//
Photo: Janmad, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron is the oldest and largest of the monasteries of Meteora. The monastery is believed to have been built just before the mid 14th century by a monk from Mount Athos named Saint Athanasios the Meteorite. He began the build with a church in dedication to the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. He later added small cells so that monks could concentrate and live atop the rock formations. The Monastery thrived in the 16th century when it received many imperial and royal donations. Being the largest among all the monasteries allows it to have a particular layout filled with many buildings. The katholikon is dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus and was the first church of the monastery. The hermitage of the first founder of the monastery is a small building carved in rock. The kitchen or what is commonly referred to as the hestia is a domed shaped building near the refectory. There is also a hospital, with its famous roof of the ground floor made of brick and supported on four columns. The three old churches or chapels include: The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist which lies next to the katholikon sanctuary, The Saints Constantine and Helen Chapel which is an aisle-less church with large vault, and finally the chapel of Virgin Mary situated in the cave
The Monastery of Great Meteoron, mainly known as Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour in Greece, is a Greek Orthodox monastery near the town of Kalambaka, in the Thessaly region of central Greece. It is located at the top of a rocky precipice over 415 metres (1,362 ft) above the Pineios valley floor. It is one of twenty-four monasteries that were originally built at Meteora. The Monastery of the Great Meteoron is one of the oldest existing of the Meteora monasteries. Collectively titled Meteora, in 1988 the extant six monasteries were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Άγιος Νικόλαος Αναπαυσάς
The Holy Monastery of Saint Nikolas of Anapafsas was founded at the end of the 14th century. It can be reached via a 10-minute uphill climb on a stone path leading up from the parking area at the main road connecting Kastraki village and Great Meteoron. It is the smallest monastery in Meteora.
Βαρλαάμ
The Monastery of Varlaam is the second largest monastery of Meteora. The name Varlaam comes from a monk named Varlaam who scaled the rocks in 1350 and began construction on the monasteries. Varlaam built three churches by hoisting materials up the face of the cliffs. After Varlaam’s death, the monastery was abandoned for two hundred years until two monk brothers, Theophanes and Nektarios Apsarades, came to the rock in the 16th century and began to rebuild the churches in October 1517. The two brothers from Ioannina spent twenty-two years hoisting materials to the top of the rock formation, however, the building only is reported to take around twenty days. As of 2015 that there are seven monks remaining in Varlaam. Today the monastery is accessed through a series of ladders that scale the north side of the rock. The museum is open to travelers and contains a wide array of relics and ecclesiastical treasures.
Αγία Βαρβάρα Ρουσσάνου
The Holy Monastery of Roussanou has received the name of the first probable hermit who settled on the rock. The main cathedral, celebrating the memory of Santa Barbara, was founded at the end of the 16th century and was decorated 30 years later. The monastery can be accessed via a stairway that leads from a parking area above, or alternatively can be reached via a short uphill cimb from a parking area below.
Αγία Τριάδα
The Monastery of Holy Trinity is the most difficult to reach, but once you get to the very top, the panoramic view of the surroundings is simply captivating!
Άγιος Στέφανος
This is the most accessible monastery, where instead of steps you simply cross a small bridge to reach the entrance. It is ideal for visitors who cannot use the steps and yet they wish to have a real experience of a Meteora monastery. It is a nunnery today, although in the past it was a male-only monastery.