Komboloi Museum

The komboloi, the Greek worry bead string, descends from prayer ropes but lost its religious function and became an object of habit, status and craftsmanship, handled in cafes and shops across the country. This museum, founded by a collector in 1998, occupies the upper floor of a house in the old town and displays around four hundred strings from the eighteenth century onward: amber from the Baltic worked in Ottoman workshops, black coral, ivory, bone, horn, mastic and faturan, an early plastic prized for its scent and warmth, along with prayer beads from Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Catholic traditions for comparison. Downstairs a workshop and shop make and sell new strings, and the owners explain how to judge a bead by sound and feel.

What you actually see

• The historic strings - four centuries of beads in amber, coral and bone.
• The faturan pieces - early resin beads valued for scent and colour.
• The comparative religions display - prayer beads from other traditions.
• The workshop - new strings made and sold on the ground floor.

When to go

Year-round; the museum is small and indoors, an easy addition to a walk through the old town. Hours are limited and it can close for a midday break.

Honest expectations

This is a single-room private collection, seen in half an hour, and the presentation is modest. The shop is part of the operation, with prices from a few euros to several hundred for antique amber.

Nearby

Nafplio's Syntagma Square and the archaeological museum are minutes away; Palamidi rises above the town.