Same spot

I looked at the Palamidi fortress from my window and without thinking too much about it, I decided to go. It had been a while since my last visit. In my previous post, more than a month ago, I started climbing the stairs leading to it but I stopped halfway.Today, though, it felt like it was calling me, or at least that’s what I told myself at the time.

Of course, an old Venetian castle has no reason to call anyone. It just sits there, as it always has. Anyway, I went. I don't really need a particular reason to visit it other than feeling like it. It's only five minutes away after all. I have been there many times and I knew what to expect. And yet, every time feels slightly different. If not for any other reason, just because I am a bit different myself.

It was the last day of March. Spring was already all around in the Mediterranean air and the weather was perfect for a walk. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy. Just enough to make walking feel easy and unforced. From up there, everything looks peaceful and quiet. The fortress out in the sea looked so small and delicate next to the cruise ship that was slowly unloading visitors a few hundred meters away. A different mindset, a different scale. And at the same time, on an even smaller scale, the weeds growing through the stones, doing what they do best, completely indifferent to any human affairs.

I’ve always liked it up there. I find it very relaxing to be among strong stone walls, gazing at the sea. And without many visitors in the castle, it is even more relaxing.

At some point, I found myself thinking about the times when people stood in the same place for very different reasons. Not for pleasure but for protection. Not to wander, but to prepare. I tried to imagine what they were seeing from up there when enemy ships were approaching to conquer and loot.

Certainly not the kind of beauty we notice now. Not the colors, not the light, not the view as something scenic and enjoyable. It must have been a totally different experience even though they were standing on the exact same spot as myself.

But time passes, things change, even the war itself is different now and still, the place remains. Holding all of that, whether we think about it or not.