One day trip to Meteora, Greece

Hello, travellers!

Today I'll take you back to the wonderful Greece, most precisely to the monasteries of Meteora, which literally mean "middle of the sky".
On the fall of 2013, after my first summer season on Kefalonia, I visited couple of places on the continental part of Greece. Meteora had probablly the most poignant impression on me.

"Meteora is associated with one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The remaining six monasteries are built on natural conglomerate pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece. Meteora is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List." (Wikipedia)

On the way to Meteora I passed the beautiful town of Kalambaka. The road was absolutely beautiful. I had finished visiting Ioannina, which is another amazing place that I will talk to you about on a future post, when I decided to head to Meteora.

Until this moment I was used to the clear blue waters of the Mediteranean Sea and the arid landscape of the islands, so you can only imagine what a pleasant surprise I had travelling on the continental Greece, through green forests, valleys and mountains. I was feeling like I stepped into a different, enchanting world, which I totally recommend for you, wanderlust seekers.

It was a sunny, warm 5th of October and I had made a new friend at the entrance to the first monastery. (See the picture above)
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas Anapafsas, one of four male monasteries in Meteora, is located on top of a vast rock whose summit is of a small surface area. The architectural form of the building stirs the admiration of the visitor, due to the fact that it is moulded to the shape of the height on which the complex rests.

The stairway, leading up towards the monastery, was sculpted from 1932 to 1936, safeguarding the safe and easy access to visitors and travellers. Before its construction the only way to access the monastery was the traditional vrizoni, the net that was used to carry both people and necessary victuals. The Church is dedicated to St. Nicholas of Lycia, patron saint of the sailors and one of the most worshipped Saints within the Greek Orthodox World.

After taking couple of pictures of the place and the incredible surroundings I headed to the next one.
The Monastery of Rousanou/St. Barbara was the secong to visit. It was founded in the middle of the 16th century and decorated in 1560. Today it is a flourishing nunnery with 13 nuns in residence.

"Rousannou Monastery stands on a low rock and is easily accessible by a bridge built of wood in 1868 and replaced by more solid material in 1930. Despite this, its situation is still quite dramatic, with the rock dropping off sharply on all sides.

The monastery covers the entire surface of the rock and consists of three levels: the church and cells occupy the ground floor, while the two upper floors house the guest quarters, reception halls, an exhibition room, and more cells. The frescoes in Rousannou's Church of the Transfiguration of Christ, which is essentially a smaller version of Varlaam's church, date from 1560." (Source)

The resident nuns tend to be friendlier to visitors than their male counterparts in Meteora and often provide sweets to guests as they relax in the courtyard.
I enjoyed walking in the forest near the monastery, climbing over couple of rocks and admiring the panorama. It was one of those places where you realise how small you actually are and what an amazing planet we have.

Next on my road was The Monastery of Varlaam which is the second largest monastery in the Meteora complex.

"It was built in 1541 and embellished in 1548. A church, dedicated to All Saints, is in the Athonite type (cross-in-square with dome and choirs), with spacious exonarthex (lite) is surrounded by a dome. It was built in 1541/42 and decorated in 1548, while the exonarthex was decorated in 1566. The old refectory is used as a museum while north of the church is the parekklesion of the Three Bishops, built in 1627 and decorated in 1637." (Wikipedia)

The 4th and last monastery I visited was The Monastery of Great Meteoron.

"This is the largest of the monasteries located at Meteora. It was erected in the mid-14th century and was the subject of restoration and embellishment projects in 1483 and 1552. One building serves as the main museum for tourists. 

The Katholikon (main church), consecrated in honour of the Transfiguration of Jesus was erected in the middle of the 14th century and 1387/88 and decorated in 1483 and 1552."(Wikipedia)

I haven't got the chance to visit the other two monasteries, The Monastery of St. Stephen and The Monastery of the Holy Trinity, but after 4 hours of visiting the other ones, I considered it was enough; a long way to Athens was waiting.

In conclusion it was a wonderful experience, absolutely amazing constructions, breath taking views and incredible facts which I found out about the nuns and the monks lives, history and religion. 

Meteora, as well as Mt. Athos should be on every Greece lover's "must visit" list.

Feel free to explore Santorini on my latest post.

Larnaca seems to be a prefered destination for a spring break.

Until next time.

Travel well and everywhere!

Beldi

Cronicile Kefaloniene - ep.4: Plaja Platia Ammos si manastirea Kipoureon

     Vara e fierbinte in Grecia. E fierbinte rau de tot iar eu sunt atat de norocos sa am o multitudine de optiuni cum sa ma racoresc. Este iulie si pornesc intr-o noua aventura catre o plaja superba insa putin mai greu accesibila: Platia Ammos. Tot auzisem cum barmanita din hotelul in care lucrez recomanda plaja asta multor turisti si ii avertiza sa-si ia mancare si apa cu ei si eventual o umbrela de plaja. Hmmm, e ceva frumos, salbatic si bun de explorat ma gandesc. Zis si facut!

     O astept pe colega Rinata sa-si termine treburile de "russian rep" si ne suim in masina cu destinatia stabilita. Ne oprim in drumul nostru sa cumparam cateva snackuri si apa si continuam cu muzica data tare. Ce-mi plac verile in Grecia, zilele libere cand abia prinzi radioul prin munti si te misti in ritmul melodiilor fara sa intelegi aproape nimic. Doar din cand in cand un "s'agapo"(=te iubesc), un "nai"(=da) sau "ela ela" (=haide,haide), grecii sunt super romantici in materie de muzica, majoritatea melodiilor au ca subiect dragostea.



