I’m heading for Kalamata on the 3rd of June, a bustling and vibrant city in the Greek Peloponnese about 150 miles south west of Athens. It’s famous for its big, black olives, exported all over the world for centuries. The picture above shows the old town and the castle with the Taygetos Mountains towering in the background. According to the European Environment Agency it’s the greenest city in the country with over 50% of it covered by trees (the average across the EU is 30%).

I’ll be there for a month in a small flat with 360-degree views of the trees, the mountains, the Ionian sea’s Gulf of Messenia and, just down the road, there’s a one and a half mile stretch of gently sloping, golden sand.

But it’s not quite the typical Greek idyl of a whitewashed home with blue shutters. Instead I’ll have sole use of an area the size of a tennis court (pictured below), occupying the entire roof space of a six-storey block of flats. I’ve rented it from a self-described eco-conscious Swiss Greek called Nico, who has a passion for Argentine tango. For a month I’m paying him less than the price of a one-week package holiday in a Kalamata hotel, which I wouldn’t fancy anyway.

The only thing I’m slightly worried about is that Greece is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in Europe, averaging around 25,000 a year. While most are small and felt minimally, moderate to large ones do occur, and Kalamata was hit by a whopper in 1986, registering 6.2 on the Richter Scale. Twenty-four people died and many buildings were damaged or destroyed. The neighbouring village of Eleohore was completely flattened and subsequently abandoned by the majority of its residents.

In the years since much of the city’s been rebuilt and to better standards than the buildings that crumbled 39 years ago, so I’m hoping mine’s one of them and that the odds are in my favour.

The city’s history begins with Homer, thought to have lived sometime between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, although nobody’s really sure. In one of his poems he mentions Farai, an ancient city built more or less where Kalamata’s castle stands today. 

Fast forward a few thousand years to 1821 and the Greek War of Independence saw the country’s 400-year occupation by the Turks come to an end. Then, thanks to cultivation of the fertile Messinian lands, where olive oil, raisins and figs were grown, as they are today, Kalamata developed into a wealthy urban centre and significant port, as it is today.

There’s lots to do in and around this beautiful city, including in the 8,278 square miles of the Peloponnese, so I’m hoping there are adventures to be had, about which I may write on here from time to time. 

More to come soon ….