Tripoli, Greece

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Tripoli Τρίπολη
Scene of a central square in Tripoli, Greece
Location
Tripoli, Greece
Coordinates	37°31′N 22°23′E / 37.517°N 22.383°E / 37.517; 22.383Coordinates: 37°31′N 22°23′E / 37.517°N 22.383°E / 37.517; 22.383
Time zone:	EET/EEST (UTC+2/3)
Elevation (center):	655 m (2,149 ft)
Government
Country:	Greece
Periphery:	Peloponnese
Prefecture:	Arcadia
Districts:	1
Mayor:	Alexandros Kotsianis
Population statistics (as of 2001[1])
City
- Population:	28,976
- Area:[2]	119.3 km² (46 sq mi)
- Density:	243 /km² (629 /sq mi)
Codes
Postal:	221 00
Telephone:	2710
Auto:	ΤΡ
Website
www.tripolis.gr

Tripoli (Greek: Τρίπολη, Trípoli, formerly Τρίπολις, Trípolis; rarely Tripolitsa, Tripolitza and Tripolizza) is a city in the central part of the Peloponnese, Greece, and the capital of the prefecture of Arcadia. The municipality is the largest city in the prefecture as well and presently one of the few growing places in Arcadia. The distance from Pyrgos is about 145 km E, 125 km E of Olympia, 144 km SE of Patras and ESE of Kalavryta, 78 km (old: 120 km) SW of Corinth and about 148 (old: 200 km) WSW of Athens, W of Argos and Nafplio, NW of Leonidi, N of Sparta, NNE of Kalamata, 33 km NE of Megalopoli and NE of Kyparissia, E of Stemnitsa and ESE of Dimitsana. Today Tripoli is the seat of the recently founded University of the Peloponnese with two departments of the Sciences and Technology School and one department of the Economics and Administration School.

Its main plazas are aligned with the main street and with a highway linking to Pyrgos and Patras. One of them is named Kennedy, the other is named Georgiou B' (George II). The southern part has its main street named Washington. The main section of the city is enclosed around the castle walls that were built during the Ottoman occupation of Greece.

The city is surrounded by pine trees in the south and west, mount Mainalo (Maenalus) in the west while another mountain is 5 km E and fertile lands elsewhere. The closest mountain ridge of Mainalo is only about 1 km west. Wetlands used to dominate much of the area in the northeast. The industrial area is founded in the eastern part, formerly 100 m of the southern terminus of the superhighway, it is now near an interchange? where factories are founded.

Tripoli is home to the two largest Armed Forces bootcamp centers of Greece, one for the Hellenic Army and one for the Hellenic Air Force

• 251 Army Training Battalion (Greek)
• 124 Basic Training Wing (Greek)

[edit] Climate

Tripoli has a true continental climate, due to its inland position and its altitude (~650m) and extreme temperatures have been recorded, despite its low latitude. In summer temperatures can exceed 40C/104F (Record max. 44C/112F) and in winter temperatures below -10C/14F have been observed (Record min. -18C/0F). Snow can occur several times between late October and early April.

Weather charts by month (taken from www.hnms.gr - Greek National Meteorological Service)

[edit] History

In the Middle Ages, the place was known as Drobolitsa, Droboltsá, or Dorboglitza, either from the Greek Hydropolitsa, 'Water City' or perhaps from the South Slavic for 'Plain of Oaks'.^[3]

Modern Tripolis was created in 1770 near the ruins of the ancient cities of Pallantron, Tegea, and Mantinea, hence its name Τρίπολις = τρεις πόλεις 'three cities', presumably chosen to explain the medieval name. Before the Greek Revolution, it had a large Muslim and Jewish population, but also served as the central point for Ottoman occupation and rule over Greece. During Alexandros Ypsilantis revolution however, which took part about that same time, almost the entire Greek population of the city was annihilated, in an Ottoman attempt to make an example out of them to the other rebels.

During the Greek War of Independence, Tripolis was the first major city to be taken by the Greeks; it fell to Theodoros Kolokotronis on October 17, 1821 "amid frightful scenes of pillage and massacre of Muslims and Turks"^[4], the "conquerors who were oppressing the Christian Greeks for 400 years, treating them as slaves and leaving behind them only ruins and destruction" ^[5].

When Ibrahim Pasha retook it on June 22, 1825, he massacred the entire Christian population, destroyed the city and tore down its walls, but even so he failed to suppress the Greek rebels.^[6].

After it was finally liberated again by the Greeks in 1829, Tripolis became a major centre of the independent Hellenic state. In 1829, members of a Greek scientific committee met in Tripoli, according to the depiction of an early nineteenth-century lithograph scene by St. Aulaire.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Historical population

[edit] Famous people

• Moralı Enişte Hasan Pasha (1658-1713) Ottoman vezier and general
• Alexandros Papanastasiou (1876-1936) politician and sociologist, Prime Minister of Greece
• Konstantinos Georgakopoulos (1890-1978) lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
• Kostas Karyotakis (1896-1928) poet
• Stavros Tsiolis (1937) film director
• Yiannis Kouros (1956) ultramarathon runner
• George Peponis medical practitioner, sports administrator and captain of the Australian Rugby League team was born in the town in 1953

[edit] Sports

Asteras Tripolis is the city's Greek soccer club.

[edit] Transportation

Tripolis railway station in 1988

Tripoli is mainly accessed from Athens and the rest of Greece through the Corinth-Tripoli-Kalamata motorway, which is part of the E65. The motorway bypasses Tripoli from the east and will continue to Kalamata, after construction ends in that part (see List of Greek roads). An alternative route is the GR-7 which used to be the main highway of Tripoli before the construction of the motorway. The city is also accessed by GR-74 and GR-76 from Pyrgos and by GR-39 / E961 from Sparta.

Tripolis is served by the metric railway line from Corinth to Kalamata, operated by OSE. The line has been recently renovated and passenger services, which were suspended for a few years, are due to be reinstated in 2008.

[edit] Nearest places

• Chania (north)
• Milea (northeast)
• Tripoli Industrial area (east)
• Steno (east)
• Agios Konstantinos, SE
• Agios Vasileios, SE
• Tegea (south)
• Thana (southwest)

[edit] Subdivision

• Milia

[edit] Communes

• Agios Vasileios
• Agios Konstantinos
• Evandro (pop: 40)
• Thana
  • Perpatari
• Makri
  • Sanatorio Makris
• Merkovounio
• Pallantino
• Pelagos
• Perthori
  • Epano Chrepa Monastery
• Skopi
  • Skopi
• Tripoli

Elaiohori

[edit] Photo Gallery

Church in Tripoli, Greece	Statue in Tripoli, Greece	Street scene in Tripoli, Greece in late afternoon	Statue and front facade of building in Tripoli, Greece
Statue of General Theodoros Kolokotronis (of Greek War of Independence) in Tripoli, Greece	The Court House, designed by German Architect Ernest Schiller

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~gkt/www/tripoli.html
• http://arcadia.ceid.upatras.gr/arkadia/places/trip/tripoli.htm (in Greek)
• Weather in Tripoli (in Greek)
• Mapquest - Tripoli
• GTP - Tripoli
• GTP - Municipality of Tripoli

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