Its was another day of sizzling heat, so finding somewhere to keep cool away from tourists and crowded beaches was a challenge. The best place to be was in the car with air conditioning, so we took a scenic drive from Lefkada Island to Arta on the mainland.
Following signs to Arta, the main road entering the west of the city crosses the Arachthos River, with a great view of the Arta stone bridge which sits parallel to it. We parked in the street close by the bridge itself and took a walk to the opposite side, being careful of the cobbled, slightly slippery stone.
Rebuilt many times over the centuries starting with the Romans or perhaps older foundations, the current bridge is of 17th century Ottoman construction (1612).
145m long, 3.75m wide and non symmetrical, the bridge is famous for the story told of the master builder who had to sacrifice his wife in order to complete the bridge construction.
On the far side of the river is a folklore museum (unfortunately closed on our visit), housed in a two storey neoclassical building, built in 1864 by architect Ernst Zitter.
Desperate to keep cool we quenched our thirst at the cafe/snack bar, next to the folklore museum. This quirky, colourful place also sells a variety of Greek souvenirs.
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We walked back over the stone bridge to Protomastoras, a restaurant nestled in the shade of an enormous plane tree. There we ordered lunch and sat in the coolness of a refreshing breeze wafting over the river with a carafe of local red wine with stunning views of the river.
Our next visit was to Arta Castle. Driving along the outer castle wall we stopped to view the Arta clock tower. This is an independent building which looks like its adjacent to the northwestern side of the castle. 21m high the clock tower is a monument of the 17th century; one of the oldest in Greece.
The original clock was measuring time by the Muslim time keeping system based on the daily intervals of which the faithful should perform their prayers. It was decorated with Arabic scripts. In 1908 it was replaced by a clock measuring time in the western way with a pendulum mechanism. In 1994 the mechanism was replaced again by an electronic system.
Arta Castle - typical of the Byzantine Architecture built in the 13th century under the initiative of the ruling family Epirus Komnenos.
On the north eastern side, Arta's Castle was built on the ruins of the walls that protected ancient Amvrakia. These walls were said to be extended in height and reinforced with two towers.
During the occupation of the Ottoman empire, the castle lost its significance along with any interest for reconstruction or enhancing it. For a long time it was used as a prison in which General Makryannis, amongst the heroes of the the Greek Revolution in 1821, was imprisoned.
The internal of the castle was partially modified into a Xenia Hotel that was eventually left to decay.
Today it is an important cultural venue in the prefecture of Arta, hosting many events during the summer.
Be mindful of closing and opening times as the weather was so extremely hot, it was typically closed between the hours of 3-5pm.
There are many other ancient sites which can be included on a day trip to Arta, these include;
The Folklore Museum. Archeological Museum. Historical Museum. Gallery. Monastery. Greek ancient Theatre and more.
We returned to Lefkada island by car and the beauty of air conditioning.
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