Lower Monemvasia

norway1.gif (248 bytes) Norsk utgave (Norwegian edition) norway1.gif (248 bytes)

Monemvasia is a small, steep island with two old towns, called Upper town and Lower town. The island is connected to the mainland by a narrow bridge, which today is possible to pass by car. The island has actually got its name from this bridge. Moni means "the only one" and emvasia "entrance". You just follow the road until you reach a big, solid wall or more correct, a castle. It is a turnaround here and possibilities to park the car along the road, and then enter the Lower town by foot using the town gate, located in the thick town wall. The Lower town history goes back to the Middle Age and it is remarkable well preserved. The streets are narrow, steep and have a lot of turns, and they are covered with large paving stones. Most of the houses are very well maintained, and the stone fronts make you feel that you are really entering the Middle Age. This is a town to easily fall in love with. But remember to visit the Upper town as well.

 

 

Here is Lower Monemvasia, seen from the opposite end of the city gate. You can catch a glimpse of the city walls of upper town on the edge of the mountain on top of the picture.

Travel report from day 4 (Monday April 17th 2000)

We started the journey towards south and Monemvasia. We chose the inner main road via Tripolis and Sparta on our way south. This is a distance over 125 miles, and the trip took over 4 hours including some short breaks. The roads are mainly OK. They can be compared with Norwegian main roads. Some distances are of good quality, while the not so new ones have a lot of turns. But they are more than wide enough for two cars to pass each other without slowing down. There is very little traffic, so driving here at Peloponnes is not a problem at all. Just remember to let the cars that are catching up on you pass by.

 
     
 

Incredible charming!

Travel report from day 4 (Monday April 17th 2000) continuing:

This is actually inhabited today, and all the traveler handbooks recommend at least one night in one of the three hotels, or maybe in one of the more private residences located in the area. We were lucky and found a large room with three beds, antique furniture and the third bed located in a little loft-room. There was also a big balcony with beautiful view over the sea, and a lot of cats nearby. We paid 17000 drachmas for this room (low season price), other rooms could be charged up to 30000 drachmas. We were also offered a room without view for the price of 12000 drachmas. Enough about the room, it is really the beautiful town we will tell about.

 

 


 

Top: Antique and stylish furniture, not the way we are used to in Greece (even the mattress felt antique, the worst we have ever slept on) Under: The balcony and the view from there.

Travel report from day 4 (Monday April 17th 2000) continuing:

This is really a Middle Age town, surrounded by the original town walls. It is impossible to drive cars in the town, because the streets are narrow and steep. Besides they couldn’t pass through the town gate. The town is situated on an edge, with the sea 45 feet below. On the upper side it reaches a tall vertical mountainside. The town walls covers the two remaining sides, and partly against the sea. One thing that made the town so fantastic was all the wild flowers everywhere. It grew flowers on the ground, on the walls, on the roofs. Even between the stones in the streets and the stairs it was flowers. This overwhelming of flowers, combined with a really old town that looked old and houses that were restored and some still in ruins, made this an extraordinary place. Small roads and paths, leads in all directions between the houses. The place is extremely charming, and will get a high score when we sum up this trip.

 

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This is one of the many churches in town.

 
     
 

Travel report from day 5 (Tuesday April 18th 2000):

This morning was scheduled for further exploring of this town. The tour resulted in many pictures.

 

 

The central part of Monemvasia, seen from Upper town.

 

 

There are a few nice shops here.

Back to The Fortress of Larissa Further on  to Upper Monemvassia
Back to Island Strolling in Greece
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If you have any tips, advice or memories from island strolling, or if there is a question you haven’t found the answer to, use the discussions group.
Thanks to Terje S. Pedersen, Løten for his translation into English!
© Jan Bergtun, 26. May 2001 Updated, 12.19.2007
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