January 8, 2024
The Peloponnese Peninsula is connected to mainland Greece by a narrow isthmus separating the Saronic Gulf (to the east) from the Gulf of Corinth (1). The Greek town of Diakopto lies on the gulf, about 50 miles west of Corinth. From here a narrow guage railway ascends through the Vouraikou Gorge to the mountain town of Kalavryta (2).
After riding west from Athens, we arrived at Diakopto, and connected to the Odontos Railway, so called because of the teeth in the cog rails (3). On the ascent, the cog wheels are engaged three separate times, with a maximum grade of 17.5%. The ride was better than an amusement park; the train moving along past steep cliffs, through tunnels and deep cuts, and beside and over the fast-flowing river. The train ascended 700 meters (2,300 feet) in about 14 miles and the temperature fell about 15°F.
At Kalavryta, the Holocaust Museum was closed (it being a Monday). The town has an Orthodox Cathedral, which the Ottomans burned in 1821 (early in the Greek War for Independence (4)) and which Nazis also set the ablaze in 1943. The columns in the church do not reach the ceiling. Presumably, due to rebuilding after the fire.
Further on, we chatted with a local shopkeeper, who was hoping for snow for the local ski areas. She said the town was quiet today after 15 busy days between Christmas and Epiphany.
(1) At the head of the Gulf lies Corinth, to the church to which Paul wrote the two eponymous letters of the new testament.
(2) At Athens Station this morning, the ticket seller double checked that I did not mean Kalambaka, home of the Meteora Monasteries, and a more common tourist destination (a).
(a) We considered visiting here, but it would have been a much longer day, and involved substitute bus transportation (i).
(i) A combination of fires and floods in Greece over the summer has continued to disrupt rail travel as lines are repaired. The railway we took today reopened in October. We did note extensive tree falls in the gorge.
(3) The Greek word Odontos is related to the English words dentist, orthodontist, &c. (via Latin) which also involve teeth.
(4) The first skirmish in Kalavryta actually occurred 5 days before the Rebellion against Ottoman rule officially started, March 25, 1821, a date which also corresponding to the Feast of the Annunciation of Mary.
At Diakopto
Narrow cut
Engaging the cog wheel
Vouraikou Gorge
The narrowest part of the Gorge. The bridge in the background is for the hiking trail that parallels the rail line
End of the line
Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, Kalavrita
Detailed mosaic
The Church was also set ablaze by the Nazis in 1943, and the left tower shows the time the fire began
The double headed Eagle motif. When I saw this in an Albania Church the other day, I thought is was the Albanian double headed eagle. This eagle was designed by John VIII Palaiologos, the penultimate Byzantine Emperor (early 1400s) and is symbolic of the Greek Orthodox Church
The columns don't reach the ceiling
Fresco at the church
Back at the station
On the ride back
Speeding past the Gulf of Corinth
Changing trains at Kiato
The old, narrow guage, rail line
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