Monastery of Rousanou
Cloudy, misty day amongst the pinnacles
Monastery of Rousanou - from a distance
Monastery of St. Stephen
A view out into the mountainsTuesday, November 9th
Today I took an 8:20am train out of Athens - heading north toward Kalambaka, Greece. It was a 5-hour journey. Relaxing - slept and read the entire way.
I arrived into this small town and shared a taxicab ride with a retired Continental flight captain to my hotel (Doupiani House). Great spot - I'd recommend it to all.
The reason I'm visiting this remote area of Greece - because of it's unique monasteries perched high on these rock pillars. Amazing! This place was better than expected. The exact date which these monasteries were built is unknown. It's thought that by the end of the 14th century, hermit monks, seeking a retreat from the expanding Turkish occupation, found the inaccessible rock pillars of Meteora to be an ideal refuge. More than 20 monasteries were built - 6 remain today (Great Meteoron, Varlaam, Rousanou, St. Nicholas, St. Stephen, and Holy Trinity). Of the 6 remaining, only St. Stephen has nuns; whereas, the other 5 have monks.
Supposedly, the only way to get to the monasteries in the past was to climb up rope ladders that were thrown over the edge of the cliff. The monks would pull up the ladders once they arrived. Today, there are staircases cut into the mountain face which lead to the top. I walked up to the Rousanou complex. All are tourist destinations today; however, they close at 2pm so I was only able to view from the exterior. Still unbelievably impressive.
Meteora ("in the air") is a great place for hiking as well. There are over 60 of these pinnacles spiked across the valley. The mountainous landscape was full of autumn-colored trees today. I walked around all afternoon taking in the spectacle.
I really enjoyed today because of it's uniqueness. A great trip from Athens - I'd add it to the list.
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