     Urcam in munte, cotim, iar cotim si dam de capre multe, sute si inaintam aruncand cate un ochi pe harta din cand in cand. Drumurile in Kefalonia sunt inguste si semnele fie nu exista fie sunt ascunse de copacii si tufisurile crescute din abundenta. La un moment dat un semn scapat de vegetatia excesiva, ne indica sa o luam la stanga pe un drum din pamant. Inaintam prudent si greoi. Ne mai oprim pentru o poza, doua. Trecem pe langa manastirea Kipoureon pe care ne decidem sa o vizitam la intoarcere.

Dupa cateva minute ajungem la ceea ce pare o parcare improvizata unde cativa oameni stau cocotati si fac poze cu privelistea. Suntem deja transpirati. Ne dam jos din masina si ne indreptam catre ei sa vedem ce cauzeaza atata agitatie. WOW!!!

      O priveliste ca aceasta iti poate lua rasuflarea! La aproximativ 100 de metri sub noi se intinde o plaja superba, salbatica si atinsa de valuri turcoaz. Platia Ammos este o plaja singuratica pe partea vestica a Kefaloniei si isi impresioneaza vizitatorii cu frumusetea peisajului ce aminteste un pic de plajele Myrtos si Petani. Nu exista facilitati turistice cum ar fi baruri, taverne, scaune de plaja sau umbrele asa ca sfaturile auzite cu jumatate de ureche de la barmanita au fost bine venite. Pana in urma cu doar cativa ani singura modalitate de a ajunge pe plaja era cu barca, pe mare. Acum, in urma unui proiect realizat de autoritati, au fost construite drumul de pamant si aproximativ 400 de trepte pana la plaja. Acestea contribuie la magia descoperirii, aceasta fiind o destinatie cunoscuta pe plan local si nepromovata indeajuns. Platia Ammos este considerat ca fiind unul dintre locurile cele mai izolate de pe insula, nici telefoanele mobile n-au receptie aici.

      Incercand inca sa ne readucem respiratia la nivel normal, hotaram sa coboram sutele de trepte si sa inotam in apele racoritoare ale marii Ionice. Treptele sunt in majoritate de piatra, unele de lemn si recunosc ca nu toate se afla intr-o conditie foarte buna, asa ca fiti atenti unde pasiti daca ajungeti acolo. Plaja este acoperita atat cu nisip cat si cu pietris. Cu toate ca este trecut de mijlocul zilei si ne aflam in mijlocul sezonului estival, nu sunt foarte multi oameni pe plaja. Cei putini intalniti incearca sa stea la umbra sub o umbrela adusa de ei sau la baza muntelui care se inalta brusc din plaja. Ne lasam rapid lucrurile pe nisip si ne grabim catre apa. E rece insa atat de racoritoare. In cazul in care nu sunteti buni inotatori sau aveti copii, fiti atenti, apa este foarte adanca si curentul puternic poate fi destul de periculos uneori.

     Cateva barci incep sa se adune. Grecii galagiosi se bucura de vacanta. Alti turisti incep sa apara sfiosi, coborand prudenti treptele. Ma gandesc ca tare buna ar fi fost o taverna cu cateva beri reci. Platia Ammos este inca o dovada ca localnicii vor sa pastreze insula pe cat se poate de "salbatica" si cat mai putin accesibila maselor de turisti. Timpul trece rapid, colega Rinata este supusa tratamentului meu fotografic astfel se poate lauda, cand va ajunge acasa in Rusia, cu cateva fotografii demne de un catalog de fotomodel. Ca semn de multumire hotaraste sa ma ingroape in nisip si sa-mi intoarca favoarea.

     Cu cat ziua inainteaza catre dupa amiaza simtim arsita lipindu-ne sarea de piele si decidem sa ne intoarcem la masina. Daca drumul de coborare a fost cum a fost, ei bine, la urcat am nevoie de pauze multiple pentru a-mi trage rasuflarea si a ma hidrata. Intr-un final urcati in masina lasam minunata priveliste in urma si ne intoarcem catre manastirea zarita pe drumul de inceput.

      Manastirea Kipoureon se afla la 15 km de Lixouri si la doar cateva minute distanta de Platia Ammos. Locul de amplasare al acestei manastiri este uimitor deoarece este construita pe varful unei stanci, la 90 de metri deasupra nivelului marii. Din nou privelistea Marii Ionice si a coastei salbatice este magnific, de aceea merita vizitata daca sunteti in zona. Manastirea Kipoureon a fost fondata in secolul al 17-lea de catre Arhiepiscopul Paxi Hrisant Petropoulos. Numele manastirii inseamna o grupare a gradinilor sale datorita faptului ca diferitii calugari cultivau legume in jurul ei, legume ce reprezentau o buna parte din sursa lor de hrana. Astazi doar un singur calugar mai locuieste in manastire.

     Dedicata Sfintei Cruci si Bunei Vestiri a Maicii Domnului, manastirea este vizitata cu precadere pe 25 martie si 14 septembrie. In interior exista o colectie minunata de relicve bisericesti si icoane post-bizantine. Natura din jurul manastirii este luxurianta si cuprinde pini, vita de vie si diferite flori mediteraneene. Din curte vizitatorii se pot bucura de un apus de soare minunat in Marea Ionica.

     Sa fiu sincer manastirea nu este foarte ingrijita, exista scaune aruncate pe balconul etajului superior al cladirii din partea dreapta a intrarii si nu am zarit nici un calugar nici de aceasta data si nici in celelalte dati cand am vizitat acest loc.

     Pe drumul de intoarcere ne oprim sa vedem cateva capre si apoi continuam gandindu-ne in ce baruri din Lixouri ne vom petrece noaptea.

     Despre Lixouri si Argostoli puteti citi AICI, in episodul anterior al cronicilor, iar pentru cei curiosi va recomand un tur al insulei despre care puteti afla cateva repere AICI. 

Va urma

Beldi