Greek Gibraltar
August 28th, 2010
The Greek version of Gibraltar (but medieval)
There is the combination of ancient stones and thyme. And there is the combination of Byzantine rocks and fig trees. With the eternal blue of the Aegean as a background. And Monemvasia in the foreground. Is there anyone who has gazed at the Aegean blue, seeminlgy endless and so epic, without feeling a surge of enthusiasm and… love? “Beauty”, my partner said yesterday, while looking at the reflection of the moon on the deep dark sea surrounding the rock of Monemvasia from our stone balcony, “is meant to infuse us with energy and life”. How true, I fel on the next day, early in the morning, a church-bell-ringing Sunday, surrounded by a perfectly restored Byzantine stronghold, the utter silence of the first hours of day broken only by the chanting of the nearby priest, a light breeze making the heat tolerable, sitting inside a ruined house (still not renovated) and looking at the Aegean through the windowless window.
Despite the heat, Monemvasia is not an arid place. On the contrary, a relative abundance of trees and flowers enhance the beauty of the site and afford the traveller some shade from the archetypal Greek sun. Monemvasia is definetely a place for sunsets and sundawns! A place to inspire you, a place to give you energy. A place to renew life and love!