Monastery of Mardaki
The Monastery of Mardaki is located to the south of the village Nedousa (known until 1927 with the name Megali Anastasova) and at the foot of Taygetos.
The Monastery of Mardaki is built in the early 16th century, as historians say and was “Patriarchal ” as it belonged directly to the Ecumenical Patriarch, as we can see by the cross that was built on the foundations of the church of the Assumption , in the center of the monastery.
In the church of the Assumption, a normal small preserved cruciform and without columns aisled domed temple and the frescoes of the 17th century are very interesting and are made by Dimitris Kakavas from Nafplio.
The Monastery of Mardaki as well as the Monastery of Dimiovia played an important role in the revolution of 1821 as it was a refuge for kleftes and armatoloi of the region as no one Turk set his foot on these places. It is said that in the monastery of Mardaki, Nikitaras, Anagnostaras, Kefalas and Papaflessas met each other to coordinate their forces a few days before the siege of Kalamata, on March 23rd 1821. It is also said that the volumes of the library of the monastery were bullets for the fighters of the revolution.
The monastery of Mardaki celebrates every 15 and 23 August, when the miraculous icon of Virgin Mary is exposed to pilgrimage and it was found in 1867 after the excavation of the mayor of Alagonia, Anastasios Theofilopoulos in the area near the monastery where he thought that there were ruins of an old monastery. The icon is considered one of the only 70 painted by the Evangelist Luke.
Today at the Monastery of Mardaki there is the church of the Assumption while the cells of the monks who once lived in the Monastery were either demolished or have taken some interventions.
