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I was overcome by nostalgia and intrigued into making this post by Cindy Knoke’s article, Gorgeous Greece & Her Stunning Islands!
In 2007, we took a 5-week land vacation in Europe which included a 2-week exploration of Greece. We spent a week in Athens and 5 days island hopping by Greek cruise. Our last adventure was a 2-day, round-trip bus excursion to the Monasteries of Meteora. From what we understood, not too many tourists plan this trip, and the ones who do usually have some kind of pilgrimage in mind.
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‘Suspended in the air’ (the meaning of Meteora in Greek), these monasteries represent a unique artistic achievement and are one of the most powerful examples of the architectural transformation of a site into a place of retreat, meditation and prayer. The Meteora provide an outstanding example of the types of monastic construction which illustrate a significant stage in history, that of the 14th and 15th centuries when the eremitic ideals of early Christianity were restored to a place of honor by monastic communities, both in the Western world (in Tuscany, for example) and in the Orthodox Church.
Built under impossible conditions, with no practicable roads, permanent though precarious human habitations subsist to this day in the Meteora, but have become vulnerable under the impact of time. The net in which intrepid pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the 373 m cliff where the Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolizes the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction.
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The monasteries are built on rock pinnacles of deltaic origin, known as Meteora, which rise starkly over 400 m above the Peneas valley and the small town of Kalambaka on the Thessalian plain. Hermits and ascetics probably began settling in this extraordinary area in the 11th century. In the late 12th century a small church called the Panaghia Doupiani or Skete was built at the foot of one of these ‘heavenly columns’, where monks had already taken up residence.
During the fearsome time of political instability in 14th century Thessaly, monasteries were systematically built on top of the inaccessible peaks so that by the end of the 15th century there were 24 of them. They continued to flourish until the 17th century. Today, only four monasteries – Aghios Stephanos, Aghia Trias, Varlaam and Meteoron – still house religious communities. [Source: Excerpts from UNESCO/CLT/WHC]
[Photos by Fae]
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[A Video by BBC]
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I’m a writer from Altentreptow, Germany just submitted this to a coworker who is running a bit of research on this. And she actually bought me lunch just because I came across it for her… lol. Actually, allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the food… But anyway, thanx for taking some time to discuss this issue here on your site.
Hello Altentreptow, Germany! Thank you for taking the time to leave me an anecdote. I’m glad you got a lunch out of my post!
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I wish you and your coworker much success with your endeavors. Tschüss!
Really stunning, Ms. Fae.
We took a long side excursion because I really wanted to see the place.
Greetings from Australia,
Beautiful photographs and story about the Monasteries of Meteora. I would dearly love to visit that area one day as well as the monastic community of Mount Athos. Lovely blog, keep up the great work.
God bless.
Hi Konstantine, I was away for 2 weeks and my apologies for the delayed response.
Fae.
I just visited your blog and was astonished with your photography. Thank you for visiting my blog and a very kind comments. I look forward to follow your posts!
Greetings Fae, thank you so much for your lovely comments you are so kind.
, and I’m very happy that you liked my photographs, that brings me great joy. Take great care Fae and keep smiling
God bless
wow, this is amazing. love all the photos. would love to go one day. thank you for sharing.
Hi Lisa, The excursion was quite interesting. But it sure took a loooooooong time to get there.
I can relate to what you are saying… It’s worth it though I think. Your experience is going to stay with you and you have amazing photos to show.
What an amazing place! Thanks for this interesting post.
You are welcome!
Beautiful!
Wow…what a majestic place…
Thank your visiting, Tee!
Fae.
Wow Beautiful Place I can just imagin !!
Hi Kate, Thanks for the visit to my blog.
Fae.
I can just imagine how life was here hundreds of years ago. Thank you for sharing your lovely photos.
You are welcome, Karen. Thank you for the visit!
Fae.
What a place. I’ve seen countless photos on Flickr of these monasteries. I just loved visiting UNESCO sites whilst travelling in most Southern and Central Europe 4 years ago. Staggering!
The thing about UNESCO sites is that, people of the country exhibit such pride of ownership when they present it to us… the joy in their faces is worth observing.
Oh Fae how incredible! Reminds me of the Hopi building their 450 year old Mesas on top of pinnacles in the southwest. I have never heard of Meteroa until you mentioned it a few days ago. Looks absolutely amazing. What a wonderful life you are leading! 1 UNESCO site after another. You own the Golden Ticket my dear. You find beauty wherever you are. And if you don’t, you make your own in the Ktichen!
Cheers to my sister-traveler and talented friend!
Now I did not know about the Hopi building on Mesas pinnacles 450 year ago. In a couple of years, it is time to explore our own back yard.
Fae, this is breathtaking on every level possible. Thank you for the monastery information too!
I hope you don’t mind if I reblog your link on my reblog page?
Thank you. You have carte blanche!