GREECE PELOPONNESE LAKONIA MONEMVASIA

The plateau of the rock is speckled with ruins of the medieval town, fortification walls, guardhouses and towers, large water cistems and the residence of the Venetian governor.

At the eastern tip of the plateau stands the greatest monument of Monemvasia, the church of Agia Sofia. It is an octagonal domed church, built 1149-1150. The sculptured decoration goes back to the 12th century while its wall-paintings are dated to the late 12th - early 13th century. Linked by literary and oral tradition to the emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, it is identified with the church dedicated to the Virgin Hodegetria mentioned in historical documents.

During the first Turkish rule (1540-1690) it was converted into a mosque, the "Fetihye", by adding a sanctuary apse (mihrab) and a minaret. During the second Venetian occupation (1690-1715) it was the katholikon of a monastery, dedicated to the Madonna del Carmine. A two-storeyed outer nartex was added at this time. Again a mosque in the second Turkish period (1715-1821), it was christianized after the liberation of the town (1821). It was then dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God, because it was considered to be a faithful copy of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Its location and the views are awkward, but I find the interior a bit disappointing.