We had received a great email from Gina telling us of her favourite places and must see sights around Greece. A chance comment by Carole (Muskrat) about monasteries on mountains reminded me of something Gina had said and prompted some further research. Discovering that the Meteora was about 2 ½ hours away from Preveza by car seemed the ideal opportunity to visit.
The monasteries of the Meteora are one of the great sights of mainland Greece – the extraordinary buildings are perched on seemingly inaccessible rock pinnacles, meteora actually means ‘suspended in mid-air’. The earliest monastery was built in 1334 and at one time there were as many as 24 such institutions on (relatively) accessible rocks. The economic and physical decline of the monasteries means that there are now 6 monasteries, 4 with monks in them and 2 with nuns. Tourism has saved these buildings as only two of them function with a primarily religious purpose. The most famous is probably Ayias Triadhos (Holy Trinty) as it was used in the opening of the Bond film For Your Eyes Only, (prompting all of us to want to see the film again!)
So, a plan was born, two cars booked, hotel rooms reserved and on Tuesday the 27th August off we went leaving the boats safely tied up in Preveza marina. The car journey was a pleasure, seeing inland Greece is something we have not done much of, and the roads were relatively new and good. As lunch time came we pulled off the mountain motorway and drove into a small village. Finding the only open tavern was a challenge, but we looked forward to lunch on a balcony overlooking the valley. The tavern had a verbal menu and the owner spoke no English, Will, being half-Greek, was called upon to translate but I think we were all relieved when the owners son arrived and could help with the translations. The food was fantastic! The plate of lamb chops enjoyed by Will and Ian was the envy of the table, maybe except Carole (Muskrat) who doesn’t eat a lot of meat, but all the food was great and plentiful. Lunch and all the accompaniments and drinks was less than 10euros a head! What a find!
Kastraki, at the foot of the Meteora, was now only 50km away and nearing here we saw our first view of the unusual pinnacles and mountains. Like nothing any of us had seen before, the cliffs were formed by remnants of river sediment which flowed into a prehistoric sea that covered the plain of Thessaly around 25million years ago. This was subsequently moulded into bizarre shapes by the combined action of fissuring from tectonic plate pressures and erosion by the River Pinios. (Thanks to the Rough Guide for explaining that!)
Upon arriving at Hotel Kastraki we decided to visit Roussanou, a covent now with nuns living there. Changing our clothes, long trousers for the men and dresses/skirts for the ladies with wraps for our shoulders, we set off eagerly up the road from the hotel. Originally the only way to get up to the monasteries, unless you were an advanced climber, was in a rope basket that was hauled to the top using a windlass or by using a perilous retractable ladder. A nineteenth-century abbot, asked how often the rope was replaced, replied, ’only when it breaks.’ In order to make the monasteries more accessible steps were cut to all of them by the order of the Bishop of Trikala, apparently unnerved by the vulnerability of his authority on visits. This makes for steep steps both up and down the adjoining cliff faces as it was difficult to make a direct approach in many cases. There is definitely not access for anyone other than the relatively fit and able.
After several stops to admire the astonishing views, otherwise known as a good excuse for a breather, we got to the top. Each monastery cost 3euros to visit and they all varied about how much was open to the public. Roussanou was founded in 1545 and was probably the smallest one we visited but it made an interesting start. All of its walls had sheer drops all the way around it making it much photographed. The main chapel had some particularly gruesome frescoes with beheadings, spearings, crushings, roastings and mutilations! Yuk!
On Wednesday we planned to see the largest two monasteries, Varlaam and Megalou Meteorou. Varlaam was constructed around 1540 making it one of the earlier monasteries. We were able to visit the old ascent tower and stand on the reception platform where the basket would have been received. The well worn windlass looked extremely small for such a task and the original rope basket looked like a daunting prospect to me. To think this was the only way up or down is as incredible as to imagine the effort required to get all the necessary building materials to the top of this pinnacle.The small church at this monastery was gloriously painted, covered in frescoes depicting biblical scenes,with vivid colours everywhere. The other point of interest was the monk’s original water barrel, it was huge, and initially we thought it was for wine but sadly not!
A short distance, by road, from Varlaam is the Megalou Meteorou, the largest of the monasteries. On approaching here we saw many coaches so we decided to come back later and visit Ayias Triadhos first. All of the monasteries are relatively close together but on the short drive from Megalou Meteorou to Ayias Tridhos there were several fantastic spots to stop and take photos of the pinnacles and the distant mountains. (One of which Ann won’t forget in a hurry as she was stung by a hornet!)
Few coach tours stop at this monastery, that may be something to do with the steepness of the access paths or the 130 steps carved into a rock tunnel, it is the most challenging monastery to access that we visited. Life here remains essentially monastic with only a few brothers to maintain the place. The seventeenth century frescoes in the church have been completely cleaned and restored and were well worth the visit alone. However, as we climbed up and down, we were mostly concerned with remembering the Bond film and trying to work out which rock faces had been used to such good effect. Seeing birds of prey soaring around this monastery was another reminder of the opening sequences.
It was decidedly lunch time now so we headed down to the town of Kalambaca a few miles away for refreshments. We wanted to give enough time for the majority of coach parties to have left the biggest monastery before we returned so we were able to enjoy a leisurely lunch. As we made our way back up the mountains the weather was beginning to change and rain clouds were gathering. We were hoping we would have time to climb up and back from Megalou without getting soaked!
Waiting and returning paid off; it was much quieter than earlier. Megalou Meteorou is the highest monastery, built on the Platys Lithos, (Broad Rock) 615m above sea level. It enjoyed extensive privileges and dominated the area for centuries. The church is also the largest and most imposing with a large dome but the frescoes are from a later period and less impressive than the others.
As we entered the monastery the weather started to change and the wind started howling through the open areas, whipping up all the leaves and dust as it blew. It was an eerie feeling and it made us imagine how desolate it must be up here in the winter, probably even more cut off than ever as the snow came too. This feeling was compounded as we peered in through a small doorway to a room lined with shelves that were full of human skulls – there was no explanation as to what these were so it was left to your imagination – ancient brothers who were victims of broken ropes maybe…
There was a good museum in this monastery with some exquisite carved-wood crosses and rare icons and we could probably have spent longer here but the closing time was approaching and we were ushered out, somewhat peremptorily, so as the staff could depart before the imminent rain. As we walked down and up the many steps the rain did indeed start and we ran the last section down the road to the cars, or at least I did!
We had decided to go back up the mountains around 19.30hrs to watch the sunset over the Meteora so we were a little disappointed at the change in the weather. Nonetheless we agreed to still go if the sun was back out which it duly was. Quite a few people had gathered at one on the most spectacular viewing points but it was an anti-climax as with the cloud coverage the sunset was unexciting and not the photo opportunity or experience we had hoped for.
The Meteora certainly lived up to its reputation as an extraordinary place to visit. We saw four of the six monasteries, which in the time we had, felt about right to us. We had spent quite a bit of time in each and enjoyed the quite unique views that we saw in every direction. Thanks to a chance comment and an e-mail we had a wonderful time, made all the more special by sharing it with Ann, Carole, David and Will.