The Lofty Rocks (Or, Meteora: Pt.1)

June 26, 2023July 2, 2023 by Jessica In Greece, Meteora 3 Comments

Our third day in Greece began with a little adventure. We traveled north to Kalampaka (Καλαμπάκα), a town in the region of Thessaly (Θεσσαλία), which was known by Homer as Aeolia (Αἰολία). During Byzantine times, the town was known as Stagoi (Σταγοί), a name which is still in use for the town by the Greek Orthodox Church. The town’s current name, Kalampaka, comes from the Turkish for “powerful fortress.” Today, it is best known for being one of two towns close to the monasteries of Meteora, the other being Kastraki (Καστράκι).

Μετέωρα / Meteora

Meteora is a rock formation which also happens to serve as home to one of the largest monastery complexes in the Eastern Orthodox Religion, second to none except Mount Athos, which is so holy that women aren’t allowed to visit. The complex originally comprised twenty-four monasteries, built between the 13th and 14th centuries. Today, only six of them are in use (of which we went into two*):

The name of Meteora comes from meteor, which means “lofty, elevated, floating,” and refers to how the rocks appeared to the first pilgrim who saw their peaks from above, through low clouds. The first people to populate this area, according to record, were hermit monks in the 9th century, who lived in the hollows and fissures of the rock towers.

Living in such a remote location, as it’s difficult to reach, meant that it was easy for them to achieve their purpose — isolation from the rest of society. They would spend most days apart and meet only on Sundays and special days to pray together. Due to the increasing Ottoman attacks in the 14th century, the monks then decided to start to build monasteries, which would provide them with shelter and a place to hide.

Αγίου Γεωργίου του Μανδηλά / Monastery of St. George of Mandila

Located on the Holy Spirit (Agion Pnefma) Rock, the name of this monastery translates to “Saint George with the Scarves.” A tale is told about a Muslim landowner who cut down trees from a forest dedicated to Saint George during the Ottoman occupation. As punishment, the saint paralyzed the man’s hand, but this was rectified after he donated his wife’s veil as penance. To commemorate this, people climb the rock wall yearly to take the old scarfs down and hang new ones up.

Μονή Βαρλαάμ / Monastery of Varlaam

This monastery sits on a rocky precipice 373 meters above the valley floor. The name of the monastery comes from the first monk to scale these rocks and begin construction of the monastery in 1350, which he did by hoisting materials up the face of the cliff.

Though not the only one, the Monastery of Varlaam has some breathtaking views over the surrounding valley and other nearby buildings.

The Agion Pnefma Rock is the home to the Monks’ Prison (the cave opening seen at the bottom.) Scaffolding is still present inside the cave, preserving the different levels at which monks would stay whenever sent here after a transgression.

Stairs. My favorite.

After the death of Varlaam, the monastery was abandoned for years until Theophanes and Nektarios Apsarades, brothers hailing from Ioannina, came to the rock and began to rebuild the churches in the 16th century. Bringing materials to the spot took them twenty-two years, while the building itself took twenty days. It reportedly holds the relics of St. John (a finger) and St. Andrew (shoulder blade).

Μεγάλο Μετέωρο / Monastery of Great Meteoron

This monastery sits atop a rock called Meteora or Platylithos, which stands 415 meters above the valley floor. The monastery was founded by Athanasios the Meteorite in the 14th century after he fled Mount Athos due to Ottoman attacks, starting with a church dedicated to the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary.

More buildings were added by Athanasios’s successor, Joasaph, a former Greek-Serbian prince, who added more cells, a hospital, and renovated the church. This monastery has the largest manuscript collection in Meteora, holding 610 items out of the 1,124 total in the remaining six monasteries. In 1921, Queen Marie of Romania visited Meteora, and became the first woman allowed to enter the Great Meteoron monastery.

Μονή Ρουσάνου / Monastery of Rousanou

This monastery is believed to have been constructed in the 14th century, with its cathedral added later, in the 16th. Its name is believed to come from the first monks to settle here, who were Russian. The monastery sits 484 meters above the valley floor.