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September24,2007

"kalambaka and meteora" mood: tired

this past weekend, my roommates and i took the train up to Kalambaka to see Meteora. Kalambaka is the town located at the base of Meteora where most tourists make their stop for the night. We stayed at a little bed&breakfast called Elena, which was located a couple hundred meters from the footpath up to Meteora. the train ride was a tedious five hours, but when we reached sight of Kalambaka, the view was breathtaking. i know that i use that adjective ad nauseum throughout my entries about Greece, but there isn't a more honest word to describe it.






the geological formations comprising Meteora are very unique. my initial suspicion was that the area of Kalambaka-Kastraki was once a large sea sometime in the prehistoric ages. the horizontal streaks are clearly lines of sedimentation, and the vertical streaks, according to a guidebook, are marks left by rain and ice. i'm not sure what the real history is, given that the book i bought at one of the monasteries only talks about the history of the monks dwelling in Meteora, but i'm pretty positive that Meteora was once submerged many millennia ago.





we spent saturday hiking down the rocks, beginning with the monastery, Grand Meteoron, the largest of the monasteries left hidden in Meteora. the basic history of the monasteries is that Meteora began as a refuge for Byzantine monks who sought solitude in the caves in the mountainous rocks. sometime in the 11th Century, the first cloister was established, beginning a new monastic tradition in Meteora. while there were many monasteries built, only six remain today. we were only able to see five, because one of them, Agios Nikolaos, was out of the way. the others were very interesting to see, though there were many clashes with busloads of tourists from all over the world, namely Germany, Japan, Russia, and China. we were lucky to have avoided most of the crowds. Grand Meteoron was the traditional start of the descent because of its high location and proximity to three other monasteries: Varlaam, Roussano, and Agios Nikolaos, which was a further descent and more isolated. Grand Meteoron was well preserved, with the original kitchen, refectory, and carpenter's room all in the original. the ossuary was also available to see, though i found it a little disturbing. the monastery also had a great library collection, supposedly the largest of the monasteries. however, we were only able to see some manuscripts in their small museum.


below are three of the monasteries at Meteora. i'll put up some more pictures later on:

Agios Nikolaos




Varlaam




Agios Stephanos



Varlaam was the one right next to Grand Meteoron. most of it was under construction, but we were still able to see the pulley system. because the monasteries were far out of reach, perched on top of the high rocks, visitors were only able to climb removable ladders, and finally needed to be hoisted up by rope and net. today, stairs and paths have been carved into the rocks for us to climb, but the original pulley system is still available for viewing. the idea of that pulley system is just incredible to me. i guess the monks really wanted to get away from everyone.


i'm off to crete in a few hours, so i need to pack. i promise i will finish this entry later this week and keep updating. i went to visit kerameikos last wednesday morning too, so i have a few interesting pictures to share from that. i can't believe i have taken so many pictures already, and seen so many places in just three weeks!

til next time, au revoir.