Rated
Jun 26 2007
•
551 reviews
•
architecture, travel, photography, amazing
• photoseek.com
Metéora, Greece
Above: Varlaam Monastery - Metéora, Greece.
The Greek word
Metéora means "suspended in the air", and our words
meteorite and
meteorology come from the same root.
Beside the Pindhos Mountains, at the western region of the
Thessaly plain in the middle of northern
Greece, 24 immense rocks rise from the ground. The rocks are composed of a mixture of
sandstone and
conglomerate. They were formed about 60 million years ago.
Since the 9th century, an
ascetic group of medieval
monks moved up to the ancient
pinnacles, building beautiful
monasteries, several of which are still active.
Above: Saint Nicholas Anapafsa is the English name for Agio Nikolaou Anapafsa Monastery (Greek name), at Meteora .
The Metéora is home to 6 monasteries, built on spectacular natural sandstone rock pillars, at the northwestern edge of the
Plain of Thessaly near the Peneios river and
Pindus Mountains, in central
Greece.
Although more than 20 monasteries were built, beginning in the 14th century, only six remain today. These six are: 'Great Meteoron (or Transfiguration), Varlaam, St. Stephen, Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas Anapausas and Rousanou.
Of the six monasteries now inhabited, five are male, one female. Each monastery has fewer than 10 inhabitants and is visited by many tourists.
Below : rustic house with grape vines in Kastraki, a village at the foot of Meteora
These isolated and inaccessible monasteries of Meteora helped keep alive Greek Orthodox religious traditions and Hellenic culture, providing an ideal refuge during the turbulent Middle Ages and Ottoman Turk occupation of Greece (1453-1829).
Above: horizontal view of Varlaam Monastery.
The Agia Triada (Greek: Αγία Τριάδα, "Holy Trinity") monastery was used in the final scenes of the
James Bond film
For Your Eyes Only.
In 1988, UNESCO declared Meteora to be a World Heritage Site.
