Meteora
I first saw the Meteora Cliff monastery from a SIA advertisement on T.V and was awed by the lofty man-made structures that seemed to soar up into the sky many years ago. I pegged it as a 'Must Visit' place ever since. Finally, after bypassing Greece as a holiday destination for the other cities, I finally made my first trip to Greece, to see Meteora Monastery with my own eye :).
Athens to Meteora
We took the subway from Syntagma metro to Larissa metro station to catch the train to Kalambaka - the little town nestled amongst the Meteora Monasteries. Although TP said they looked forward to the trip, they did not seem particularly interested at first.
The main train station in Athens was quite unlike other international European train stations, and we'd expected a large building with a complex series of tracks and multiple arrivals and departures. Instead, it was a relatively small building without the usual platform entrances, large arrival/departure board, shops and huge foyers. It suddenly dawned on me that the train networks here may not be as extensive as the other European countries because it is at the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula?
A train lined with colorful graffiti pulled into the station, we boarded it, and were on our way from Kalambaka -> Meteora!
The train has a cafe selling both hot and cold foods, and we had a light bite.
Since Greece is known for its islands and ancient architecture and historic sites, I was surprised by the extensive mountainous terrain as the train travelled towards Kalambaka (Googled and learned that 80% of Greece is mountainous).
Meteora
Out tour guide was waiting for us at the train station. We went to the town centre to buy some food before embarking on the Sunset Tour. Even before the tour, I was already in awe of the sheer natural majesty of the pillars of rock that rose from the ground!
Cave Dwelling of hermit monk
The first stop was the cave dwellings that were built into the surface perched high on the rock formation. It was quite amazing to see how they'd seemingly incorporated these dwellings into the rock of the mountain itself. I looked forward to more dramatic monasteries perched atop the rock formations as we boarded the van for the other monasteries visits.
Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas - St. Nikolas Anapafsas Monastery
Our first encounter of the Meteora clifftop monastery 'image' was at the St. Nikolas Anapafsas Monastery. We alighted from the van eagerly and started to climb towards the monastery. TP were visibly awe and excited now.
Although there were many stairs, the leaves on the surrounding trees had turned yellow providing a beautiful backdrop and also making the effort to climb less noticeable.
Soon, we reached the base of the monastery. There is a pulley system that could be used to haul goods to the monastery. Is this the technique used mainly to build the extensive monastery complex?
The vista from the monastery was breathtaking. Towering cliffs and the immense landscape stretched far into the horizon.
Within the monastery, there are various rooms, one of which is a bedroom with a window that opens to the extensive tract of land below.
We rest and lingered at the open patio for a while, spending some time just to take in the spectacle before leaving the monastery.
Sunset Rock
Our next destination was the Sunset Rock. The van drove along the road that we saw from the monastery, and along the ride we encountered a herd of goats crossing by. The guide said that although Meteora was popular, it used to depend mainly on agriculture. It gained further popularity after part of James Bonds 007's For Your Eye was shot at Meteora in 1981; and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Currently, tourism has become the main "industry" (was it for the better?, how long can the goats use the same road as the vehicles?)
The guide told us that during the peak summer season, the rock would have hundred of tourists 'queueing' to take photos. Now, we had the entire place to ourselves.
The Byzantine Church of Virgin Mary
The last stop was the Byzantine Church of Virgin Mary in the old district of Kalambaka.
The concrete surface of the walls is embedded with relics of an ancient Greek temple dedicated to the God Apollo.
The interior of the church was beautiful. Although the church is about 1000 years older than the oldest monastery, there were no other tourists there, making for a peaceful and serene visit.
Meteora Evening and Dinner
The tour ended and we were driven to our guesthouse. The guesthouse was about 20 minutes from the town. We took a nice stroll to the centre of town for dinner.
We had a tasty dinner at Taverna Panellinion. We ordered quite a large amount especially given the tapas style cuisine that allowed us to try a variety of their signature dishes, recommended to us by the friendly owner. Needless to say, it was a tasty meal. We were surprised at how unique a flavor each dish brought. We more or less finished every dish as evident from the empty plates.
After the scrumptious meal, we walked back to our guesthouse, which was a welcome way to digest our large dinner, and looked forward to the tour of the other monasteries the next day.
On the same trip
Arrival in Athens, Walking Around, Pickpocket Encounter and More!
