Medieval moonlight!
It is called the “Gibraltar of the East” or simply “The Rock”. Beautifully preserved, it invites you for a time-travel through the vaulted alleyways of the medieval Greece.
Focal Length: 10 mm
Aperture: ƒ 8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 30 s
Forced by the Slavic and the Avaric invasions, the mainland inhabitants founded in 583 the town and fortress of Monemvasia on a small island, 200m off the coast. The name itself indicates the difficulty to enter “uninvited” since it means “one entrance”.
By the 10th century it was an important trade and maritime centre with an extremely turbulent future. Arabs, Normans, Byzantines, Franks, Catalans, Turks, Venetians, they all wanted a piece of the pie! This story goes on and on, almost for nine centuries until the liberation of the town in 1821 during the Greek War of Independence.
In 1971 a bridge was built to connect the island with the mainland and as the tourist industry was started to flourish in Greece, the medieval buildings have been restored creating a must-see and must-live destination.
Today all you can see from this turbulent history is coffee shops, taverns, trade shops and artisans’ workshops. The shopkeepers have invested on the romantic mood of the place so everything is set to serve this mood. Wandering around in Monemvasia, dinning under the shadow of the imposing rock, sleeping in a medieval mansion with all the modern amenities, or enjoying your drink under the moonlight is a fairytale experience, which you’ll never forget!
Once you get there I strongly advise you to find “Portelo” and begin your day with a plunge to the crystal clear waters of the Aegean Sea! Totally refreshing and totally amazing experience! “Portelo” which means little door in Greek, is literary a door to the endless blue and the only opening of the fortification to the sea. I was fantasizing about a shot of Monemvasia as I was swimming in front of it but unfortunately I still haven’t bought an underwater camera housing system, so we all have to wait till the next time :)
I am sure that after a lot of swimming and a lot of walking (romantic or not) you’ll get as hungry as I did. In Greece we say that the road towards the heart of a man goes through his stomach! So romance is great but don’t neglect to honour the excessive Greek cooking that you can find there in numerous variations and interpretations!
And if you happen to be there when the moon is full, like I did, you’ll have an extra bonus to your, either way, memorable stay. I took the first picture of this post right after the moon rose above the sea. A magical time and place to be and to take pictures :)
So beautiful place and amazing shots @fotostef !!
And you should join the contest https://steemit.com/tasteem/@tasteem/tasteem-event-0a4829
Thank you for stopping by @livvu! I really appreciate your support :)
And the contest looks interesting. Thanks for letting me know!
That's my pleasure @fotostef !! You always have high quality posts with amazing photos
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Thank you @travelfeed!
Much appreciated :)
What an interesting place, it's definitely going on my to-see list when I'm next in Greece!
Thank you @vliet for stopping by and for the resteem, too :)
No problem! It's always lovely to discover a new corner of an otherwise really touristy country :)
If you like the less touristy destinations maybe you’ll like this post and stay tuned because there are many more to come :)
Oh, Nisyros looks really fascinating! I think those people, living on the volcano must get a good tax break or something... :D
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Great article @fotostef
Continue using #bigwaves
Great pics and nicely made article. Makes me wanna go there!
And welcome to Helpie!
Blissful blessings and smiles
in joy
NK
Thank you Nathan, I am glad that you liked it!
I hope that you’ll get the chance to be there and to all the wonderful places you want, soon!
And helpie is a great community. It is a pleasure to be part of it :)