Flights to The Peloponnese
We are delighted to provide flights to The Peloponnese (Kalamata or Athens), from Gatwick and other regional airports within the UK at an additional cost. Please ask your consultant for details.
Monemvasia Introduction
It must have been a cataclysmic earthquake that was able to sever the massive rock of Monemvasia from the Peloponnese mainland and leave it stranded a kilometre off shore. Today, the rock is connected to the mainland by a narrow 200 metre causeway and visitors are obliged to enter the medieval city that clings to the foot of the rock on foot or by boat. Rising vertically from its base, the rock soars 300 metres into the air, crowned by a fortress, and is 1.8 kilometres long. At its foot is a small town of haphazard form, its houses, churches and towers and alleyways seemingly stacked one on top of the other and all apparently interconnected. This, together with the single fortified entrance that gives the place its name (‘mone embasis’ means single entrance) helped to protect the inhabitants from the marauders and invaders of the Middle Ages. The town became affluent, largely due to its convenience as a port of call for passing ships and also because of its fine wines – it was the home of the Malmsey wine that was so popular in medieval England.
Monemvasia’s history is populated by all the ‘usual suspects’ of the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages – Crusaders, Franks, Normans, Byzantium, Venice, the Ottomans. By 1971, however, the town was in ruins and the inhabitants numbered less than 50.
The little town has now been revived, with foreigners buying and restoring the old houses and transforming them into beautiful homes. A modern town has grown outside the walls, but the intriguing beauty of the old town remains a magnet to visitors, who throng its paths, steps and alleys especially in July and August, Choose a quieter and cooler time of day, when the cruises have departed, and you will be rewarded with endless subjects for camera and sketchbook.