Agios Nikolaos, Messinia
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Agios Nikolaos, (Greek: Áγιος Νικόλαος), (Saint Nicholas) is a fishing village in the Mani Peninsula in southern Greece; it is popular with holidaymakers. The village, known to English-speaking tourists as "Ag Nik," is about 30km south-east of Kalamata, on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Messinia, and about 6km south of Stoupa, a larger tourist town. It is part of the municipality of Lefktro, in the prefecture of Messinia.
The population of Agios Nikolaos and similar fishing villages in this part of Greece fell rapidly in the decades after World War II through emigration, mainly to Australia, but since the road from Kalamata was built in the late 1960s the tourist trade has brought new prosperity to the area. Agios Nikolaos still has few tourist amenities, but the hills above the town offer many old churches and spectacular views of the Gulf and of the Taygetos mountains further inland.
It is still an active fishing harbour with a fish market most days. There are several Taverners and Kafenons around the harbour. There is a pharmacy and post office and several small grocery stores.
The village was called Selinitsa an old Slavic name which many locals still use. It was also a centre of fighting during the Greek civil war, being on the side of Government fighting the "communists" who were mainly in the mountain villages. There are still three towers, built as machine gun emplacements scatterred around the village, the largest about 20 metres high dominates the skyline on the main road into the village. There are no ancient remains in the immediate area.
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