Mesa or Inner Mani was also known as Kakavoulia - The Land of Evil Counsel - a direct reference to the dangerous and war-like nature of the inhabitants or sometimes as Kakovounia - The Bad Mountains - which name speaks for itself. There is an alternative explanation of Kakavoulia which is that the name comes from the word for small, metal pots or cauldrons - "kakavia" - that the inhabitants frequently wore on their heads as make-shift helmets during attacks and feuds. Patrick Leigh Fermor gives much credence to this explanation in his book, "Mani" but Colonel Leake preferred the first definition - "the Land of Evil Counsel; so notorious are its inhabitants for plundering the unfortunate sailors who are cast on their tempestuous, rocky and unsheltered coast as well as for more active enterprises of robbery and piracy." His opinion is perhaps supported by a remark made to his servant by his escort.  "One of the first things Tubaki said to my servant was - If the Bey had not given such precise orders concerning you, how nicely we should have stripped you of all your baggage."
         There is a marked contrast with Exo Mani in that the area is much less fertile, especially on the east coast where the mountains plunge to the sea and the villages and towers perch high on the rocks in defiance of man and nature. The western side, Niklianiko, has a wide coastal plain and wherever you look you will see villages and hamlets with houses clustered for protection around the towers. Thanks to modern methods, water is more readily available now but was a common cause for feuding in former times. The conservation of water was a priority and a measure of prestige and wealth. A French traveller in the 18th Century recorded, "When a Kakavoulian gets married, his first job is to measure how much water is in the cistern because it is one of the most important dowry gifts. Whoever lavishes a lot of water on the wedding is considered rich. This extravagance makes an impression and all the region learns about how much water the in-laws drank."
         The volume of refugees in the area put additional stress on the meagre resources and so water and land became the main basis for disputes and feuds because possession meant power and control. The unique architecture of the area, the towers, evolved as the means to protect these valuable assets and of course, as a defence against invaders - especially the Turks. The towers were continually manned by sentries and sometimes small garrisons to guard against attack. In 1839, the Earl of Carnavon recorded that a sentry in a tower was unable to give him directions because he had spent his entire life locked up in the tower and did not know the roads and villages of the region! A report in 1833 to the Ministry of Internal Affaires states, ".....they (the towers) are protected by them uninterruptedly. People assigned to their protection are condemned to be locked up in them and not go out for months at a time." Col. Leake recorded a tower owned by a nephew of the 5th Bey of the Mani as being permanently guarded by a garrison of 15 men in very basic conditions - "the floor consists of loose boards, and, never undergoing ablution, harbours myriads of fleas in winter and bugs in summer".
         The houses protected by the towers were often rudimentary as well, with very few comforts. One explanation of this was given in 1797 by the son of Zanetbey Grigorakis who, when asked about the houses, explained "Not to whet the appetite of the Turks.