Meteora Monasteries – suspended in air

The first excursion I went on in Parga was to Meteora and I don’t think I could have ever expected what I saw as I arrived there. Monasteries built on 400 metre tall rock formations! Meteora is, after Athos, Greece’s largest and most important monastery complex consisting of a total of 24 monasteries and nunneries and has been registered as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988. The first monastery is believed to be built in 1340, as the monks were trying to move further away from Athos as the Turks were expanding in to Greece, and it is believed that the last monastery was completed in the late 1500.

As if that wasn’t enough the church painting’s are one of the most well preserved paintings from its time and an amazing sight. It was such a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere even though I am not religious you could feel the calm and serenity of the monastery. There are still monks and nuns living at the various monasteries in Meteroa, kindly opening up the monasteries for the tourists to explore something truly unique and of course get another source of income.

I tried to take some pictures that would be able to capture the amazing scenery and the unique setting that these monasteries are in. Even though I got some good pictures, I still don’t feel that they are doing the real views justice. But at least it is a taste of what can actually be experienced and seen when visiting the Meteora Monasteries. 

I have added a video below from Matador Network that gives you a much better idea of what you could experience when going here: