Meteora is about 4 hrs by car from the city of Athens. it is located in the city of Kalambaka, Greece. it is a UNESCO heritage center that comprises of monasteries built on mountain tops. Meteora means " middle of the sky" or "suspended in the Air"
Meteora is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, second only to Mount Athos.
Brief History
Monastries were built under impossible conditions, and no practicable roads.
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.
Access to the monasteries was originally (and deliberately) difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith – the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only "when the Lord let them break".In the words of UNESCO, "The net in which intrepid pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the 373 metres (1,224 ft) cliff where the Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolizes the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction."In the 1920s there was an improvement in the arrangements. Steps were cut into the rock, making the complex accessible via a bridge from the nearby plateau. During World War II the site was bombed.Many art treasures were stolen.
Until the 17th century, the primary means of conveying goods and people from these eyries was by means of baskets and ropes.
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.
Ladies have to be appropriately dressed to enter the monasteries which mean long dresses and shoulders covered. ( heaven forbid we tempt the monks to sin lol)
The night I arrived was the feast of the patron saint in Kalambaka. So on this rare occasion the priest and monks come out of their monasteries and have a church service in the city town center. After the service every one follows the monks( surrounded by guards to the town church
The Next day was time for exploring the Monasteries
The famous Varlaam Monastery (In 1517, Nectarios and Theophanes built the monastery of Varlaám, which was reputed to house the finger of St John and the shoulder blade of St Andrew)
Meteora is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, second only to Mount Athos.
Brief History
Monastries were built under impossible conditions, and no practicable roads.
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.
Access to the monasteries was originally (and deliberately) difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith – the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only "when the Lord let them break".In the words of UNESCO, "The net in which intrepid pilgrims were hoisted up vertically alongside the 373 metres (1,224 ft) cliff where the Varlaam monastery dominates the valley symbolizes the fragility of a traditional way of life that is threatened with extinction."In the 1920s there was an improvement in the arrangements. Steps were cut into the rock, making the complex accessible via a bridge from the nearby plateau. During World War II the site was bombed.Many art treasures were stolen.
Until the 17th century, the primary means of conveying goods and people from these eyries was by means of baskets and ropes.
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.
Ladies have to be appropriately dressed to enter the monasteries which mean long dresses and shoulders covered. ( heaven forbid we tempt the monks to sin lol)
Small town of Kalambaka
The Lovely 3 star hotel with awesome views of the town of Kalambaka
Views from the rooftop swimming pool
Hanging with some friends met on the trip
The night I arrived was the feast of the patron saint in Kalambaka. So on this rare occasion the priest and monks come out of their monasteries and have a church service in the city town center. After the service every one follows the monks( surrounded by guards to the town church
The Next day was time for exploring the Monasteries
View from one of the balconies of the monastery
View form another balcony of the monastery
An up close picture of the Varlaam monastery
The remaining bones of dead monks kept at the monastery
Ok I cant come to monastery and not light a candle of prayers
some paintings on the wall
Aghios Stephanos Monastery( this was actually converted to a convert for the sisters but the name was never changed form a monastery to a convent/nunnery)
Barrels used to store olive oil which was the sole source of income for the monks
Pictures of some more monasteries on the mountains
Some Fresco paintings at the monastery
The famous fountain in the town square of Kalambaka
WOW!!!!!!! Meteora "Middle of the Sky" with state of the art buildings. No wonder UNESCO made the land their heritage center. God! We appreciated your creative work on earth, grant us Love and peace AMEN. Lene, I see the innovation of technology in your picture at the water fountain Kalambaka, love it .
ReplyDeletelol!!! I thought the fountain picture was cool as well
ReplyDeleteI just think this whole trip was a eye opener for me. Places I read about in the bible and watched in movies actually still exist? Wow! Good shots Lene
ReplyDelete