Gialova
Encyclopedia
Gialova is a village on Navarino Bay in south-western Peloponnese
, Greece
about six kilometres north of Pylos
. The name derives from Greek
αιγιαλός - γιαλός (shore) and Turkish
ova (lowland), i.e. "lowland shore".
used by local fishing boats (and for car parking). The other, residntial and commercial part of the village is about 1km further north along the Pylos-Kiparissia road. The modern development of Gialova also consists of houses and holiday villas on the hill behind Gialova, called Dapia (Greek: Ντάπια).
separating the sea waters of the Bay from the brackish waters of Gialova Lagoon, a Natura 2000
site of major importance. It is the only location in Europe where the African chameleon
is found. Immediately to the north of Old Navarino castle is the beach of Voidokilia.
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
about six kilometres north of Pylos
Pylos
Pylos , historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former...
. The name derives from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
αιγιαλός - γιαλός (shore) and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
ova (lowland), i.e. "lowland shore".
Topography
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 commercial rather than residential. Where the two streets meet there is a moleMole (architecture)
A mole is a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or a causeway between places separated by water. The word comes from Middle French mole and ultimately Latin mōlēs meaning a large mass, especially of rock and has the same root as molecule.Historically, the term "mole"...
used by local fishing boats (and for car parking). The other, residntial and commercial part of the village is about 1km further north along the Pylos-Kiparissia road. The modern development of Gialova also consists of houses and holiday villas on the hill behind Gialova, called Dapia (Greek: Ντάπια).
Industry
Signs of the area's former agricultural industry are evident in the two abandoned wine factories (one demolished in 2008) and the stone warehouses formerly used to store carob and lemons, which were exported by boats from the mole. Today the main industry is small-scale tourism. There are two campsites and one hotel (Hotel Zoe) plus villas, apartments and rooms to rent.Beaches and lagoon
A 1.5 kilometre long sandy beach, signposted "Golden Beach" but known as Divari (Greek: Ντιβάρι, perhaps from διβάρι meaning "hatchery") to local people, starts at Gialova and continues west to Old Navarino castle. The beach is actually a narrow barBar (river morphology)
A bar in a river is an elevated region of sediment that has been deposited by the flow. Types of bars include mid-channel bars , point bars , and mouth bars...
separating the sea waters of the Bay from the brackish waters of Gialova Lagoon, a Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
site of major importance. It is the only location in Europe where the African chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
is found. Immediately to the north of Old Navarino castle is the beach of Voidokilia.