Meteora, Greece

We flew to Athens, and spent some time in the Acropolis museum.  More about that in the next post.  On advice of some friends, we drove four hours from Athens to Meteora in the mountainous region of northern Greece.  The unique geology alone would make Meteora a place to visit.  Add to that, hermit monks in the 9^th century living in the caves and fissures, followed by regular monks in the 11^th century and monastery-building monks in the 15th century. 

The monasteries are in the most precarious locations. This was originally intended to keep most visitors away. In former years, the entrance to some of the monasteries was either a hair-tingling climb up the sheer cliff face on a series of wooden ladders, or a hoist system with a rope, pulley and cargo net. There are stairs now for tourists to come see these fascinating buildings.  We visited five of the six main monasteries and took some hikes among the pinnacles.  We found the 7^th (and smallest) closed, but enjoyed the hike there and back. 

The days are shorter and cooler now at this elevation, marking the end of the normal tourist season in Meteora.  Few tourists and empty restaurants made it easy to get around and find places to eat (souvlaki and stuffed peppers and tomatoes, yum!).  Our hotel room balcony had a panoromic view of the mountains.  A very enjoyable two days there!  Click on the photos to see full sized. Still, they don’t do justice to just to the sights. Go see for yourself if you have the opportunity.