Meteora: A meeting of the past and present
Meteora means hanging in mid air: They are Cenobitic monasteries
The unusual mountain structures were formed long ago by water from the Pindus Mountains which melted and carried away the limestone portions leaving tall mountains 1000 feet (300 meters) taller than the surrounding countryside. As early as the 11th century monks sought solitude in the caves in the sides of the mountains. In the 14th century the hermitages became monasteries. St Athonasius from Mt Athos founded the great Meteoron. In the 15th and 16th centuries there were up to 24 monasteries. Today there are only 6 left. Until recently they were accessible by ladders or baskets. The monasteries were built hauling up the supplies brick by brick.
In the town of Kalambaka, we stayed at a great motel. David loved the room so much! It was the top floor and had a balcony the overlooked one of the town squares. To me the balcony felt unstable and I couldn’t go out on it after the first time. After initially stepping out I decided to enjoy the view from the room. The Piazza it looked out at was great! It had a fountain and a number of restaurants and bakeries. The bakery directly below the motel had a loaf of bread about 3 feet long.
To get to the Meteora mountain monasteries we went behind the town and followed the signs.
To be allowed entrance to the monasteries it is required the women wear dresses or skirts. Tara wore a dress but I developed an elaborate plan of wearing dark tights , rolling up my pants and buttoning up my coat. … Oh, Yeah! I was prepared. We climbed up and up the stairs (To catch my breath I stopped several times to marvel at the view while I puffed….) and finally arrived at the top. It was quite a let down to climb the last of the stairs and find the monks were handing out hideous zebra stripped wrap around skirts to women wearing pants I had seen no mention of it in the books … Oh well, the best laid plans.
The Monastery was wonderful to see. It had a large storage room that had vintage tool and storage containers. It had a large common eating area. I especially loved the church…. It was a wonder dark area with amazing paintings with gold highlight. It dated back to the 14th century. The church was dimly lit and was mytical and a real feeling of ancient history.
David loved the museum in the center of the monastery where the heroes of the Turkish war were featured. The weapons and clothes were on display and a writen story of their contribution to the cause. Man of the heroes died terrible deaths. It as really inspiring to see their devotion to God and country.
In the gift shop inside I got my mother a wonderful Icon picture of Mary and I got the Shipleys some gold crosses. It was really funny …. David and I seldom lose track of each other but I lost David, and Robert and Tara got separated. All four of us were alone and lost wandering in the maze of rooms. Robert found me. …. Then the two of us found Tara and finally the three of us found David…. Geez….
After we toured we went back to where we parked the car. The lot was lined with small shops and booths. We shopped some.. mostly because it is something I excell in.... . Robert and I both got ornate little bells for the front porch.
That night we went to dinner near our motel.. While we were there (this was during Easter Carnival time) some little boys came in with their Tshirts pulled over their faces and yelled something. I gave each of them an American dollar bill …. The owner of the restaurant shooed them out and gave them a lecture outside… hmmmm….. Maybe I should have ignored them….
We would recommend this side trip. It is amazing and unusual. Until you see it you cannot imagine the heights and wonder of it.
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