Typical "towerhouse" of Mani region, in Eastern ("Lakonian") Mani, Haria village. Peloponnese, Greece.
This kind of "Towerhouse" is the "imprint" of Mani on the "map" of Greek traditional architecture. In the mid-19th century there were more than 800 of them spread throughout the Mani region, and you can still see some hundreds of them today. They were between 3-6 stores high, sometimes over than 18 metres tall and belonged to were completely constructed with stone. The height depended on the "significance" of the family and Sometimes it took more than 20 years to build them, that's why, often you can see a stone with a date on each floor, showing the year each floor was finished. These towerhouses had a small door, and very few, tiny windows. Sometimes, they had crenellations in the corners, and holes on the walls, through which the defending families, threw hot oil against the attacking ones. They served for defensive purposes, not only against "outsiders", but also against other Maniat families from other villages, or even other families from the same village. Vendetta was powerful in Mani for many centuries, and still, even in the 21st century, has the form of "unwritten law", for many of the inhabitants of the regions (similar thing happens in some regions in Crete). This photo was taken in one of the less known villages of Mani, Haria village, located almost halfway, between Areopolis and Pyrgos Dirou.
Size: 3744px × 5618px
Location: Haria village, Eastern ("Lakonian") Mani, Peloponnese, Greece
Photo credit: © Hercules Milas / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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