The vaulted lanes of the lower town

From the single gate, one main lane runs the length of the lower town with a web of smaller ones climbing off it towards the cliff. They are paved in stone, roofed in places by vaulted passages, hung with bougainvillea, and lined with houses that have been continuously lived in since the Byzantines. Nothing on wheels fits: everything arrives on foot or on a handcart.

The absence of vehicles is the reason this town photographs better than almost any other medieval site in Greece — there is no parked car, no wheelie bin and no cable in the frame, so a wide shot needs no cleaning up afterwards. The vaulted sections give deep shade and a natural frame within the frame; the open stretches near the wall give sea light at the end of the alley.

Because the lanes are narrow and one-way in practice, a session moves in a line from the gate to the far end rather than doubling back. The stone is worn smooth and slopes — flat shoes for anyone in a long dress — and the houses are private homes and hotels, so tripods in doorways are a bad idea.