Meteora Day 2 : Holy Monastery of Grand Meteoron, Holy Monastery of St. Stephan and Walking
Acropolis and Morning Walk
One Island Hopping to Aegina From Athens
Information
Wikipedia : Meteora
I first saw the Meteora Cliff monastery from a SIA advertisement on T.V and was awed by the lofty man-made structures that seemed to soar up into the sky many years ago. I pegged it as a 'Must Visit' place ever since. Finally, after bypassing Greece as a holiday destination for the other cities, I finally made my first trip to Greece, to see Meteora Monastery with my own eye :).
Athens to Meteora
We took the subway from Syntagma metro to Larissa metro station to catch the train to Kalambaka - the little town nestled amongst the Meteora Monasteries. Although TP said they looked forward to the trip, they did not seem particularly interested at first.
The main train station in Athens was quite unlike other international European train stations, and we'd expected a large building with a complex series of tracks and multiple arrivals and departures. Instead, it was a relatively small building without the usual platform entrances, large arrival/departure board, shops and huge foyers. It suddenly dawned on me that the train networks here may not be as extensive as the other European countries because it is at the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula?
A train lined with colorful graffiti pulled into the station, we boarded it, and were on our way from Kalambaka -> Meteora!The train has a cafe selling both hot and cold foods, and we had a light bite.
Since Greece is known for its islands and ancient architecture and historic sites, I was surprised by the extensive mountainous terrain as the train travelled towards Kalambaka (Googled and learned that 80% of Greece is mountainous).
Meteora
Out tour guide was waiting for us at the train station. We went to the town centre to buy some food before embarking on the Sunset Tour. Even before the tour, I was already in awe of the sheer natural majesty of the pillars of rock that rose from the ground!
Cave Dwelling of hermit monk
The first stop was the cave dwellings that were built into the surface perched high on the rock formation. It was quite amazing to see how they'd seemingly incorporated these dwellings into the rock of the mountain itself. I looked forward to more dramatic monasteries perched atop the rock formations as we boarded the van for the other monasteries visits.
Agios Nikolaos Anapafsas - St. Nikolas Anapafsas Monastery
Our first encounter of the Meteora clifftop monastery 'image' was at the St. Nikolas Anapafsas Monastery. We alighted from the van eagerly and started to climb towards the monastery. TP were visibly awe and excited now.
Although there were many stairs, the leaves on the surrounding trees had turned yellow providing a beautiful backdrop and also making the effort to climb less noticeable.
Soon, we reached the base of the monastery. There is a pulley system that could be used to haul goods to the monastery. Is this the technique used mainly to build the extensive monastery complex?
The vista from the monastery was breathtaking. Towering cliffs and the immense landscape stretched far into the horizon.
Within the monastery, there are various rooms, one of which is a bedroom with a window that opens to the extensive tract of land below.
We rest and lingered at the open patio for a while, spending some time just to take in the spectacle before leaving the monastery.
Sunset Rock
Our next destination was the Sunset Rock. The van drove along the road that we saw from the monastery, and along the ride we encountered a herd of goats crossing by. The guide said that although Meteora was popular, it used to depend mainly on agriculture. It gained further popularity after part of James Bonds 007's For Your Eye was shot at Meteora in 1981; and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. Currently, tourism has become the main "industry" (was it for the better?, how long can the goats use the same road as the vehicles?)
The guide told us that during the peak summer season, the rock would have hundred of tourists 'queueing' to take photos. Now, we had the entire place to ourselves.
The Byzantine Church of Virgin Mary
The last stop was the Byzantine Church of Virgin Mary in the old district of Kalambaka.
The concrete surface of the walls is embedded with relics of an ancient Greek temple dedicated to the God Apollo.
The interior of the church was beautiful. Although the church is about 1000 years older than the oldest monastery, there were no other tourists there, making for a peaceful and serene visit.
Meteora Evening and Dinner
The tour ended and we were driven to our guesthouse. The guesthouse was about 20 minutes from the town. We took a nice stroll to the centre of town for dinner.
We had a tasty dinner at Taverna Panellinion. We ordered quite a large amount especially given the tapas style cuisine that allowed us to try a variety of their signature dishes, recommended to us by the friendly owner. Needless to say, it was a tasty meal. We were surprised at how unique a flavor each dish brought. We more or less finished every dish as evident from the empty plates.
After the scrumptious meal, we walked back to our guesthouse, which was a welcome way to digest our large dinner, and looked forward to the tour of the other monasteries the next day.
On the same trip
Arrival in Athens, Walking Around, Pickpocket Encounter and More!
Meteora Day 2 : Holy Monastery of Grand Meteoron, Holy Monastery of St. Stephan and Walking
Acropolis and Morning Walk
One Island Hopping to Aegina From Athens
Information
Wikipedia : Meteora