Meteora

“Kalabaka at the base of Meteora”

Meteora, Greece. June 2018 (11 photos)

This is Part 3 of my Greece 2018 photo series, and also Part 12 of my Europe 2018 photo series.

The island of Milos offered many photographic opportunities and some relaxing beach time, but all too quickly it was time to move on. I returned to Athens by ferry to witness a bit more of the history of ancient Greece, before moving onto my final destination in Greece, to witness another facet of Greek life and culture.

Kalabaka is a small town about 355 km by road north of Athens. The journey there took me past the actual site of the Battle of Thermopylae between the Spartans and the Persians which was the subject of the movie “300”. Kalabaka lies at the foot of a series of immense natural rock pillars and boulders known as Meteora which is the dramatic location for the UNESCO World Heritage listed Monasteries of Meteora, a complex of Eastern Orthodox monasteries built atop vertical rock, dating back to the 14th century.

“Kalabaka overlook”

In the distance is the Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapavsa.

“Meteora”

There are 4 monasteries visible in this photo. From left to right:

Monastery of St. Nicholas Anapavsa Monastery of Rousanou (closest to camera) Monastery of Varlam (highest point) Great Meteor Monastery

“I will follow him”

… and I did to get this photo.

Some of the monasteries are still in use. In fact the site attracts a significant amount of religious tourism, mostly those of the Russian Orthodox faith.

“ATAC to St Cyril’s! ATAC to St Cyril’s!”

The quote above was spoken by a parrot in revealing the villain’s hideout in the James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only. St Cyril’s was the location of the final fight in the movie and the Monastery of the Holy Trinity which you see above was the location used for St Cyril’s. In the movie, Bond climbed up the side of the rock pillar. Luckily, tourists can use the staircase carved into the rock which you can glimpse in the rock face. The cable to the left is used for deliveries. All of the monasteries have a cable system for bringing in deliveries.

“Monastery of Rousanou”

Actually, it’s a nunnery.

“The mists of time”

Fog and low cloud commonly engulfs the higher points of Meteora in the early morning, giving the location a mysterious aura…

“The Ossuary”

… befitting some of the contents in the monasteries.

“Monastery of Varlam”

“Lord’s Supper Holy Monastery”

This one has been built into the side of a rock pillar.

“Panoramic Meteora”

I don’t do this often but the photo above is eight photos taken in portrait mode, merged together to form one photo.

…

This is Part 3 of my Greece 2018 photo series. This is Part 12 of my Europe 2018 photo series, including Czechia (The Czech Republic), The Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, Greece and Germany.