Monemvasia

September 7, 2006

In Sunday's travel section, the NY Times visited Monemvasia, Greece:

MONEMVASIA means "single entrance" and as you cross the narrow bridge separating this fortified fist of land from the southeast tip of the Peloponnesus, you can see why.

Distanced from the ancient glories that unite much of Greece in a dream life of classical antiquity, the cyclamen-swept milelong rock at first looks wild. But follow the thin road edging along Monemvasia's cliffs, past a sienna-tinged stone hotel and the small cemetery holding the bones of one of Greece's most popular poets, Yannis Ritsos, born in the town in the early 20th century. Soon you will come to a spiked door of a fortress wall, behind which is a resilient town, rich with remnants of its reign as a main port during the Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman empires.

Hey, I've been there! Last month, in fact. Monemvasia was as fascinating to visit as it is photogenic:

More photos from Monemvasia

Posted by Andrew Raff at September 7, 2006 12:04 AM