Crazy rock climbing hermits and monks

The first stop on our sunset excursion was to take photos of Holy Trinity. Since we'd already had our fill of that we took pictures of the goats wandering past - and their doggie shepherds. I was trying to entice one to come over for a cuddle when the guide told me that it wasn't a good idea. These guys had a job to do and they took it very seriously. And once he told me that I could see that they both had their backs to the goats and were facing us - to make sure we didn't get too close to their charges.

Our next stop was Stefanos - again we had already done that so we waited outside...where there was a mamma cat and her two kittens. They were up for a cuddle. (yeah I did a lot of cat and dog petting on this trip).


We then went into town to visit one of the oldest churches in the world, Kimisseoss tis theotokou.
Originally built in the 11th century it has had some facelifts in its history, but everytime the restaurateurs have recycled the materials from the past structure. There are even pieces of marble from the temple of Apollo that was there before the church imbedded in the walls.

As you enter into the vestibule (where non-christians had to stay back in the day) there are paintings of heaven on the right and hell on the left: A word of warning to the parishioners?

When you enter the small church you can't help but notice the marble pulpit - the original marble pulpit from way back when. They still hold regular services here.


We then rushed back up the hill to see the setting sun on this absolutely beautiful place.

The next morning we set off on a hike behind the monoliths and up to the top. Along the way we saw some of the original caves where the first hermits set up camp. These guys started coming to the area in the 9th century, looking for a quiet place to be closer to god.

Initially they had to climb the rocks to get to their cave - this is not an easy feat without ropes, they are all vertical and sheer faces. More and more hermits came to the area and they started meeting just once a week to hold services. Then after 5 centuries of this they decided to build a monastery. It took years to gather the materials together, and then they had to haul all that stuff up to the top with baskets on ropes.


They built 24 altogether, but today only 6 are still in use.


Our hike ended at the biggest monastery Great Meteoro. It is massive. And there's only one monk living there. In this monastery you can visit the old kitchen with its blackened domed roof, the ossuary where the skulls and bones of the old monks are stored, the old winery full of massive barrels and other winemaking accoutrements, and the small museum which had some of the very first printed manuscripts. Fantastic!

I'm not sure why but by the time I reached Great Meteoro my knee was killing me. Luckily/sadly we had a bus to catch directly after the hike so I was able to put it up a little. It was very swollen.
We were on our way back to Athens and our last day in Greece.