Nicopolis

Our first big excursion!!! First stop was the Nicopolis in the southern region of Epirus. Nicopolis, in Greek means City of Victory, was an ancient city founded in 31 BCE by Caesar Augustus Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. It was built in the typical Roman style of fortified towns, with four quarters and two main roads. The city was protected by a three mile wall. It took six years to build the 27-mile long aqueduct to carry water to the city. Nicopolis was not only the capital city of the region but a focal point of the Mediterranean due to its geographical position bridging Greece and Italy. The population maximized at 300,000 people - a very large number for ancient times. The city was destroyed in the 9th and 10th centering by invading Bulgarians.

We first visited a magnificent museum unlike any I had ever been to. Nothing was encased... there was even skeleton remains that you could have touched. Linnie outside the museum was convinced she should jump all the stairs in front of the museum... she cleared them but later followed with a face plant. Highlight of the day. All in all a really amazing first stop and pretty wild experience walking along the 1st century BCE wall of Nicopolis.