The monasteries at Meteora in central Greece are a UNESCO World Heritage Site that really has to be seen to be believed. Perched high atop giant sandstone pillars, or clinging impossibly to the side of a cliff, these monuments are incredible. The monks and nuns who have studied there over centuries really were trying to get closer to God.
We were only there for a couple of nights, but left very pleased that we saw this amazing place, and managed our first excellent day walk in the sunshine for a couple of months. We hope you like what we can share with you, and add meteora to your own travel bucket list.
Meteora, Greece
January 2023
Copyright © 2019 Walk the World | Powered by Page Builder Framework
2 Comments
One of the most amazing aspects for me (aside from the amazing photos) is that the monasteries are still be used for their original purpose. In our more broadly commercialised world, I had expected every second one to be a five star hotel! Do you have a sense that there may be a shift in this direction? By the way, Chris, you mention that ‘Meteora is one of those once-in-a-lifetime places’, but you also say been there twice. So maybe ‘once or twice in a lifetime? I feel I wouldn’t be living up to my pedantic potential if I didn’t point this out. 😉
The world needs pedants, particularly where proofreading my error-ridden musings is concerned, 🙂 It’s like mentioning the third of the two things I wanted to say. I can see I’ll have to keep count of my inclusions of that phrase, or think of another one entirely. I need an online thesaurus.
Most of the monasteries are completely closed off, only a few allow visitors, and those on very restricted hours. The two we visited are small and not the most popular with the tourists. All this adds up to the great majority of time being dedicated to monastic pursuits, as they have for centuries. As far as I know, none have been turned into accommodation, although that is actually a thing in Europe, where you can stay in some. I think there is even a website to bok them!