General Information about the Upper Town

During the heyday of Monemvasia in the Middle Ages, the upper town occupied approximately two thirds of the plateau of the rock. Beginning at the eastern point, the plateau rises gradually at first, but more steeply to the north between the main square and the church of Hagia Sophia. The rise between the main square and the cisterns is also quite considerable. Above the line formed by the cisterns and Hagia Sophia the rise continues more gradually up to the peak and the citadel. To the west of the peak the plateau ends in a steep, triangular shaped drop off. This adjoins the western cliffs that face the mainland and descend to the sea. The steep incline above the main square is particularly noticeable in the occasional four story houses, whose upper sides have only two stories exposed above ground level.

The peak of the rock stands 194 meters high. The cliffs themselves — that is, the nearly vertical part of the rock between the plateau and the slope around the base of the crag — range from about 75 meters to a height of about 180 meters at the western end.

The bulwark of the upper town follows the southern edge of the plateau, down to and around the eastern point. The northern side did not need fortification, for no enemy could ascend the steep cliffs there. The only exception to this is a short wall (Mura Rossa) about half way up the northern precipice, at a point where the cliffs are somewhat less steep. Other than the citadel, and the outlying tower and defense works which guard the "single entrance" below, the western point has no elaborate fortifications. Another section of wall does, however, run along the southwestern side of the plateau, at the edge of the precipice.

Compared to the ingenious ascent to the upper town, the fortification at the outer edge of the plateau seems very plain. It follows the natural topography of the cliff, and is better suited for providing the occupiers of the rock with a safe place from which to watch over the road to the main gate and over the lower town, than it is suited for preventing an enemy from capturing the summit of the rock. In contrast, the bulwark at the eastern point is quite elaborate, with small cupolated turrets and sentry boxes. Likewise, much forethought must have gone into the planning of the entrance portal of the upper town.

Authorities generally agree that the first fortification on the plateau was built in the seventh century. However, those parts that are visible today obscure the Byzantine foundations, and date from the period of the Turks and the Venetians. A small gate located half way up the cliffs on the north side of the rock in the so called "Mura Rossa" is also of Venetian origin. This gate could be reached only by scaling the cliffs; it provided a means of retreat to the citadel for defenders fighting outside the walls.

The first impression of the ruins on the plateau is that of a fully destroyed city. Parts of walls stand out against the blue sky; dark shadows obscure the depths of open cisterns; thyme, spurge, and thistles overgrow piles upon piles of stones. It is practically impossible to discern where the strets once were in the upper town, and at first we have the feeling of being disoriented. Only long hours of walking among the ruins allow us to resurrect and perceive a town in this desolate, stony wasteland.

Wandering among the ruins presents us with ever new configurations and views of the town. Such expeditions, however, are not without some danger; there is always the possibility that vaults might collapse overhead, or that cisterns' covers might give way underfoot. Nevertheless, there are four areas of the upper town that are quite worthwile visiting.