Otherworldly Atmosphere of Meteora

“It’s got this otherworldly vibe about it, it had this really great energy, and I wanted to have a record that lived up to that energy.” – Chester Bennington on why he named Linkin Park’s second studio album after this unique rock formation in Greece.

The name Meteora stems from the Greek adjective which means “middle of the sky”, “suspended in the air” or “in the heavens above.”  Aptly named the rock formations jut out of the ground like giant fingers made of sandstone, allowing the various monasteries to sit, suspended in the air.  It has taken millions of year for various forces of nature to sculpt out these unique rock pillars.

The area of Meteora was originally settled by monks who lived in caves within the rocks during the 11th century; however, monasteries were not built until the 14th century, when the monks sought somewhere to hide in the face of an increasing number of Turkish attacks on Greece. Access to the monasteries was originally (and deliberately) difficult, requiring either long ladders lashed together or large nets used to haul up both goods and people. This required quite a leap of faith – the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only “when the Lord let them break.” 

Ropes and pulleys are still in use today to haul goods and people to the monasteries.  I imagine some of the monks and nuns, as they age, would have difficulty with the steps leading to some of the monasteries.  Our guide told us that the monks and nuns make a life long commitment and they rarely leave the monasteries.

At their peak in the sixteenth century there were 24 monasteries at Meteora in Greece. They were created to serve monks and nuns following the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Today there are six still functioning monasteries, while the remainder are largely in ruin. Perched onto high cliffs, they became more accessible in the 1920’s by staircases and pathways cut into the rock formations. Of the six functioning monasteries, two are inhabited by nuns while the remainder are inhabited by monks. The total monastic population of the Meteora monasteries in 2015 was 56, comprising 15 monks in four monasteries and 41 nuns in two monasteries.  One monastery has only one hermit monk.

I kept wondering why the monks and nuns would want visitors traipsing through their monasteries. The revenue generated from admission to the monasteries goes to the upkeep of the structures.  The monasteries inhabited by monks employ many local town people to help sell tickets, clean, garden etc.  while the monasteries inhabited by nuns do this work themselves.  The nuns donate money each year to local schools and to scholarships for students.

At all the monasteries women in pants or shorts have to put on a wrap around skirt.  Even men in shorts must wear a skirt.

The day we visited the monasteries my Apple health app recorded we climbed 32 flights of stairs and walked 7 miles.

What a workout for the otherworldly atmosphere of Meteora!