Added: 06/12/2006 |
Meteora in Greece - the Magnificent City Under the Rock TowersIn the northwest corner of Thessaly, the wide bed of the Pinios River emerges from the mighty canyons of the Eastern Pindus Mountains that plummet abruptly onto the Thassalian plain. Here, in the shadow of the mountains and just beyond the town of Kalampaka, massive gray colored pinnacles rise towards the sky.
Meteora in Greece is an area in Thessaly and Kalampaka, the city under the rock towers of Meteora. The thing that makes Meteora so special is the monasteries on the top of the rock towers. The monasteries, the amount of peaks to climb and the paths for hiking brings thousands of tourists to Meteora the whole year round.
The rocks in Meteora are themselves impressive, rising from the plains of Thessaly a few miles northwest of Kalambaka. It is a strange but breathtaking landscape that has been sculpted by wind and water over thousands of years. These smooth, vertical rocks have become a favorite destination for rock climbers who are, perhaps, the only ones today who can truly appreciate the feat of the 9th century hermits who first climbed them to settle in the caves of the rocks. Shepherds, who also climbed these rocks, carried their sheep up to the top to graze to ensure their survival. Nowadays these rocks are climbed by professional and amateurs looking for a challenge and what Paros is to wind-surfers, Meteora in Greece is to rock-climbers.
The Greek word Meteora means "suspended in the air." The name Meteora soon came to encompass the entire rock community of 24 monasteries, built by medieval monks. There were no steps and the main access to the monasteries was by means of a net that was hitched over a hook and hoisted up by rope and a cranked windlass to winch towers overhanging the chasm. Monks descended in the nets or on retractable wooden ladders up to 40m long to the valleys below to grow grapes, corn and potatoes. Each community developed its own resources and by the end of the 14th century, the Grand Meteoron emerged as the dominant community.
The isolated monasteries of Meteora in Greece helped keep alive Greek Orthodox religious traditions and Hellenic culture during the turbulent Middle Ages and Ottoman Turk occupation of Greece (1453-1829). In 1988, UNESCO declared Meteora to be a World Heritage Site.
The Monasteries of Meteora may be visited year round but the weather is wet and cool from December to March. Crowds and high season rates are guaranteed from July 1st to October 15th . May and June are the best months for comfortable weather, low season rates and the opportunity to leisurely explore the area.
The coolest thing about Meteora is that it does not look any different now than it used to before, except for about a million tourists passing
through each year.
The rock towers of Meteora in Greece radiate a special atmosphere and that was the reason that the early inhabitants chose it, to express
their ultimate communication and closeness to God. A visit to the Monasteries of Meteora is a breathtaking experience that transports you back in time and brings you to a better perspective of the power of the Creator.
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