Meteora

So we left our lovely hotel with all the antiques in the lobby and sitting areas....

... and headed off down the road toward the monasteries of Meteora.

 

Meteora is a part of central Greece that is characterized by jutting rock formations. It is not mentioned in antique writings (although it was inhabited in Neolithic times) and wht the region is most famous for is Eastern Orthodox Monasteries.

In the 9th century, hermit monks climbed the cliffs and found solitude in the caves, eeting only for Sunday  mass.

You may remember a 1981 James Bond Movie, For Your Eyes Only, starring Roger Moore that was set in Meteora.  There is a shot of a heliocopter coming to land at a monastery where Bond is lodged.

 

Here is my shot with that same rock but from the other side.

The monastery that we visited is discribed on the internet as the least spectacular of the monasteries, but also as the most readily accessible as there are no steps to climb.

We visited Agios Stefanos which was founded in the 15th century.

 

Unfortunately it was bombed in the second world war and during the civil war communist rebels desecrated the wall paintings. The monastery was left desserted until 1961.

In 1961 the monastery was taken over by nuns and they began the laborious and costly task of  reconstructing the historic building.

The monastery sits high above the town of Kalambaka below.

 

You enter the monastery grounds across this little  bridge.

 

Our guide filled us in on the history of the monastery before we actually entered the grounds.

There was a little courtyard inside where we continued our tour.

All of the painting in the monastery has been redone by a modern artist.

This is a view of the building that houses the church.

 

Here is a shot that shows the courtyard.

  

We were not allowed to take pictures in the church, but there were a few shots on the internet that give an idea of what it looked like inside. (The Getty museum also has some additional images.)

Below you can see the beast of hell attackig the damned on the left side of the image.

It is a shame that we lost the original images, although it is clear that the new painter has studied the types of images and recreated similar ideas with a slightly different style.

Beyond the church are various other buildings and small gardens. 

Here is a view of the town below from the monastery.

Here is a part of the rose garden

And here it is from a different angle.

As we left the monastery it was hard not to take a few more shots.

As we drove around we got a chance to see the other five monasteries.

You can see the nature of the rock formations in this image below.

 

I think this monastery  is called Varlaam. It has two little towers.

This one looks like the monastery of St. Nicholas Anapausas. It only had on monk there in 2015.

Back in the bus we wound around the various monasteries and enjoyed the view.

Our next goal was to find some lunch!