Aghia Theodora

After a rather hot and spectacularly hasty visit to Ancient Gortys, where we viewed the Asklepion and baths dating from the 4th century BC……

we wound our way – via many bends and a rather scary wrong-turn through the Megalopoli lignite mines – to the little church of Aghia Theodora of Vasta, Arkadia……

No less than seventeen trees of different species grow through the roof of this tiny church…..but no roots are visible from inside the church!

It’s set in a leafy glade by the river and the site is incredibly peaceful, cool and leafy.

The church is dedicated to the memory of the virgin-martyr Theodora from the 9th century who was executed in the nearby village of Vasta. The river that flows beneath the church is said to be her blood and the trees her hair. It is an important place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Greeks – Theodora’s saint day is on 11th September.

There’s an equally leafy taverna just up the road, where you can relax by the banks of the river under a canopy of plane trees.