14 January ’05, Friday. Ancient Monemvasia, The Rock of Gibraltor of Greece
One Hour and 15 minutes on a narrow, twisting, winding road with orange and olive groves on both sides when there isn’t the sea, and a dash down a valley with the mountains on both sides of it and finally you emerge to the sight that you’ve read about….Monemvasia (mo-nem-vah-see-ah), the “Gibraltar” of Greece…a massive rock that rises out of the sea just off the coast. It is reached by a causeway from the mainland village of Gefyra. As you see “the rock” and the fortress on top when you’ve made that last turn, it makes the statement that “if you want to really see me, you’ve got some hiking to do… Hell, we’ve done so much hiking this past year, one more sure isn’t going to kill us. As we drove into Gefyra and made the left turn to meet up with the causeway it was worth a stop for another picture. From all we could see, it was just a small bridge across to the “rock” with a few buildings. Again, the book says follow the roadway around one side of the rock and you will come to a tunnel. When you enter the tunnel you can’t see the other end as it was made in a “L” shape. Now as you break out of the tunnel you are taken back by an absolutely beautiful village, that was completely hidden from you. The island of Monemvasia was part of the mainland until in 375AD it was pushed out to sea by one heck of an earthquake. Just like the story with Mystras, the people around Monemvasia fled to this natural rock fortress for protection from the invasions. This was in the 6th century as the barbarian incursions occurred. A complete city was built on the sides of the “rock” with the almighty fortress on the top. As we walked through the tunnel and come to this beautiful medieval town we knew we had found another “10”. The narrow, cobbled main street was lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, and some quaint hotels. All this was interwoven with winding stairways that weave between a complex of stone houses with walled gardens and courtyards. Of the churches that we saw, one dates from 956, the Church of Agios Pavlos. Another from the 13th century, and my favorite was the Church of Mirtidiotissa, which was virtually in ruins, but still with a small altar and a defiantly lit candle. We walked through the village looking for the stairs to the top of the hill for some time, and then just as you are about ready to ask for help, the magic stairway opens up for us. As we followed this cobblestone path up and up, through the gated areas, winding and twisting for ever, we finally walkout into the ancient ruins of Monemvasia. Then….Lunch time…when we walked through the village the first time, Louise could smell some really good smells coming from a restaurant. Well, seeing as how it was lunch, and seeing as how the wonderful smells had come from “this” restaurant, we went in. We (Louise) had made the right choice. Another spectacular visit (and meal) for us… I know, we’ve said all that before.
One Hour and 15 minutes on a narrow, twisting, winding road with orange and olive groves on both sides when there isn’t the sea, and a dash down a valley with the mountains on both sides of it and finally you emerge to the sight that you’ve read about….Monemvasia (mo-nem-vah-see-ah), the “Gibraltar” of Greece…a massive rock that rises out of the sea just off the coast. It is reached by a causeway from the mainland village of Gefyra. As you see “the rock” and the fortress on top when you’ve made that last turn, it makes the statement that “if you want to really see me, you’ve got some hiking to do… Hell, we’ve done so much hiking this past year, one more sure isn’t going to kill us. As we drove into Gefyra and made the left turn to meet up with the causeway it was worth a stop for another picture. From all we could see, it was just a small bridge across to the “rock” with a few buildings. Again, the book says follow the roadway around one side of the rock and you will come to a tunnel. When you enter the tunnel you can’t see the other end as it was made in a “L” shape. Now as you break out of the tunnel you are taken back by an absolutely beautiful village, that was completely hidden from you. The island of Monemvasia was part of the mainland until in 375AD it was pushed out to sea by one heck of an earthquake. Just like the story with Mystras, the people around Monemvasia fled to this natural rock fortress for protection from the invasions. This was in the 6th century as the barbarian incursions occurred. A complete city was built on the sides of the “rock” with the almighty fortress on the top. As we walked through the tunnel and come to this beautiful medieval town we knew we had found another “10”. The narrow, cobbled main street was lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, and some quaint hotels. All this was interwoven with winding stairways that weave between a complex of stone houses with walled gardens and courtyards. Of the churches that we saw, one dates from 956, the Church of Agios Pavlos. Another from the 13th century, and my favorite was the Church of Mirtidiotissa, which was virtually in ruins, but still with a small altar and a defiantly lit candle. We walked through the village looking for the stairs to the top of the hill for some time, and then just as you are about ready to ask for help, the magic stairway opens up for us. As we followed this cobblestone path up and up, through the gated areas, winding and twisting for ever, we finally walkout into the ancient ruins of Monemvasia. Then….Lunch time…when we walked through the village the first time, Louise could smell some really good smells coming from a restaurant. Well, seeing as how it was lunch, and seeing as how the wonderful smells had come from “this” restaurant, we went in. We (Louise) had made the right choice. Another spectacular visit (and meal) for us… I know, we’ve said all that before.