Meteora Valley - Roussanou Monastery

On this photo you can see in what kind of setting the Meteora monasteries were built. Massive rock formations rise up from the earth. All the monasteries have a beautiful view of their surroundings.

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Meteora Varlaam Monastery

The Meteora Varlaam Monastery is one of the larger monasteries. As you can see they are expanding the place.

This photo seems to be one of the iconic views of the monastery.

 
Transportation room


Terrace


Entrance

Meteora Holy Trinity Monastery

Walking up to the Holy Trinity Monastery was very interesting. From the distance you can see some kind of transportation system with horizontal ropes. I assumed that was the only access to the monastery and was preparing for a dangerous ride.

The rope transport system in action

It turned out the system is only used to carry goods. You park on a nearby cliff (left on the photo). You then walk down to the base of the cliff and go up the stairs to the monastery.

Walking up

I didn’t take many photos inside the monastery. The only one I can offer you is one from the transportation room.

Meteora Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen

The Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen was the only one which was closed on Mondays. So we were unable to see the inside.

 

Panorama Meteora Roussanou Monastery

Click on the picture above or here to see the view from the terrace of the Roussano Monastery.

Meteora Roussanou Monastery

The Meteora Roussano Monastery looks like it is almost melted to its underlying rock cliff. The road passes directly underneath it. You park on the side of the road, and then you walk up a neighboring cliff. At the left of the photo you can see a small bridge which you cross to enter the monastery.

 
A bus parked at the side with tourists visiting the Roussanou Monastery

 

Just before you enter the Roussanou Monastery there is a plateau where you can look around.

  
Near the entrance of the Roussanou Monastery

 

The access bridge seen from the Roussanou Monastery

 

Transportation room seen from the outside. Supplies are delivered here by pulling them up with a rope.

 

Roussano Monastery down left and its surroundings.
You can see the access bridge on the right hand side of the monastery. The monastery has a terrace where you can enjoy the magnificent view. I have made a photo of the view, which I will publish in a separate post.

 

A ‘close up’ of the back side of Roussanou Monastery

View from Great Meteora Monastery

The terrace of the Great Meteora Monastery has a terrific view over the strange rock cliffs. Stay tuned for more photos!

Visiting the Great Meteora Monastery

The monasteries of Meteora are one of the most unique sites I have ever seen. Strange pointy cliffs thrust upward from the earth, while ‘normal hills’ surround the area. Meteora means “hanging from the air”, which is a real understatement.

A neighbor of the Great Meteora Monastery seen through the cliffs

It’s not known how the cliffs are formed. The locals tell me that this area was once a sea, but it still does not explain why the cliffs rise so steeply. It’s also not known how the first monks got to the top. Hermits climbed the steep cliffs to be closer to God. One of the monks called Athanasius founded the Church of Transfiguration and built the monastery Megalo Meteoro. It is now known as Great Meteora Monastery.

 
Great Meteora Monastery

You can visit about six monasteries. We stayed near Kalambaka to arrive early. You drive up to a parking place nearby, walk down to the base of the cliff and then climb up the stairs carved out of the side of the cliff. You will need at least a whole day to visit all the monasteries.

 
Entrance to Great Meteora Monastery

Small shrine halfway the stairs up to Great Meteora Monastery

Outside the Great Meteora Monastery 

The Great Meteora Monastery is one of the largest. You can still visit the various rooms like the authentic kitchen, wine cellar and the church.

Meteora Monastery Wine Cellar

 
Entrance to the Great Meteora Church

 
Kitchen

The view from the monasteries is breathtaking!

View from the Great Meteora Monastery

In the old days food, other supplies and even monks were hoisted up with a windlass, rope and baskets. The stairs, which the tourists use, were only made recently. That is the reason every monastery has a dedicated ‘transport room’.

Transportation Room Great Meteora Monastery

The Delphi Theatre

Canon 50D | 10-22mm @ 10mm | 1/400 – 1/1600 – 1/100 @ f/8 | ISO 200

This is the Delphi theatre at the Delphi Archeological site. HDR photography allowed me to capture the theatre and the blinding sun rays in the sky.
For comparison: take a look at the three source HDR photos.

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Athena Pronaia Sanctuary

Canon 50D | 17-55mm @ 18mm | 1/400 - 1/600 - 1/100 @ f/8 | ISO 200

This is the Athena Pronaia Sanctuary on the Delphi archeological site. The sunlight was very harsh, despite the clouds. An HDR photo was needed to capture the details in the sky and in the shadow sides of the rocks. Click on the photo to visit Flickr where you can view even larger versions.

Delphi Archelogical Site

We visited Delphi early in the morning – to beat the sun and the crowds. The site is only a kilometer from Hotel Pan – Artemis (the town of Delphi consists of three parallel streets).
 
Treasury of Athens


Rock of the Sybil. This is the place where the first prophetess pronounced her oracles.


Columns of the Temple of Apollo


Temple of Apollo


Athena Pronaia Sanctuary

Please stay tuned for some special photos of Delphi!

The Charioteer of Delphi

The Charioteer of Delphi is one of the most well-known statues of Ancient Greece. The bronze statue survived because it was buried under the ground, probably to protect it from looters.


A close-up – notice the inlaid eyes


Back of the Charioteer

Delphi Archeological Museum

We arrived in Delphi after a 45 minute drive from the monastery of Hosios Loukas. After checking into the Pan - Artemis hotel we enjoyed the view from our hotel room.

View from Hotel Pan room

You have to buy separate tickets for the Delphi Archeological Museum and the archeological site. Since we would stay only one night at Delphi we decided to visit the museum today and the site the next morning. Luckily you can buy a combined ticket for the museum and the site, and use the tickets on different days.
The museum has a nice collection:

Toes


Kleobis and Biton (yes, they are Kouroi)


Fragments of an Ionian silver-plated bull of the mid 6th century BCE, the largest example from antiquity of a statue made out of precious metal.


Naxian Sphinx

 
Acanthus column of the dancers

 
Detail of one of the dancers

The most beautiful item is of course the Charioteer of Delphi. More about him in an upcoming post!