April 30, 2025 - Greece
Upper Monemvasia
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The main activity today would be to, as Rick Steves says, "climb the Rock, make your way to the top of town and huff up the steep path to the Upper Town."
The trail to the top was not far from our apartment and easy to find. Here we go!
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Climbing higher.
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| Just like flying, the view is different depending on the altitude. |
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A nice look at the Old Town. The Main Square is just to the right of that big church.
I have no idea where our apartment is. Closer to the bottom of the picture, next to the cliff I guess.
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The big open area to the right by the sea is Chryssafitissa Square.
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| We make it to the top, sort of. Looking east. |
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There was still more hill to be climbed.
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Dave walks through the entrance gateway. The upper town was a fortress and this was probably the only way in.
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| Looking uphill. |
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| It was windy with occasional rain so I was wearing my raincoat today. |
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Nobody's coming up those cliffs!
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| It was actually very pretty up on top of the plateau, with wildflowers providing color combined with the multi-colored cobblestone. |
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| Looking west. Again, you see how the Upper Town is protected by sheer cliffs all around. |
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Looking east.
"Unlike the well-preserved lower town, very little of the upper town has survived intact. The last weary resident left the plateau nearly a century ago, and it is now a wasteland of ruined old buildings, engulfed by shrubs and wildflowers that seem to sprout from the rocks." ... Rick Steves.
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Looking out over the Sea of Crete.
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| Now heading up the hill again. At center, way up there, is the Church of Agia Sofia. |
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| Getting closer to the church. |
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| Pretty purple wildflowers at the base of the church. |
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A nice look at the front of the 12th-century Byzantine Church of Agia Sofia.
"Like so many buildings here, the church has elements from various eras of history: a Byzantine core (it retains its original octagonal design), Ottoman features, and a triple-arched loggia grafted onto the front in the 16th cnetury by the Venetians." ... Rick Steves
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| We leave the church and head west across the plateau and the Upper Town. |
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| It was very pretty up here on the plateau. |
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At first there was an obvious trail. Later, that wouldn't be the case. That said, you could hardly get lost; the plateau wasn't that big.
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| Looking back at the Upper Town ruins. |
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Yet more uphill as we head west!
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| More ruins. No idea what they once were. |
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| There was an occasional placard but they haven't been maintained. |
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| The trails weren't marked either, but it was kind of fun exploring, just going where a trail led us. |
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Looking north.
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Lynnette is getting good taking panorama shots with her smartphone.
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| Looking south. |
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An old wall still stands.
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| Or is it a building? |
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Looking south.
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We approach the western end of the plateau.
This square building is actually one of the four corners of what is called the Citadel.
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| This arch was a gate in the western wall of the Citadel. |
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| We've come a long ways since Mountain View High School! |
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| Gefyra comes into view down below, looking from the Citadel. |
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We drove into Gefyra from the right (north).
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| Looking south of Gefyra. |
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| And north of Gefyra. |
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| Departing the Citadel. |
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| Looking north. |
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| Heading back. The dome of the Church of Agia Sofia comes into view. |
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Looking east.
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| We came across this colorful wall. |
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| I was fascinated with the color in this wall of brick, rock and mortar. |
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| Looking at the east end of the island. |
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The northside cliffs are not as sheer as on the south side. But still, they would not be easy to scale.
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Looking north.
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| You can really see the wind's effect upon the water. |
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One final look at the Upper Town.
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| Almost to the church. |
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All downhill now.
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Heading back to the apartment. Lynnette had a good time.
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| Descending down the cliff scale. We really enjoyed visiting Monemvasia's Upper Town. |
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