earth Sea and Sky on Youtube
Nature World Travel – Yannis tourism company offering turtle-friendly boat trips and other excursions
Ionian Eco Villagers – Green eco-holidays in Greece – self-catering villas on Zakynthos in the areas of Vasilikos and Gerakas
National marine Park of Zakynthos - the government agency that manages and protects the area around Laganas Bay containing the turtle nesting beaches.

Video about the Catamaran boat trips run by Yannis in Laganas bay

Video interview with Yannis Vardakastanis about the turtles on Zakynthos

If you can’t see the two videos above, view them in my blog post here

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com - Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

 Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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