Gardiki Castle, Arcadia

In southwestern Arcadia, near the Messinian border, the ruined castle of Gardiki stands on a steep hill, sometimes called the Castle of Oria. It was raised around 1264 over the ruins of ancient Amfeia, probably by the Byzantines of the Despotate of Mystras, and certainly fell into their hands shortly afterwards. In 1460, like most Peloponnesian forts, it was taken by the Ottomans under Mehmed II the Conqueror. The defenders, joined by refugees from elsewhere, surrendered only when water ran out; the Turks then broke the agreement and slaughtered some six thousand people. The dead were thrown from the cliff and left unburied, giving the place the grim nickname Kokala, meaning bones. A separate legend tells of an unknown beauty who leapt from the rock rather than be captured, hence Oria, the fair lady. Later records list it as Gordichi salo in 1467, under Ottoman control, and possibly as Gradizzi-Piccolo in a 1471 Venetian list, though that identification is uncertain.

Heritage data from Wikidata, compiled and verified in the Atika atlas.