Mani, a mountainous peninsula with jagged contours, isolated from the rest of the Peloponnese by the barrier of Mt Taygetus, is a unique place - a harsh land with its burning sun, relentless winds and scorched, rocky ground. Vestiges of the wars waged by family clans, the hundreds of fortified houses are countered by dozens of Byzantine churches, which illustrate the intense religious life that also flourished here.