Freediving in Pavlopetri, the World’s Oldest Sunken City in Greece

Pavlopetri lies nether 5 meters of water, making freediving for amateur divers easy. Credit: Filio Kontrafouri / Greek Reporter

Undisturbed from the summertime crowds, Pavlopetri lies peacefully nether the brushed waves of the Myrtoan Sea. It is the world’s oldest sunken city, located successful Vatika Bay successful the eastbound portion of the Peloponnese of Greece. Even connected a crisp, wintertime morning, this submerged municipality remains a unsocial spot for underwater exploration and freediving.

Lacking the cumbersome scuba diving instrumentality and undersea sound of aerial bubbles that goes on with the sport, freediving is fundamentally diving connected a azygous breath. A freediver tin bask Pavlopetri’s eternal soundlessness and savor each spot of the past past that lies lone a fewer meters beneath the aboveground of the sea. Even amateur freedivers that spell down to depths of up to 10 meters tin easy get adjacent to and adjacent interaction the remnants of the city, covered successful up to 5 meters of water.

Many visitors who observe the submerged metropolis from the sea’s aboveground by snorkeling during the summertime months are disappointed that they lone spot “scattered stones connected the bottommost of the sea.” Indeed, the precocious sections of the buildings of this erstwhile thriving coastal colony were constructed of mud ceramic and/or timber frames covered successful plaster and did not stay intact underwater.

Today, lone their foundations proceed to exist. Yet, Pavlopetri should not beryllium seen arsenic pieces of a dismembered past trading port, arsenic it erstwhile was, but alternatively arsenic an astir complete, submerged city, with an municipality program that includes streets, buildings, and tombs—and that’s what makes it truthful unique.

Freediving successful Pavlopetri, Greece among past buildings and streets

Pavlopetri, the world’s oldest sunken city, is situated adjacent a prehistoric cemetery. Credit: Filio Kontrafouri/Greek Reporter

In caller years, conscionable a fewer meters distant from the prehistoric cemetery situated connected the rocks to the near of the Pavlopetri islet, a motion has been enactment up, laying retired overmuch of the city’s underwater plan. It adjacent includes suggested routes of however idiosyncratic mightiness research the submerged, 5,000-year-old site.

The extremity of the large, exposed stone by the sandy formation is simply a bully spot to statesman one’s freediving escapade down to the submerged metropolis of Pavlopetri successful confederate Greece. To the near are immoderate of the astir well-preserved gathering foundations, each mostly clustered together. These are intelligibly disposable adjacent connected days with low, underwater visibility owed to the beardown currents and winds that often batter Vatika Bay.

A motion astatine Pavlopetri successful Laconia, Greece helps visitors place the underwater structures. Credit: Filio Kontrafouri/Greek Reporter

In the summertime, determination are besides numbered buoys of assorted colors conscionable crossed from the site. These are secured with a enactment to factual weights connected the bottommost of the oversea and are signs that assistance place the assorted underwater structures. However, the buoys besides let freedivers to remainder anterior to taking yet 1 much agelong enactment and going successful for different dive.

Past the buildings and astir 300 meters further retired astatine oversea lies a enclosure tomb. To the close is the main portion of the city, astir close adjacent to the islet of Pavlopetri. One tin besides freedive among walls and the ruins of buildings that look similar immense complexes of rocks, laying retired the signifier of what erstwhile were, according to archaeologists, two-story homes.

In fact, successful 1 of the corners, 1 tin inactive spot 2 of the roads that erstwhile lined the homes. If lucky, 1 tin adjacent freedive successful the institution of sea turtles, which person built their nests successful Vatika Bay and observe marine life, including parrotfish and dotted moray eels hiding amongst the rocks.

From there, 1 tin support swimming retired to the near to the borderline of the metropolis and travel retired done the sandy portion of the oversea oregon different aquatics consecutive to the ample stone wherever the underwater escapade began.

In an country covering 8 shot fields prevarication the remains of Pavlopetri, the world’s oldest sunken city. Credit: Filio Kontrafouri/Greek Reporter

What precisely is freediving?

Freediving is each astir freely and people exploring the depths of the sea. It means diving underwater connected a azygous breath, depending lone connected your lungs until resurfacing. Every year, the athletics is embraced by millions of radical crossed the globe.

Freediving doesn’t conscionable happen. It is simply a carnal arsenic overmuch arsenic a intelligence athletics and a operation of learning and grooming with a certified instructor. One needs to larn however to coordinate the assemblage and mind, equalize the extracurricular unit portion descending into the sea, and execute a capable enactment clasp that allows you to enactment underwater safely to bask the depths.

Freediving is each astir enjoying the depths of the oversea freely and people connected a azygous breath. Credit: Simukas771 CC BY-SA 4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Contrary to what astir radical believe, freediving is not an adrenaline-pumping sport. In fact, it is conscionable the other and requires a batch of relaxation, which freedivers execute done breathing techniques and adjacent yoga anterior to going diving. These some impact the body’s muscles and mind. The bosom complaint needs to beryllium low, but this is besides achievable erstwhile humans submerge their look successful acold h2o anyway.

This submersion triggers the diving reflex (known arsenic Mammalian Diving Reflex oregon MDR, wired into our DNA), which is applicable to each mammals, though, successful humans, the MDR is little intense. The MDR prompts the assemblage to respond by conserving oxygen, slowing the bosom rate, and prioritizing humor travel to the encephalon and heart. Dolphins tin instrumentality long, heavy dives mostly acknowledgment to their singular diving reflex.

In freediving, the assemblage slows down its functions truthful arsenic to conserve oxygen. Thus, each determination underwater indispensable beryllium particularly gentle and coordinated. Freedivers spell down successful calm, ideally warm waters with nary currents, arsenic each further question of the body, adjacent stress, leads to the burning of much-needed oxygen. Through accordant training, the assemblage learns to defy the impulse to respire portion underwater, and it copes with the c dioxide buildup, managing to calmly enactment nether the aboveground for longer implicit time.

Professional freedivers tin dive to depths of implicit 130 meters and clasp their enactment portion descending and ascending for much than 4 minutes.

The sunken metropolis of Pavlopetri is connected the borderline of the Peloponnese successful the portion of Laconia, Greece and is simply a cleanable freediving spot erstwhile the seas are calm. Credit: Filio Kontrafouri / Greek Reporter

Freediving successful Greece

In August, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports acceptable up a caller assemblage called “Dive successful Greece,” which aims to crook the state into a planetary freediving destination.

In a memorandum of knowing with the World Underwater Federation (CMAS), Greece has agreed to beforehand and signifier freediving competitions and different freediving events successful in the country, starting successful 2025. Α seminar, on with an planetary apnea contention (voluntary breath-holding portion keeping the look nether the aboveground of the water) are scheduled to instrumentality spot connected the Greek land of Amorgos, wherever portion of Luc Besson’s 1988 legendary movie, The Big Blue, was filmed. The movie was based connected the beingness of acclaimed freediver Jaques Mayol, who, on with his emotion for dolphins, made the athletics known astir the world.

Greece, a Mediterranean state surrounded by the sea, already has respective freediving schools, with much popping up each year, and astir connection authoritative freediving certifications issued by planetary associations.