Gialova (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Γιάλοβα) is a village on Navarino Bay in the municipality of

Pylos-Nestor Pylos-Nestoras () is a municipality in the Messenia regional unit, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Pylos. The municipality has an area of 554.265 km2. Municipality The municipality Pylos-Nestora ...

in the regional unit of

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...

in the south-west

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, about six kilometres north of

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

. The name derives from

γιαλός (shore) and Turkish ova (lowland), i.e. "lowland shore".

Topography

Wasserfall Kalamari Katarakt bei Gialova 1

The village is in two parts. The beach/port part of the village consists of two short streets, one fronting the Bay and the other at right angles to it, leading to the main Pylos-Kiparissia road. This part is largely touristic - bars and restaurants, shops, and the one hotel. Where the two streets meet there is a

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

used by local fishing boats (and for car parking). The other, residential and commercial part of the village is about 1km further north along the Pylos-Kiparissia road. The modern development of Gialova also includes several houses and holiday villas on the hill behind Gialova, called Dapia (Greek: Ντάπια).

Population

The area of Gialova was first settled at the beginning of the twentieth century.Gialova - Tourist Guide 2013 In 1928 there were 49 inhabitants. In the 2011 census, the population numbered 275 persons (2001: 258 persons).

Industry

Signs of the area's former agricultural industry are evident in two abandoned wine factories (demolished in 2008 and 2016) and the stone warehouses formerly used to store raisins, carob and lemons, which were exported by boats from the mole. Today the main industry is small-scale tourism. There are two campsites, a hotel, restaurants, cafes, shops, villas, apartments and rooms to rent.

Beaches and lagoon

In addition to the village beach to the south of the mole, a 1.5 kilometre long sandy beach, signposted "Golden Beach" but known as Divari (Greek: διβάρι meaning "hatchery") to local people, starts at Gialova and continues west to

Old Navarino castle The Old Navarino castle () is a 13th-century Frankish fortress near Pylos, Greece. It is one of two castles guarding the bay on which it sits; the other is the Ottoman-built New Navarino. It is frequently known simply as Palaiokastro or Paliokast ...

. The beach is actually a narrow bar separating the sea waters of the Bay from the brackish waters of Gialova Lagoon, a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

site of major importance. It is the only location in Europe where the African

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...

is found. Immediately to the north of Old Navarino castle is the beach of Voidokilia.

References

External links

Satellite Picture with WikiMapia
{{coord, 36.951, 21.702, type:city(250)_region:GR, display=title Populated places in Messenia Pylos-Nestor Pylos