GREECE: The Precarious Meteora Monasteries

This spectacular landscape was formed about 60 million years ago.

Over time it was shaped by earthquakes, wind, rain, and other natural phenomena. 

Since the 14th century it has been home to Eastern Orthodox monasteries. At one time there were 30 monasteries, 

In 1988 they were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The monasteries were built in the mid 1300's due to religious and political upheaval which caused turbulent times.

The Greek monks were seeking refuge from the attacking Turks of the Otterman Empire. 

Access to the monasteries was deliberately difficult.

In the 1300's entry was by long rope ladders that were lashed together. In the 1700's they used wooden ladders over 40 metres (over 120 feet).

The other alternative to the top was by hauling up goods and pilgrims in nets or baskets. 

It required a huge leap of faith and tremendous trust that the system would work. The story goes that the ropes were not replaced until the Lord let them break. YIKES!

But the upside to the location and use of ropes and baskets was that they could close themselves off by hauling everything up if they felt threatened. It gave them complete control over who could enter the monasteries. 

Between the 15th and 17th centuries the monasteries were in their prime with the arrival of many monks from other monasteries. 

The area is beautiful, so you can understand why people who wanted to live this type of life would choose this area. 

After the 17th century the population declined due to raids, thieves and conquerors. Many of the monasteries were abandoned or destroyed. Sadly, the area was bombed in WWII. Now there are only 6 monasteries, each with fewer than 10 inhabitants.

We went into 2 monasteries. 

Modesty prevails and women need to wear a skirt that covers their knees. Pants don't cut it. They lent me a skirt in the first monastery. 

Later I put on my own dress to cover my knees. It could be considered a fashion statement, that will probably not catch on to any great extent. 

As time evolved and technologies improved, we fast forward to modern times, specifically November 2022, and I did notice this current method to get what looks like construction materials to the monastery a cliff away.

I also happened to notice while zooming in on this picture that there are some mod-con's in this monastery. 

John did contemplate staying longer, but, feared he might have several habits that are not conducive to monkhood.