UPPER TOWN OF MONEMVASSIA
Archaeological site with magnificent sea views. Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman remains. Beautiful Agia Sofia church.
Surrounded by 100 m-high cliffs, the upper town (Άνω Πόλη/Ano Poli) offers fantastic views over the bay of Epidaurus-Limira (to the north), the lower town of Monemvassia (to the southeast) and the Myrto Sea. At sunset, the panorama is truly enchanting. But it's well worth the effort: a 15-minute climb from the lower town along a winding path through the vaulted passage of the Central Gate, a Byzantine structure that was reinforced by the Ottomans. You then arrive on a wind-beaten plateau, covered in tall grass and without a café or fountain to quench your thirst. The first area of Monemvassia to be populated in the 6th century, Vrachos ("rock") is today an uninhabited archaeological site studded with ruins of cisterns and various buildings, including a 17th-century Ottoman hammam. On one of the highest points, to the west, the four towers of a 12th-century Byzantine fort remain. To the north-west, the Porta Rossa passage was condemned by the Ottomans and became a Venetian stronghold known as Mura Rossa ("red wall"). Finally, to the northeast, stands the beautiful tile-covered dome of Agia Sofia. Founded in 1150 by the Byzantine emperor Andronic I Comnenus, this church was enlarged and converted into a Catholic place of worship by the Venetians, then transformed into a mosque for the needs of the Ottoman garrison. Now restored as an Orthodox church, the interior still contains fragments of 13th-century frescoes.
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