Monemvasia

Today we travelled to Monemvasia over the Taygetus mountains. What an amazing journey. The road travels through dense forests, gorges and offers amazing views. At some stages we travelled through passages carved into the rocks. Stopped for lunch at Sparti and discovered how ferocious they were as warriors. Their whole culture was focused on preparing men for war. They were taken from their families at age 7 and placed in teams in dormitories. Leaders were identified from those groups. The boys slept on the floor, were given minimal food and clothes to toughen them up. The girls were also encouraged to be strong and fierce. The citizens were all part of the army, and neighbouring communities were enslaved to work the farms.

Arriving in Monemvasia was spectacular - the island is connected to the mainland via a causeway. Founded in the sixth century, it is one of the oldest continually inhabited fortified towns in Europe. The town is the site of a medieval fortress, and was at one point one of the most important commercial centres in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Its streets are a bit tricky to navigate as they are very narrow and made of big cobblestones. There are no cars inside the town, and porters push carts through the lanes delivering goods and suitcases. We stayed in a traditional house that had a spectacular view from the terrace.Read more