Once upon a time

The Castle of Monemvasia

The presence of Time is something you cannot pass by when you are in the Fortress town of Monemvasia. It has created beautiful textures on the roof tiles, the arched wooden doors and the stone walls that you want to touch as you walk inside the medieval lanes.

To be on this rock that seems to be floating as it is connected with the mainland by a narrow passage, is an unforgettable experience; you can feel the fragility of human proportion and in the same time you admire the obvious traces of the ancestor’s creativity: discretely, there they stand, waiting for you to discover, the marbled blazons, the curved window frames, the iron knockers on doors with the handmade nails, the old patterns that decorate new curtains.

Have you tried to find your way as you wander among the forty Byzantine churches, the old mansions and the vaults that alternate creating a labyrinth? Have you made it to the upper town, Goula, to see the point were the Aegean blue meets the warm earthy colors of the Castle?

Contemporary life is present inside the Fortress, to underline and fill in the historic scenery. The fishermen, the swimmers and the craftsmen, they are a part of the old town; the traditional coffee shops are serving fresh almond cookies and spoon sweets to the visitors; there are the wine lovers there, and those who seek in the guest houses kitchens the secrets of the purest olive oil.

I don’t know which is my favorite season to be at the Castle. I have loved it in the winter mist that makes the colors of the fishermen’s baskets seem almost electrical; as an islander myself I enjoy the smell of the sea humidity in old rooms that makes the windows blurry and the wooden floors creak.

But when the weather is warm, it is delightful to eat outside, at those picturesque streets; to see the leafy vines or to sail around the Fortress.

The Castle above the Clouds, Castle of Flowers or Stone Ship for its poet Yiannis Ritsos, is a place that carries the energy of the East and the West, the collaborations and conflicts of many days and many nights. Since the 6^th century, it was selected and developed as a place with exceptional beauty and significance.

words by maria alipranti

photography by christos drazos