Started the day with a thorough walk through Monemvasia's lower town (resulting pix in my previous post).
The town is located on a small peninsula off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The peninsula is linked to the mainland by a short causeway of 200m. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to 300 m wide and 1 km long, the site of a powerful medieval fortress built initially by the Turks. The town walls and many Byzantine churches remain from the mediaeval period which included control by the Venetians. It has only one real street (just wide enough for two donkeys to pass each other), no cars, cobbled lanes, beautifully restored stone houses (some of which are now hotels), and views that stretch over the Aegean.
The Wild Mani
We headed out late morning for the Mani, mainland Greece's most southerly coast. The terrain is mountainous and inaccessible. Until recent years many Mani villages could be reached only by sea. Today a narrow and winding road extends down the west coast from Kalamata to Areopoli, then south to Cape Tenaro before it turns north until Gytheio. The tip of the Cape was the end of the known world to the Greeks. An underwater cave here was thought to belong to Hades, god of the underworld.
Historically, the Maniots were famous and fearsome pirates whose ships dominated the Maniot coastline. They became pirates because Mani was not a very fertile land and the Maniots did not have many natural resources. The Maniots considered piracy a legitimate response to the fact that their land was poor, and it became their main source of income. The pirate raids weren't stopped by the local priests of the Eastern Orthodox Church, who in fact blessed the ships before they left and sometimes accompanied them on raids.
Vendettas
Another important aspect of Maniot culture were the vendettas which frequently plagued Mani. Usually, the decision to start a vendetta was made at a family gathering. The main aim of a vendetta was usually to wipe out the other family. The families involved locked themselves in their towers and whenever they got the chance murdered members of the opposing family. The other families in the village normally locked themselves in their towers in order not to get in the way of the fighting.
The tower-houses of Vathia (aka 'Vendettaville')
Some vendettas went on for months, sometimes years. In vendettas, the families could have a truce or treva, if one family needed to attend a religious ceremony or when it was time to harvest the crops. As soon as the treva ended, the killing could resume. Vendettas usually ended when one family was exterminated or when the defeated family left the town. Sometimes families came to terms, and vendettas also stopped when the Turks invaded.
Even to this day, Maniots are known for their obstinate character, wild nature, conservative views, sometimes extreme frugality, and their zealous safeguarding of the family property.
We ended the day as planned in Kardamyli at sunset. Our digs for the next two nights -
http://www.vardia-hotel.gr/english/home_en.html
-- Post From My iPhone
Location:Λεύκτρο,Greece
