Nestani

Nestani (Νεστάνη) is a small village around 15km from Tripoli in the Peloponnese, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit Mantineia. The municipal district Nestani also contains the village of Milea.

The monastery overlooking the village is dedicated and venerates the Holy Mother of God (Greek: Παναγία - Panagia). Ιt is now inhabited by nuns. The monastery venerates the memory of the Holy Mother on the anniversary of Her Dormission, each August 15.

The monastery is called (Μονή Παναγίας Γοργοεπίκοου)Gorgoepikοos(37° 36' 33" N; 22° 28' 18" E) - facilitator to speedier and easier childbirth. Some people believe it is built on the ruins of the Temple of Demeter, but the Temple of Demeter could as well be under any of the other temples of Nestani. At its population height, there were well over 5,000 people living there but now with the move to the cities there are less than 500 permanent residents.

Nestani is in Arcadia and only two kilometers from the border of Arcadia and Argolida. The name Nestani is as old as 450 B.C.. During Turkish rule, the village was named Tsipiana and in the middle of the 20th century it got its old name back.

Nestani since the 1980s is linked with the superhighway linking Tripoli and Athens (E65) and links with GR-33), The 2 km long Artemisio Tunnel also opened in the 1980s lies north northwest of Nestani and has a rest area near the tunnel. Pine forests cover the southern and a small portion north of town, the rest of the area are mainly of rocks and grasslands. Farmlands are situated in the southwest that connects with the rest of the plain.

Geography and information

• Postal code: 220 05
• Elevation:
  • Lowest: southwestern part (around 660 m)
  • Centre: 671 m
  • Highest: Mount Artemisio
• Dialing code: +11+(00)30-2710

Historical population

Year	Population	Change
1981	1,131	-
1991	881	-250/-22.10%
2001	778	-103/11.69%

Other

Nestani has a school in the western part and nearby a basketball court, a lyceum, a church, a post office, banks and a small square (plateia).

AO Nestani, a football club, will be playing in the National 4th Division in 2007-08 after winning the Arcadian title in 2006-07.

External links

• Google Earth screen shots of Nestani
• Greek Travel Pages

See also

• Communities of Arcadia

Coordinates: 37°37′N 22°28′E / 37.617°N 22.467°E / 37.617; 22.467 --Nestanaios 13:27, 3 May 2009 (UTC)