Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
particularly austere rule he was quickly joined by other brothers, including (in 1381)
John Urod
, who renounced the throne of Serbia to become the monk Ioasaph.
Royal patronage was instrumental in endowing monasteries and hermitages, which
multiplied on all the (relatively) accessible rocks to 24 institutions during the reign of
Ottoman sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-66). Money was provided by estates
in distant Wallachia and Moldavia, as well as in Thessaly itself. It was largely the loss of
land and revenues (particularly after the Greco-Turkish war) that brought about the
ruin
of the monasteries
- although some were simply not built to withstand the
centuries and gradually disintegrated in the harsh climatic conditions here.
By the late 1950s, there were just four active monasteries, struggling along with
barely a dozen monks between them - an era chronicled in Patrick Leigh Fermor's
Roumeli
. Ironically, before being overtaken by
tourism
in the 1970s, the monasteries
had begun to revive, attracting younger and more educated brothers; today about sixty
monks and fifteen nuns dwell in the six extant foundations.
INFORMATION THE METÉORA
Seeing the six inhabited monasteries of the Metéora requires at least a full day, which means staying at least one night, in
either
Kalambáka
or
Kastráki
. Perhaps the ideal time to visit is out of season, when the leaves turn or snow blankets
the pinnacles. During midsummer, the commercialization, traffic and crowds detract from the wild, spiritual aspect of the
valley. In this period you're better off heading for less visited monasteries such as Ayíou Nikoláou or Ayías Triádhos.
3
Opening times
Out of 24 original monasteries, there are
six still functioning, all keeping different visiting hours/
days. At the time of writing it was possible to see them all
in one day only on weekends, because on any given
weekday at least one monastery was closed. We have
provided a schedule for each site, but it is always subject to
change, so confirm opening days and times with your hotel
or the tourist office in Kalambáka. Each monastery levies
an admission charge - currently €2, with student discounts
generally not given.
Dress code and photography
All monasteries enforce a
strict dress code: both sexes must cover their shoulders;
women wear a long skirt not trousers; men, long trousers,
not shorts. Skirts or wraps are often lent to female visitors,
but don't rely on this. Photography and filming are strictly
forbidden inside all monasteries.
GETTING AROUND
By car
There are paved roads right up to the entrances of
all the monasteries, up from Kalambáka and through
Kastráki. Each has a parking area complete with souvenir
stands and
kantínas
selling drinks and packaged snacks.
By bus
In season there are up to five buses daily (at 9am
and 1pm definitely) from Kalambáka up the road as far as
Megálou Meteórou/Varlaám; even being taken just part-
way will provide the necessary head start to make a hiking
day manageable, and to fit in perhaps half the monasteries.
On foot
The main road is often narrow and busy with
speeding cars, so follow the hiking directions - by using
available trails and dirt tracks you avoid most of the asphalt.
If you're considering hiking between the monasteries be
sure to get hold of
The Footpaths of Meteora
(Kritiki Editions)
map and guide (€12) available from the newsagent in
Kalambáka's main square.
Kalambáka
KALAMBÁKA
has pleasantly functional appeal, and its position right below the
Metéora
rocks guarantees awe-inspiring views. Though largely destroyed during World War II, a
few prewar buildings remain in the upper reaches, closer to the rocks, from which
point there are obvious footpaths heading up in the Metéora. Also here is the ninth to
eleventh-century
Mitrópolis
or old cathedral (daily 8am-1pm & 4-6pm; €2), at the
end of a bucolic road to the top of town. It was first erected in the sixth century on the
site of an Apollo temple and incorporates Classical masonry in its walls. The interior is
dominated, unusually for a Greek church, by a great double marble pulpit - like an
Islamic
mimber
or oratory. Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Byzantine frescoes are
best preserved in the narthex, emphasizing the miracles of Christ (
Healing the Paralytic
,
The Storm on Galilee
,
Raising Lazarus
,
The Wedding
at Cana
).
