Meteora Monasteries

Quoted from Tour itinerary:

"Today we will see one of the most amazing places in Greece - Meteora Monasteries.

Meaning ‘suspended in air’ the name Meteora soon came to encompass the entire rock community of 24 monasteries, the biggest and most important group of monasteries in Greece after those in Mount Athos There were no steps and the main access to the monasteries was by means of a net that was hitched over a hook and hoisted up by rope and a hand cranked windlass to winch towers overhanging the chasm. Monks descended in the nets or on retractable wooden ladders up to 40m long to the fertile valleys below to grow grapes, corn and potatoes. Each community developed its own resources and by the end of the 14th century, the Grand Meteoron emerged as the dominant community.

The rock monasteries have been characterized by UNESCO as a unique phenomenon of cultural heritage.

After visits start the drive back to ATHENS passing through Thermopylae."

Pictures posted at a later date